The Dallas Morning News
Seattle Mariners center fielder Leonys Martin takes off for second to pick up a stolen base as Texas Rangers pitcher Nick Tepesch pitches during a spring training game at Surprise Stadium on Sunday, March 6, 2016, in Surprise, Ariz. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News)
SURPRISE, Ariz. - Early spring training games are unimportant.
Unless they are.
When you get a chance to face four members of a division rival's pitching staff, including a starter who has bedeviled you for the last two seasons and who will likely face you twice in the first 10 games of the season, there's some significance there.