Progress.

Does the new manager’s tone-setting “Why not us?” message at his first team meeting, talking about the taste of blood from getting punched in 2014’s mouth, slamming the door, and moving forward, promise a few extra in the W column this year?

Will Jeff Banister’s belief in shorter, more efficient spring training workouts, getting focused work in, eliminating the mundane, and getting the players off their feet and back into the clubhouse to team-build, help Matt Harrison and Martin Perez get back on the mound sooner?

Does the fact (OK, the likelihood) that Joey Gallo will be wearing some really cool, weathered combination of Scorched Red, Slate Blue, Texas Navy, and Cream on April 9, in front of a hi-def video board five times larger than its predecessor, mean Gallo’s incubation in Frisco will be even shorter and his debut in Arlington will come sooner? Same answer if you throw in a State Fair-inspired area down the third base line at Dr Pepper Ballpark that will include a revolving series of local food trucks?

Does Michael Young’s presence in Surprise boost the odds on that re-breakout year from Elvis Andrus?

When Young’s day in camp lasts five and a half hours longer than his former teammates’ day and just might have involved some time around Ryan Cordell, the possible significance of which I’ll write about another time, are you feeling better about baseball?

Do the players’ #Nevereverquit T-shirts mean Prince Fielder will refind that backspin that no defensive overshift can do anything about?

Which moved the Bovada needle more: Baseball Prospectus’s evaluation that Chi Chi Gonzalez’s “realistic ceiling” is “James Shields with slightly fewer innings” and his “realistic floor” is “[t]he good version of Mike Leake,” or the impression Juan Carlos Oviedo made on Rangers coaches before the full squad had reported?

Does the apparent fact that one of Gallo’s backfield BP bombs reaching the parking lot across North Bullard led Bobby Jones to use the word “freakin’” for the first and last time in his storied baseball life mean 2015 is going to be very different?

When Adrian Beltre agrees essentially to flip his 2015 and 2016 salaries, giving Texas an added $2 million of payroll relief this season, does it increase the chances of 162+ by making it more feasible to add a veteran lefthander to the bullpen now or to work with more ammunition in July?

Is Banister’s lengthy talk with Nick Williams something his predecessor would have fit in, and if not are you feeling better about April 6-9 in Oakland?

The answers to each of the above are probably somewhere between “not necessarily,” “uh, no,” and “how do I unsubscribe?” But I’ve spent the last few minutes watching the national news roll out stories on llamas, the color of some dress, and Vanilla Ice, and I’m probably a little disoriented as a result. I need baseball.

I know this: Every single thing above is awesome. Even Bobby Jones cleaning up his vocabulary.

I also know this: Sometimes progress can be measured in wins. Sometimes in days spent on the field rather than DL. Sometimes in better uniforms and LED boards.

And sometimes progress is nothing more than inching one day closer to ball.