Do you believe Ubaldo will be productive for us in 2015?

[Nevermore]

I voted that Ubaldo will be better in 2015 than he was in 2014, but will likely be equal to the other five starters, rather than be better. Last year, he had lost some of his velocity without being able to adjust to this loss. Which made him ineffectively wild, resulting in hits and runs being given up along with the walks. He tried to go his own way, which didn't work at all. So Buck had to employ some "tough love," taking him out of the rotation and demoting him to the pen. No organization had ever done that with him, even during his bad seasons, but it was what he badly needed. At the same time, Wallace and Chiti gave him some good coaching and he was willing and able to listen. Which is why he improved and eventually earned a spot start (which he won). And he won another start and pitched 3 SOs in an appearance out of the pen. However, it's very easy to revert to bad habits. Wallace said that Ubaldo wasn't yet out of the woods. So during ST in 2015, he should be carefully watched and corrected if needed.

Barring trade or injury, there will be 6 starters for 5 rotation spots. It should be made clear that if any one of the starters does consistently badly, then that's the one who should start in the pen. Salary, "stature" or "baseball politics" should not come into play Sure, Os management paid a lot for Ubaldo's services, but that is water over the dam and should not be a consideration. Chris Tillman is currently the #1 starter and should not lose that position unless he pitches horribly in ST, which I seriously doubt will happen. As for the others, it will have to be an open competition, with some weight put into the 2014 performances. Which means that Gonzo should not be automatically relegated to the pen, regardless of his ST performance just because his salary is lowest.

This poll is about Ubaldo, so I would predict that, given that he continues his improvement and has a decent ST, he should start out as #4 or #5. If he regresses badly and consistently, then do some more "tough love" and stick him back into the pen. However, I don't think that Ubaldo wants to do badly, get booed, or be demoted back into the pen, so he'll have some incentive to continue his improvement. I do remember seeing him on the JumboTron during the division clincher, and he was so happy to have been able to do well and contribute.

[Il BuonO]

Barring trade or injury, there will be 6 starters for 5 rotation spots. It should be made clear that if any one of the starters does consistently badly, then that's the one who should start in the pen. Salary, "stature" or "baseball politics" should not come into play Sure, Os management paid a lot for Ubaldo's services, but that is water over the dam and should not be a consideration. Chris Tillman is currently the #1 starter and should not lose that position unless he pitches horribly in ST, which I seriously doubt will happen. As for the others, it will have to be an open competition, with some weight put into the 2014 performances. Which means that Gonzo should not be automatically relegated to the pen, regardless of his ST performance just because his salary is lowest.

Other than competition for a rotation spot, which Tillman has locked down, or roster spot (and of course players getting in shape) ST is utterly meaningless. There is no way anyone else takes the hill on OD barring unforeseen circumstances.

[Nevermore]

Other than competition for a rotation spot, which Tillman has locked down, or roster spot (and of course players getting in shape) ST is utterly meaningless. There is no way anyone else takes the hill on OD barring unforeseen circumstances.

ST isn't utterly meaningless. Otherwise, why have it? As for Chris Tillman, barring serious injury, he will be the opening day starter, as I stated before.

[isestrex]

I think he'll have a good 2 months but will be dreadful the rest of the season. That's pretty much his career arc. Hoping for a full season of consistency from Ubaldo is basically praying that Wallace and Chiti will be able to perform some magic on his mechanics and get him to change things that no other pitching coach has been able to do.

I couldn't decide between the 2 "No" voting options but I chose the first one. I'm surprised the board is so optimistic that Ubaldo will have a bounce back season when 3 of his past 4 seasons have seen an ERA+ of 80 or below.

[DrungoHazewood]

ST isn't utterly meaningless. Otherwise, why have it? As for Chris Tillman, barring serious injury, he will be the opening day starter, as I stated before.

Spring training is important, to get in game shape or to get a better look at that prospective 25th guy you added in January. But spring training numbers are almost completely meaningless.

[Ven6]

This just in: preseason optimism running high at 88%.