I don’t know what to feel any more…
May results
How long ago it all seems. We checked in at the begin of May, where the D-backs were 16-14, and staring into the barrel of the schedule. There was no real consistency good or bad: some players were performing, others were not, and the team was capable of playing up or down to the level of their opponents as appropriate. However, it was certainly the case that the pitching has not been at the level expected, either in the bullpen or from the rotation. Some of that was due to injury: we had lost A.J. Puk, and Justin Martinez was also about to go on the IL. But health is not an excuse for everything. So how did this all make us feel at the start of May?
- 0% – 1 (not confident in the slightest)
- 0% – 2
- 1% – 3
- 4% – 4
- 10% – 5
- 23% – 6
- 37% – 7
- 17% – 8
- 8% – 9 (very, very, VERY confident)
Still not much at the bottom end of the spectrum, although “4” and “5” now have a significant presence: at 14%, it’s almost three times the 5% at the beginning of the season. “6” also came close to doubling, and it’s the top of the chart where those people moved from. Conversely, “8” and “9” have been reduced almost in half, from a combined total of 46% on Opening Day (or thereabout), to 25%. That overall led to a reduction of slightly more than half a point off the tally, with the average dropping from 7.27 to 6.73. That’s the lowest it has been this year, though is still almost a point better than than the 5.74 figure from the start of December.
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.
June poll
Welp. I blame the City Connect uniforms. Because after they were first worn on May 9 – the infamous 11-14 loss to the Dodgers – the D-backs went 7-13 the rest of the month. Look like the Rockies? Play like the Rockies. They finished the month losing nine of ten, with one of the worst bullpen months in franchise history. While there’s still hope of a postseason spot, personally, it feels more like that than realistic expectation, with no obvious scope for improvement other than, “Well, just have to play a lot better.” I’d therefore not be surprised if the results of this poll are a confidence crash of near-record proportions. The biggest drop is 3.77 points in June 2021. How will this month fare?
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.