I did not mean yesterday's game was important stats wise as some of you assumed, but being an ex athlete, as I know a lot of you are, think about it. Pre-season games always let you know what you need to work on. So it is important in that sence. It also can make or break a person's confidence. Just the past few days Jerry Manuel said he was not to sure if Daubach will be on the roster, but that a lot of things would have to go wrong to not be on it. I think him going 5-5 these past days probably dismissed any doubts Jerry or Daubach had in his playing ability. Now tomorrow, Munoz is pitching. He is a young player wwith a nasty curveball. But that nasty curveball means nothing if he cannot gain the confidence to use it in a live situation. Need proof of this confidence. Who remember Ankiel. NAsty Breaker and 90+ mph fastball. The next Nolan. Blew it in the playoff, then spring traing comes he even blew it even more. Started to question himself if he belong at that level. So it is important to let a team know who needs work in what area & if they should go down a class to work on it. To sum up, no, spring training will not make or break a season, but it can change the picture of what your starting day roster may or may not look like. Oh Yah, THE CUBS STILL SUCK

I agree there is importance in spring training for the reasons you said.

 

It typically takes a while for the players to get ready and the first few starts for pitchers are pretty hard cause there timing and everything can be off, plus they may be working on other things and its why they give up quite a few runs.