On the eve of the season, how are we feeling?
March results
Last time we checked in, spring training was kinda sorta beginning to get under way, with the early stages of the position battles just warming up. But there was still not very much actual data to go on, with barely a week’s worth of games, and as usual, anyone you know was typically gone by the end of the fifth inning. Unsurprisingly therefore, we did not have a great deal of change in the numbers between the beginning of February and the start of March. Here’s what we saw for the latter.
- 2% – 1 (not confident in the slightest)
- 0% – 2
- 1% – 3
- 2% – 4
- 5% – 5
- 5% – 6
- 33% – 7
- 25% – 8
- 16% – 9 (very, very, VERY confident)
An up-tick in the votes in the bottom half, the 1-5 categories combined almost doubling – though that probably makes it sound rather more dramatic an increase than saying it went from 5.3% to 10.1%. This largely came at the expense of the “6” category, which dropped from 10.5% to 5.0%. While this might suggest a decline in confidence overall, on the other hand, the “9” category increased, notching up from 13.8% to 16.2%. All this slight shuffling back and forth resulted in… Well, not very much, as far as the overall confidence average is concerned. with a drop of about one-tenth of a point, going down from 7.42 to 7.30. It’s the first time in survey history we’ve been above a seven on Opening Day.
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
For the first time in SnakePit history, the D-backs arrive on Opening Day as the defending National League champions. But spring hasn’t been without issues, most notably on the health front, with Eduardo Rodriguez, Paul Sewald and Randal Grichuk starting the season on the injured list. How much does that dampen confidence in another run to the playoffs? Or do strong spring performances from Ryne Nelson, Ketel Marte and Blaze Alexander inspire hope to counter such concerns? Then there’s the shock signing of Jordan Montgomery. With the first game of the 2024 campaign to come, all these theoreticals are about to become very real, so where do you sit as we get ready to play ball?
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.