SB Nation Reacts: A season-opening confidence poll

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

If you were around last year you probably remember the confidence polls that were sent around to fans of every team once a week as the year went on. We’ve rebranded a bit here, but the concept is still roughly the same as we start off the polls this week. We want to know how you feel about the coach staff and front office, the lineup and the pitching. Keep in mind with these results that this poll doesn’t necessarily reflect everything we’ve seen from the team to this point. Consider this more or less a preseason gauge.

Confidence in the Lineup

This is about right. The offense hasn’t quite been where we’d like it to be so far this year, but there aren’t a ton of players about whom I’m worried. And for every Michael Chavis and Andrew Benintendi that are admittedly struggling, there are guys like Kevin Pillar and Mitch Moreland who look good. At the end of the day, this lineup should be fine and I believe in the talent far too much to let any five-game stretch dissuade me.

Confidence in the pitching

Even taking away everything we’ve seen from this point and just going back to the start of the year when we just saw the roster on paper, I’m not sure how 19 percent of people voted for confidence in this group. That 19 percent is the most fascinating group of people in the world right now. I want to meet them.

Confidence in the coaches and front office

I’m really curious to see how this goes throughout the year, and I’m really curious to know how people think about this vote. I say that because if I were to be asked this question right now, I’m not sure how much I’d want to combine the coaching staff and the front office. Roenicke has made some questionable moves in my mind that don’t necessarily reflect the front office. Anyway, I’m less interested in this specific result than the trajectory it takes throughout the year.

Does the World Series count?

I mean, there’s no way it’s not meaningful. There is nothing quite like seeing a team you’ve followed all year — and often much longer than that — celebrating a championship. To act as if it’s not meaningful is lying to yourselves. That said, whether or not it’s as meaningful as others is a fairer question, but one that I think will be determined by context. If it really coems down to who is the healthiest, that’s a knock against it. I think if we see a “normal” matchup that we’d expect we’ll be more willing to accept this year’s champion than if it’s a totally out-of-left-field matchup.

40 homers?

I’m going to be honest, I’m totally baffled by this one. 40 home runs?!?! I know the ball looks even more juiced this year, but 40?! That is the equivalent of 108 in a normal season. I mean, come on.