Arizona Diamondbacks December confidence poll

November results

The surprise signing of Eduardo Escobar to a contract extension appears to have provided a boost to fan confidence. Perhaps because it signaled that the much-feared total rebuild was not on the way this winter? Or maybe seeing the Dodgers choke in the post-season once more, brought a warming glow to the hearts of Diamondbacks’ fans? Of course, there still remains a great deal of uncertainty, not least around the future of club superstars, Zack Greinke and Paul Goldschmidt. And that’s reflected in a wide spread of opinions this month, with almost as many people voting “9” as voted “2”.

• 11% - 1 (not confident in the slightest)
• 7% - 2
• 18% - 3
• 16% - 4
• 22% - 5
• 12% - 6
• 6% - 7
• 2% - 8
• 6% - 9 (very, very, VERY confident)

The lower third of the spectrum all dropped by 3-4%, with the rest of the categories each seeing small increases as a result. Still a very broad range of opinions, with no single score reaching even a quarter of the votes, for the third consecutive month.

Below, you can see the breakdown of voting for the past year. Time progresses from the top down, beginning with the November 2017 poll.

The overall result was the first increase in D-backs fan confidence since the beginning of August. We’ve had several sharp declines since, but this month saw a mild recovery, though we’ll need to wait and see if it is just, in the colorful language of stockbrokerage, a “dead cat bounce.” The average score improved by half a point to 4.38, though this is still the lowest we’ve seen at this point of the winter, It currently sits below the previous low of 4.63, set two seasons ago, as Mike Hazen was about to embark on his first off-season in charge. Here’s the chart with all the poll averages.

December poll

This will be an interesting one. Rumors about Greinke and Goldschmidt have certainly not been in short supply already. But is this just Hazen kicking the tires to see what the market is worth, or are they being actively shopped? With the winter meetings coming up the week after next, the hot-stove is likely to warm up, and there are no shortages of needs for the D-backs. Starting pitching appears the most obvious, but there could be gaps at catcher, the outfield or in the bullpen also addressed.

How are you feeling about what the winter meetings might bring? Please explain yourself in the comments, as ever.