Posts by: Jeff Wiser
When the Diamondback acquired Jean Segura from the Brewers, I guarantee no one was worried about how adding Segura to the infield mix was going to affect Phil Gosselin‘s playing time. Since coming over from Atlanta in the Touki Toussaint sale, Gosselin has been mostly an afterthought. There’s a reason for this – he’s entering his age-27 season and …
Continue Reading →The Diamondbacks had their first Spring Training game yesterday. Aside from the fact that the game itself is pretty meaningless, it did signal a return to something we all love: baseball competition. The game also included a couple of non-roster invitees, and while we looked at all of those guys a while back, it seems smart to zero in …
Continue Reading →I’ve been room-temperature about Rubby De La Rosa since he arrived in Arizona. Watching him in Los Angeles and Boston a time or two, he was the kind of pitcher that had the raw stuff but didn’t maximize it. At 23 or 24, that was understandable. Now, just a few days before De La Rosa turns 27, it remains a …
Continue Reading →Pitchers and catchers and everyone else have reported to Spring Training. The season is drawing nearer all the time (not hyperbole, this is really happening). Arizona’s roster will start to take shape over the next couple of weeks as games start, someone (or two) gets hurt, etc. The team doesn’t appear to be all that close to putting a roster …
Continue Reading →It would appear that Robbie Ray is some kind of Inside the ‘Zona favorite. In the short time that he’s donned Sedona Red, he’s been covered here at length. Initially it was talking about the trade that brought him to Arizona. Then it was talk of his new breaking ball and how he was getting the job done with …
Continue Reading →Relief pitchers are weird. Wait, that’s unfair. I’m sure most of them are normal in so far as professional athletes are concerned. But analyzing them is weird. There are so many variables to account for that it’s really difficult to do them justice. Which part of the lineup are they facing? What’s the leverage of the situations they’re placed in? …
Continue Reading →Perhaps you missed the big news. One can easily see why. The internet has been full of amazing pictures of catchers squatting, pitchers tossing, position players working out and everyone stretching. So much stretching. But buried in there was a little announcement that Diamondbacks skipper Chip Hale has been extended through the 2017 season. The team held an option for …
Continue Reading →A year ago, I got it. I understood the reasons to slow-play A.J. Pollock. Now I don’t. Or, maybe I do. Let’s see…
Pollock had come up in 2013 and was kind of decent. Make no mistake, he didn’t light the world on fire with his .269/.332/.409 line but it was his first full season in the majors and …
Continue Reading →Baseball is a game of adjustments. We often attribute this adage to hitters but it applies to pitchers, too. Get too reliant on one pitch and hitters will sit on it. Can’t locate your fastball? Batters will take until they see a fat one. Can’t locate your secondaries? Batters will let them pass and sit dead-red on fastballs. Any type …
Continue Reading →While Ryan and I were talking on the latest episode of The Pool Shot, it dawned on me that one of the biggest roster question marks heading into Spring Training was the battle for the 5th starter spot. I’m not the quickest learner, apparently. Considering where we were a year ago as The Grand D-backs Experiment was underway, it’s …
Continue Reading →On Tuesday I previewed arsenal scores, a metric created by Eno Sarris at RotoGraphs. The idea is simple: evaluate each pitcher’s pitches based on swinging strikes (good) and ground balls (also good). Sarris was kind enough to share his data with Inside the ‘Zona I’ve used it already to showcase D-backs starting pitchers. Now it’s time to highlight the …
Continue Reading →Analytics allow you do some really fun things. You can slice and dice numbers to create new ways of evaluating players that, frankly, weren’t possible just five years ago. One such metric, and one that I’m a big fan of, is the arsenal score. Eno Sarris has been rolling these out over at RotoGraphs for a few seasons now (his …
Continue Reading →It’s February now and baseball is coming. It seems like a long time ago that we were stuck in the dead zone of baseball past, back when the only thing to do was talk about prospects. Then there were trades. Players have left the organization at a rate that’s frankly shocking. Even with a win-now mentality, no one wants to …
Continue Reading →Right off the bat, I should say that this post was clearly spurned by the recent trade that sent five players packing bags and heading to either Arizona or Milwaukee. I’ve never been to Milwaukee, but I get the feeling that I’d rather head to Arizona than Wisconsin in general. Besides, they sell cheese and bad beer everywhere these days. …
Continue Reading →Saturday’s news of the trade that sent Aaron Hill, Chase Anderson, Isan Diaz and cash from the D-backs to the Brewers for Jean Segura and Tyler Wagner was shocking without a doubt. The team had tried hard to upgrade second base – the price was too steep for Howie Kendrick (apparently) and Brandon Phillips vetoed a trade (thankfully) …
Continue Reading →@ryanpmorrison
Best part of Peralta’s 108 mph fliner over the fence, IMHO: that he got that much leverage despite scooping it out… https://t.co/ivBrl76adF, 
RT @OutfieldGrass24: If you're bored of watching Patrick Corbin get dudes out, you can check out my latest for @TheAthleticAZ. https://t.co/k1DymgY7zO, - Of course, they may have overtaken the league lead for outs on the bases just now, also...
But in 2017, Arizona ha… https://t.co/38MBrr2D4b,
- Prior to the games today, there had only been 5 steals of 3rd this season (and no CS) in the National League. The… https://t.co/gVVL84vPQ5,
- RT @OutfieldGrass24: Patrick Corbin has a WPA of .318 and it's only the fifth inning.,
Powered by: Web Designers@outfieldgrass24
RT @TheAthleticAZ: He knows the score. @Dbacks manager ready for whatever comes his way. @ZHBuchanan
https://t.co/wr26uWHYeQ, 
RT @RoofNPanelsOpen: Dbacks fifth rounder: https://t.co/a1tYK1FQJw, 
RT @ZHBuchanan: *trying again while not driving*
Torey Lovullo's extension is for two years, according to a source, added on top o… https://t.co/d4e6ESTtDz, - Like the #Dbacks' extension with manager Torey Lovullo. He's a hell of a communicator, and while there's always roo… https://t.co/CVonKNd6Pj,
RT @Dbacks: Signed. Sealed. Delivered.
The #Dbacks have agreed to terms on a contract extension with Manager Torey Lovullo. https://t.co/n6WqNSN62L,
Powered by: Web Designers
