With exhibition play starting up in Florida and Arizona, our senses are alert for the familiar sounds and sights of our favorite game. The games themselves don't count for anything, of course, and for the most part, they will hold little information about what will actually happen over the course of the 2017 major league season. Yet there are dramas. Little ones, but dramas nonetheless.
When it comes to positional battles, we generally think they will be decided by a simple judgment of which player is better. There are other considerations: Is the team focused on the near term, or the long term?