It appeared that the decline of San Diego Padres closer Robert Suarez was inevitable during Spring Training. He was not as dominant in the second half of last season as he was in the first half, and it looked like opposing hitters were finally getting the timing of his typically dominant fastball down.
Suarez made an effort to add and work on secondary pitches in Spring Training. The result was a lackluster spring where he was knocked around by opposing hitters in multiple outings. The mantra of spring was that the team and the players were not concerned with the results, it was about the process.