The debate over whether preseason matters is one that runs rampant as each league’s season gets going.  In the NFL, the best players in the league barely even play in the games.  ESPN’s Buster Olney currently has an interesting article up discussing for whom spring training matters this year and for whom is does not.  Olney notes that for the Arizona Diamondbacks, the spring matters a lot.  “Arizona is 5-16 this spring, and in most years, the staff members wouldn’t care,” Olney writes.  ”But the Diamondbacks are coming off a terrible year in which their general manager (Josh Byrnes) and manager (A.J. Hinch) were fired, and manager Kirk Gibson has been drilling the team relentlessly.”

On the other side of the coin, the spring is not a crucial for veteran hurlers, Olney notes.  “Edinson Volquez showed some wildness in his most recent start, but really, this doesn’t matter,” he writes.  ”He’s got time left to refine his command.  Clayton Kershaw got pounded, but Don Mattingly isn’t worried.  Nor should he be.”  Other things Olney discussed include how the spring is a time for some guys simply to get healthy and get their reps, like Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore.  It’s an informative read.

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