Posts by: Jeff Wiser
By now you’ve probably heard. The Diamondbacks were swept by the Dodgers on Monday night, ending their bid for the NLCS and beyond. The bats were quiet, the Dodgers didn’t chase pitches out of the zone — again — and while Zack Greinke wasn’t necessarily awful, he wasn’t exactly good either in a time when he, frankly, needed to be …
Continue Reading →Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think I’ve fully come to terms with the success the Diamondbacks have experienced this season. The team was projected to win 77 games entering the season, and after what we witnessed last year, you can understand why. There were very few changes to the squad in the offseason. It was mostly the same …
Continue Reading →The bullpen has been a hot topic here at Inside the ‘Zona this season. It’s an intriguing crop, headlined by a breakout performance from Archie Bradley and The Fernando Rodney Experience. The group has been really good at times and somewhat horrendous at others. That’s part of the fickle nature of bullpens, sure, but the real issue has been …
Continue Reading →There may be no hotter free agent this winter than J.D. Martinez. It’s easy to see why. He’s hit about ten million home runs since joining the Diamondbacks and has helped anchor a lineup that’s been a bit up and down over the last few weeks. With his deal expiring in the near future, fans are clamoring for Arizona …
Continue Reading →There’s never been a more exciting time to be a Diamondbacks fan in recent memory. The win streak stands at 13. The team never trailed for nearly 100 straight innings, and once they fell behind, they quickly tied the game, then beat the Dodgers for the 10th time this season. They’ve cut the gap between them and Los Angeles in …
Continue Reading →It’s that time of year again, one that’s perhaps better than any other. Every fall, many of the best prospects in baseball descend upon the Valley of the Sun, the place where half of their seasons started. For the viewer, it’s a tremendous opportunity to see some of baseball’s best prospects up close and personal, hearing the grunt of the …
Continue Reading →Things have tightened up a bit lately. Much has been made of the Diamondbacks’ shrinking wild card lead as the Brewers sit just 3.5 games out, the Cardinals are 5 games back and the Marlins just a half game further behind. It’s hard to imagine the Brewers willing their way to the postseason — they’ll likely need some help. The …
Continue Reading →When the Diamondbacks traded for J.D. Martinez, they attempted to shore up a few issues. First and foremost, he provided depth to a depleted outfield. Yasmany Tomas has suffered yet another setback in his attempt to get back to action and it’s looking more and more like he won’t return this season. Gregor Blanco is a league average hitter …
Continue Reading →The Diamondbacks found themselves thin in the middle infield a few weeks back. So thin, in fact, that they turned to Adam Rosales to save the day. If that’s not a sign of trouble, I don’t know what is. True, Rosales can hit some left-handed pitching, something that’s given the club trouble this season. But it’s not Rosales holding down …
Continue Reading →Impressions of Chase Field vary depending on who you talk to. It’s a relatively new stadium, and with that newness comes a lack of charm. It will never be Wrigley Field or Fenway. Maybe it doesn’t sparkle like PNC Park and PetCo Park do. It’s been described by some as “an empty airplane hangar.” When the temps aren’t skin-melting, the …
Continue Reading →Left-hander Anthony Banda entered this season as the Diamondbacks’ top prospect. The “top prospect” tag came with a bit of a caveat given that the D-backs’ minor league system overall was extremely thin entering 2017. Most systems boasted at least one, if not several, prospects that are capable of being big league building blocks. You know the types — …
Continue Reading →When the season began, the Diamondbacks had an 8.2% chance of making the playoffs. After one month of play, that number was up to 36.5%. Come the first of June, they were expected to make the playoffs with a 67.6% chance of seeing the postseason, and entering today’s game that number has climbed all the way to 87.1%. That number …
Continue Reading →The Diamondbacks entered the 2017 with perhaps the worst projected bullpen in the majors. There were question marks all over the place. Could Fernando Rodney still close? Did non-roster invitees Jorge De La Rosa, J.J. Hoover and/or Tom Wilhelmsen have anything left in the tank? How would Archie Bradley take to a new roll in relief? The outlook was …
Continue Reading →When I began my professional career, I started it as a high school teacher and sports coach in the Seattle metro area. I had a frequent saying that was far from original, but fit the bill nonetheless: better late than never. Students were often late to arrive to class, but I was just happy when they showed up. They’d …
Continue Reading →Tuesday afternoon, the Diamondbacks made the move they needed to make. Just last week I laid out the case for trading for the Tigers’ J.D. Martinez. The team had a major need (help hitting left-handed pitching) and there weren’t many options on the trade block that could help shore up their weakness. The team could still use bullpen help …
Continue Reading →If you would have told fans the Diamondbacks could be .500 at the All Star break, most would have gladly taken it. Five over? Even better. Ten over? Now you’ve got to kidding, right? In reality, the team just got swept in Los Angeles and is still SEVENTEEN games over .500. It seems unreal. You know the reasons why …
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.,
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- This Suns matchup comes at a good time for my hometown Blazers #RipCity https://t.co/fQ45wdfQUk,
RT @ZHBuchanan: Our @Ken_Rosenthal spoke to Ken Kendrick about trading Paul Goldschmidt.
https://t.co/O5fHRlyBxD, 
RT @CardsNation247: We have a good show lined up for tonight. Leading off is our friend of the show @buffa82 followed by Jeff Wiser… https://t.co/eltZC0uvyg, 
RT @juanctoribio: To piggyback off the @ZHBuchanan and @OutfieldGrass24 that the #Rays were involved in the Paul Goldschmidt sweepsta… https://t.co/spg9x7X1L5, 
RT @OJCarrascoTwo: Read this from the world famous, @OutfieldGrass24 https://t.co/cHUie1I5Le,
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