Now that the players have reported to Ft Myers, albeit with some interruption from the WBC, what are you looking for or at the most?  Are you looking for the general health of last seasons injured players?  Are you looking to see and get to know the new acquisitions and signees?  Are you just looking for all things baseball? 

Vote and opine below!  

Me, I'm looking for a hybrid of the general health of the team, the young and new faces.  I'm particularly interested in Kirilloff and Larnach coming back strong.  

I voted for the "Young up and coming faces," but it's really Martin and Kirilloff that I'm looking at. How does Kirilloff's swing look in terms of how he appears to feel really letting his swing rip? How does Martin look in terms of impacting the ball well and hitting line drives to all parts of the park?

I never really worry about, or look at, spring production. I don't care if you hit .000 or 1.000, it doesn't really tell me much. Players are working on things, and it's a super small sample size against varied competition with some goals outside of simply beating the other team. What I'm interested in are how guys look, and the 2 I mentioned are the ones I'm watching most closely. Polanco being a close 3rd.

1 minute ago, chpettit19 said:

I voted for the "Young up and coming faces," but it's really Martin and Kirilloff that I'm looking at. How does Kirilloff's swing look in terms of how he appears to feel really letting his swing rip? How does Martin look in terms of impacting the ball well and hitting line drives to all parts of the park?

I never really worry about, or look at, spring production. I don't care if you hit .000 or 1.000, it doesn't really tell me much. Players are working on things, and it's a super small sample size against varied competition with some goals outside of simply beating the other team. What I'm interested in are how guys look, and the 2 I mentioned are the ones I'm watching most closely. Polanco being a close 3rd.

Martin is a good one to watch too.  

Agreed on production.  It's more about process for me.  That's harder to determine though, especially when I'm not able to watch games.  The radio only helps so much.

44 minutes ago, wsnydes said:

Martin is a good one to watch too.  

Agreed on production.  It's more about process for me.  That's harder to determine though, especially when I'm not able to watch games.  The radio only helps so much.

I've got the Mariners and Padres on right now! Baseball is back! Having 3 screens and my desk in the corner of the office makes it nice to be able to watch some daytime baseball while I "work." 

Lots of things ....

Does Kirilloff look healthy and poised to be a middle of the order bat

Have Mahle and Ryan improved their off speed pitches.

Have any other pitchers improved or added pitches or command.  

Has Martin figured it out.  In other words, is he driving the ball consistently.

Does Miranda have improved agility.  Does he look the part at 3B

Do Alcala and Maeda look ready to contribute in a meaningful way.

Does Royce Lewis look like he will be back sooner than later.

5 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

I've got the Mariners and Padres on right now! Baseball is back! Having 3 screens and my desk in the corner of the office makes it nice to be able to watch some daytime baseball while I "work." 

Yeah, I can do that too.  I just can't do that when I actually need to be productive!  Because it ain't happenin' if I've got baseball on!

 

These polls are pretty easy! 

Just now, Vanimal46 said:

 

These polls are pretty easy! 

Oh, you want a challenge?

Things I’m looking at:

- How much gas does Maeda have left in the tank?

- Is Mahle back to dialing it up to 95 MPH consistently?

- Is Kirilloff back to smacking the hell out of the ball?

- Will a beefed up Kepler become an offensive threat in the lineup?

Things I’m looking for:

- Leaving spring training with the least amount of injuries as possible. 

- Something that bonds the team together (i.e. Kirk Cousins wearing chains to entertain the team)

I said health and young up and coming faces but all the choices were good.  I just think if we're healthy we will be pretty good.  You could say the same for the White Sox because they've been just about as hamstrung by injuries as we have.  But if the Twins are healthy we should see a great divisional battle this season with Cleveland and Chicago.  

I also voted for health. Position players Buxton, Larnach, Polanco and Kirilloff are all being counted on and all are returning from season-ending injuries in ‘22. 
 

On the pitching side Maeda has been out for a year and a half, Mahle missed much of the second half with shoulder miseries, Alcala missed almost all season with an elbow injury and Ober missed the majority of last season with groin issues. Much to check up on and be aware of. 

31 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

I also voted for health. Position players Buxton, Larnach, Polanco and Kirilloff are all being counted on and all are returning from season-ending injuries in ‘22. 
 

On the pitching side Maeda has been out for a year and a half, Mahle missed much of the second half with shoulder miseries, Alcala missed almost all season with an elbow injury and Ober missed the majority of last season with groin issues. Much to check up on and be aware of. 

I'll be watching to see how Maeda and Mahle progress too.  Maeda in particular given how long he's been out.

Our front office seems to consistently build a high tolerance for injury risk into their roster decisions.  Success boils down to having these bets pay off in combination.  I'm going all in with the FO and for this year I'm forecasting a 93-win season.  So, in terms of this poll, it's health that I'll be keeping my eye on.  Like Falvey and Levine when they have to explain another sub-.500 season to the executive suite, I'll have the usual "oh, that darn injury bug" excuse to explain why my rosy expectation didn't pan out.

57 minutes ago, ashbury said:

Our front office seems to consistently build a high tolerance for injury risk into their roster decisions.  Success boils down to having these bets pay off in combination.  I'm going all in with the FO and for this year I'm forecasting a 93-win season.  So, in terms of this poll, it's health that I'll be keeping my eye on.  Like Falvey and Levine when they have to explain another sub-.500 season to the executive suite, I'll have the usual "oh, that darn injury bug" excuse to explain why my rosy expectation didn't pan out.

I didn't know whether to like, love, sad, or haha at this so I didn't give you any reaction. But know that you got all of those responses out of me.

18 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

I didn't know whether to like, love, sad, or haha at this so I didn't give you any reaction. But know that you got all of those responses out of me.

Maybe I should be writing rom-coms or dramedies.

A lot of things, but specifically want to see Kirilloff back to his pre wrist injury ability, and also a fully healthy Mahle and Maeda. Want to see Ryan and Mahle showing their off speed improvements too. 

Umpiring the new rules

Will they convert another marginal SP minor leaguer into a reliever and go north with him?

3 minutes ago, Richie the Rally Goat said:

Umpiring the new rules

Will they convert another marginal SP minor leaguer into a reliever and go north with him?

Oh, so the unmentioned "Other" option! 

That's a good point though.  Another thing to watch for is how teams are adjusting to the new rules as well.

On 2/24/2023 at 5:41 PM, chpettit19 said:

I didn't know whether to like, love, sad, or haha at this so I didn't give you any reaction. But know that you got all of those responses out of me.

Improved fundamentals (physically AND mentally) from both the players and the staff.