Let’s over-react wildly to small sample sizes!
March results
When we last checked in, we were just getting under way for spring training, Outside of a couple of meaningless early spring training games, the main factors in the March voting were the signings of Randal Grichuk and Kendall Graveman (It’s perhaps telling that I actually had to check the latter’s first name!). It felt like Mike Hazen had just about finished his shopping list, and the roster with which we went into spring training looked likely to be the one with which the Diamondbacks would go into the season. Well, health permitting, anyway – but we’ll get into that later. So, what were the result as we got to see the D-backs take the field once again?
- 0% – 1 (not confident in the slightest)
- 1% – 2
- 0% – 3
- 0% – 4
- 1% – 5
- 9% – 6
- 27% – 7
- 51% – 8
- 9% – 9 (very, very, VERY confident)
Not a great deal of room for improvement at the bottom of the chart – there had been only six percent in the “1” through “5” categories combined the previous month. But there was a definite tick upwards in the higher half of the poll. In particular, the “8” category increased from 28% to 51%, largely gaining votes from the “6” and “7” boxes. The net result shows 61% at an “8” or “9”. The overall average kicked up half a point, from 7.01 to 7.51, the fourth-highest of all time, and the best figure ever in a March poll. But things can change rapidly. The last time it was higher was April last year, and it then crashed over three points in a single month…
Below, you can see the breakdown for the past 12 polls’ results, followed by the line graph showing the trends over this and previous seasons.
April poll
Yeah, I know it’s not really April until tomorrow, but it’s an off-day before an East coast series, so it’s better this way. Trust me. 🙂
Now we have meaningful games to pick apart, and you can really take what you want from the opening series. The team has the best offense in the NL, with an OPS+ of 167! Or, if you are of a pessimistic bent, the team’s pitching is even worse than last year, with an ERA of 5.25! There are some injury issues in the bullpen, with the loss of both Graveman and Kevin Ginkel, and Arizona will pay Jordan Montgomery $22.5 million to rehab this year. But Eugenio Suarez is on pace to his 162 home-runs, and Gabriel Moreno is batting .625. It’s very much a case of, you pay your money and you take your pick. So, how are we feeling after the first four games of the season?
That would be what the poll is for. As ever, feel free to explain your choice in the comments, especially if it has changed from the previous one.