Posts by: Jeff Wiser

One Final 2015 D-backs Projection

On March 5, 2015 By

The season kinda already started and that’s good. I mean, the Diamondbacks have beaten a good college team and the Rockies. There’s a joke in there somewhere, I’m just not interested enough in finding it. The team is 2-0, or 1-0, but really they’re 0-0 because Spring Training absolutely doesn’t matter from a wins and losses standpoint. And has …

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An Alternative Answer to Trevor Cahill

On March 3, 2015 By

The saying that “there’s more than one way to skin a cat” always struck me as being spoken in poor taste. First, I’d argue that cats don’t project to taste well (low fat content, gamey, etc.) and, second, that the visual is distracting to whatever analogy the speaker is trying to make. No matter the argument, as soon as you …

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D-backs Will Shift More in 2015

On February 26, 2015 By

We’re big proponents of the shift around here. You might have picked that up. Both Ryan and I have discussed shifting and how it pertains to the game at various times. At Beyond the Box Score, I discussed which players in baseball are most and least shiftable and Ryan even went so far as to suggest that teams use a …

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New TV Deal Means Flexibility for D-backs, Eventually

On February 24, 2015 By

News broke late last week that the Diamondbacks had (finally) agreed to terms with FOX Sports Arizona on a new television contract that will drastically change the financial complexion of the organization. This wasn’t unforeseen, obviously. The current contract was set to expire at season’s end and for over a year there had been speculation coming out of Phoenix about …

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An Observation on the Risk of Power

On February 19, 2015 By

On Tuesday I took a stab at discussing Ender Inciarte within the context of his defensive value. Because his defensive value makes up the bulk of his overall value as a player (since he doesn’t hit a lot), he needs to maintain a high defensive level in order to continue to be a truly valuable asset. That, of course, places …

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On Defensive Value and Ender Inciarte

On February 17, 2015 By

Over the last decade or so, defense has become an increasingly important aspect of baseball. When the Steroid Era slipped away and the old, plodding sluggers capable of hitting 40+ home runs per season all but evaporated from the game, they were often replaced by younger, faster players who could at least help prevent runs even if they weren’t capable …

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What Slowed Aaron Hill in 2014?

On February 12, 2015 By

There’s no denying that Aaron Hill is an important piece to the Diamondbacks’ 2015 success. Sure, you could say that to some degree about every player who’ll spend time on the 25-man roster during any season, but Hill is paid to hit and after consecutive season of doing just that, he fell off in a big way in 2014. Like …

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An Exceedingly Early D-backs 2015 MLB Draft Preview

On February 10, 2015 By

With no real major league baseball news to speak of, at least none that pertains heavily to the Diamondbacks, I’ve turned to minor league and amateur baseball in the last week or so. We developed a cumulative top prospect list, then dived straight into 2015 MLB Draft strategies for the D-backs. With all due respect, Gerald Laird on …

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D-backs’ 2015 Draft Selection Depends on Strategy

On February 5, 2015 By

It’s barely February, but when you hold the number one overall draft pick in the upcoming Rule 4 Draft, it seems like the draft itself is always looming. Truth be told, there is surely additional pressure felt when a team is in that position. The Diamondbacks, of course, are that team in 2015 having lost their way to winning the …

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The Last Word on the Top 10 D-backs Prospects

On February 3, 2015 By

As we recently discussed on the latest edition of The Pool Shot, it’s prospect season right now. Some prospects will be making their first Spring Training appearances in about a month, hoping this is the year that they make the 25-man roster right out of the gate. Those opportunities are rare, and for the Diamondbacks, there’s very little chance …

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A Grand D-backs Experiment, Pt. II

On January 29, 2015 By

As we explored on Tuesday, the Diamondbacks are about to embark upon a season in which there are a ton of questions and very few answers. Quite honestly, I’m not very comfortable doing this kind of brainstorming since we tend to focus on fact-based, analytical outcomes here and not speculation. But in this instance, there are simply so many variables …

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A Grand D-backs Experiment, Pt. I

On January 27, 2015 By

The Diamondbacks, like most other professional baseballers, are about to head back to work in earnest. Just about everyone’s got a countdown going to when pitchers and catchers report since we’re all eager to see what the 2015 story of baseball has in store for us. Foreshadowing: it’ll be great. No, really, I think Arizona Diamondback fans have a lot …

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Projection Peek: D-backs Pitchers in 2015

On January 22, 2015 By

It’s projection season and as you may have noticed, we’ve already acknowledged the projections for the Diamondbacks’ position players. Now it’s the pitchers’ turn, but one common thread remains: the outlook is mostly bleak. That’s not news but rather a confirmation of what we already knew. 2015 is going to be a bit of a rebuilding year on the …

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Projection Peek: D-backs Position Players in 2015

On January 20, 2015 By

I’m angry with Max Scherzer. On the day that I’ve been anticipating, the day Dan Szymborski and Carson Cistulli unveiled the 2015 ZiPS projections for the Arizona Diamondbacks, the former D-back Scherzer decided to steal the show and sign some little contract with the Nationals (so much for the headlines). I know that fans sometimes have issues with projection …

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Yoan Lopez: Talent at a Premium

On January 14, 2015 By

Tuesday started off with a bang for the Diamondbacks. In a rare occurrence, the team actually dominated the headlines and just about everyone’s twitter feed. Dave Stewart made some comments about analytics that were probably taken a bit too far but garnered plenty of attention. He also announced that the team wasn’t going to be trading for a catcher, electing …

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Yasmany Tomas and the D-backs Puzzle

On January 13, 2015 By

The 2015 baseball season starts relatively soon. I mean, not soon enough if you ask me, but sooner than, say, it started a month ago, so that’s good. I’m starting to go through withdrawals and football can only stem the tide so much. And no team has as much of a reason to be excited about a fresh start as …

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