The signing of Nolan Arenado and the non-trading of Ketel Marte were the headline moves last month, and they seem to have a somewhat positive impact on confidence. Or, at least, more than countered the negative impact of the team not doing much to address the bullpen or (at the time) first base. Here\u2019s how the scores broke down when we checked in at the beginning of the month.<\/p>\n
A general uptick, with \u201c5\u201d the biggest beneficiary, more than doubling on its way from 13% to 29% – mostly achieved by people moving up from the lower tiers. The 1-4 range mustered only 21% combined, down from 34% at the start of January. \u201c7\u201d also ticked up, by about the same amount that \u201c6\u201d went down, which kinda makes sense. All told, the average bumped up more than a quarter point, increasing from 5.08 to 5.36. It is still the lowest we\u2019ve seen at this point since 2022. Though that season was – understandably – REALLY bad, confidence coming in at a mere 2.72, an all-time low for the start of February.<\/p>\n
Below, you can see the breakdown for the past 12 polls\u2019 results, followed by the line graph showing the trends over this and previous seasons.<\/p>\n
Spring training is under way, we signed Carlos Santana to play first base, and\u2026 Yep, the injuries have started again. Corbin Carroll broke his hamate bone, though last I heard, Torey Lovullo was hopeful Carroll might actually avoid missing any time in the regular season. However, Merrill Kelly, after being given the honor of the Opening Day start, will definitely not be doing so. Precisely when he will be able to start is uncertain, although the team is expressing confidence he won\u2019t miss much time. And speaking of confidence, how are you feeling in the last poll before we start playing meaningful baseball?<\/p>\n