Cubs’ Quade covers basics as he meets with full squad

MESA, Ariz. — Yes, Mike Quade is the manager of the Chicago Cubs.

But, no, you’re not going to take the coach out of Quade.

After addressing his club Saturday morning before the first full-squad workout of spring training, Quade got out onto the field, where he was all hands-on.

He took leadoffs from second base on bunt plays. And he stopped to talk with Carlos Pena and Tyler Colvin at first base after one play.

“I’ve got to tell you, I had more fun today,” Quade said. “I was anxious to have everybody here and anxious to get started with some of it. As we get through this first week, I think you’ll see that. There are just points of emphasis I want to make sure are covered.

“I’m not reinventing the game. I don’t stay up at night. But we wanted to talk specifically about something as simple as a No. 1 bunt play with runners on first and second.”

As far as his address to the team went, Quade said he touched on a few things.

“All I want is a clear explanation,” he said. “Even though a lot of these guys were here last year and got a chance to spend some time playing for me, you break it down into a few things, to be honest: what they can expect from me and the commitment I make to them as well as my staff, and the commitment I expect from them.

“We touched on effort and the fact that I don’t think there’s any shortcuts to being a good team, whether you’re young or an older player.”

Ramirez ready:

Third baseman Aramis Ramirez said he’s 100 percent healthy and ready to go. Ramirez got off to horrible start last year, batting .152 in April and .173 in March before finishing with a line of .241/.294/.452 with 25 homers.

“I’m good,” he said. “I’m 100 percent now. Hopefully I stay that way for a while now. I never had that kind of first half before. I was expecting a lot more from myself. I got healthy and I finished strong. I’ve just got to stay healthy. If I do that, I should be OK.

“I worked a lot harder. I put on some weight. I just worked on my body a little bit more. I put on 6-7-8 pounds. Not a lot, but some that will hopefully help.”

Ramirez is in the final year of his contract although each side has an option for 2012. He said he’d like to remain a Cub.

“This is the only place that I want to be,” he said. “But we’ll see. We’ll see what happens. I don’t know what they think, and I’m still under contract this season.”

A thumb problem landed Ramirez on the disabled list for part of last season.

Another year:

Left fielder Alfonso Soriano arrived and said he spent the off-season in the Dominican Republic working on his legs. He’s now in the fifth year of his eight-year, $136 million contract.

“I didn’t work with my swing because in six months I think I have time to work on my swing,” he said. “The more important thing is just my legs and working in the Dominican.”

Soriano had a line of .258/.322/.496 last year with 24 homers and 79 RBI.