The Swihart trade: good, bad or indifferent?

Welcome to SB Nation FanPulse, a survey of fans across MLB. Each week, we send 30 polls to plugged in fans from each team. Diamondbacks fans, sign up HERE to join FanPulse.

What do you think of the Blake Swihart trade?

• Very Good 6%
• Good 57%
• Bad 34%
• Very Bad 3%

That’s approaching a 2-1 ratio in favor of the positive opinion overall, with 63% of respondents rating is good or very good, compared to 37% who said it was bad or very bad. I am a bit in the middle here - though we deliberately did leave off the usual “meh...” option, to force people to get off the damn fence! It’s a player who has been unimpressive at the major-league level and doesn’t seem particularly to fill a position of need. On the other hand, more positional flexibility is always a nice thing to have, and he’s also young enough that control isn’t an issue. How I’ll feel will, as we’ve discussed, probably depend on whether Marcus WIlson, the prospect we sent to Boston, cuts down his K-rate or not.

But now, you get to explain your selection in the comments...

Are you confident in the direction of the team? 74% YES

Do you approve of the job Torey Lovullo is doing as manager? 94% YES

Both of these figures tick up slightly from last week, when direction was at 65% and manager approval at 91%. This road-trip has certainly been a tonic, with the team sweeping it Atlanta and (at the time of writing) having the chance to do the same over a four-game series in Pittsburgh. I think it’s the offense which has been the biggest shock to me: I thought the D-backs could well struggle to score runs but new kids on the block, Christian Walker and Adam Jones (ok, neither are exactly new) have done a great job of picking up the slack left behind by the departures of Paul Goldschmidt and A.J. Pollock. Of course, we’ve seen great opening months kinda recently... But, still: so far, so good I’d say.

National question: Is it ever okay for a pitcher to bean a batter? 60% NO

There was some confusion over the terminology here, for which the overlords take full responsibility. I think of “bean” as hitting in the head - but the intent in this question is for more general plunking, not specifically above the shoulders. To me, it does make a significant difference, as I’d never condone throwing at ANY player’s head. For a more general hitting, I would go with yes - but only in special circumstances. Admiring a home-run isn’t it. But recall when the Pirates were perpetually leading the league in hit batters, breaking the likes of Paul Goldschmidt. and MLB did nothing to curb that? I’m perfectly fine with reminding them that they can be hit, too.