Posts by: Jeff Wiser

The Pool Shot, Episode 11: Randy Johnson, the Catching Situation, the NL West, More

On January 10, 2015 By

The boys are back with a fresh episode of The Pool Shot, breaking down several notable pieces of Diamondbacks news. Randy Johnson is the first D-back in the Hall of Fame, Dave Stewart has some quotes discussed and yay Nick Punto! Other topics include a review of how Arizona has invested in players over the last three years plus …

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Randy Johnson was Better Than You Think

On January 7, 2015 By

By now you’ve heard that the greatest pitcher in Diamondbacks history, Randy Johnson, has been elected to the Hall of Fame. The Big Unit received 97.3% approval to join baseball’s Valhalla and, well, that’s about as close as anyone’s going to get to a unanimous selection in today’s world of mixed up HOF voting. It’s no wonder why, he …

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Big Investments Sunk the Diamondbacks

On January 6, 2015 By

In 2011, the Diamondbacks won 94 games and won the NL West by eight games over the Giants. They got a bit lucky in doing so, going 28-16 in one-run games (12 games over .500 when the league average is, you guessed it, .500). Three years later, they finished at the bottom of the NL West pile with a stunningly …

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2014 D-backs Pitchers, Visualized

On December 31, 2014 By

If you stopped by yesterday, you surely noticed a discussion regarding the Diamondbacks’ position players and their struggles to produce positive value. If you missed it, you should catch up, because this post is purely a follow-up on that same premise: visualizing just how mightily the Diamondbacks’ pitchers struggled in 2014. And perhaps this is fitting, with it being …

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2014 D-back Position Players, Visualized

On December 30, 2014 By

The Diamondbacks were bad last year. You know this. We’ve written about this not-so-secret phenomenon a number of times this winter and probably with varying degrees of success. Sometimes the point gets across, sometimes it doesn’t. This is a hard thing to gauge, but occasionally, I can get a feel for the pulse of D-backs fans and their feelings on …

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The Gift of Great D-backs Pitching

On December 24, 2014 By

There’s been a lot of internet ink spilled about Diamondbacks pitching at this website recently. That’s due to a host of issues, the fact that pitching does make up half of a baseball game not withstanding. But while there’s been a lot of stressing over who will take the mound in 2015, this is the season for joy and what …

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Can the D-backs Improve Their New, Young Pitching Assets?

On December 23, 2014 By

The 2014-15 offseason hasn’t disappointed one bit from an entertainment standpoint. There have been some massive trades (thank you A.J. Preller) and major free agent signings (remember when Jon Lester held everyone captive for two days?). Some teams were expected to push for contention this offseason (Cubs) while other clubs have surprised people with their aggressiveness (White Sox and Padres). …

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Will the D-backs Address their Imbalance at the Plate?

On December 17, 2014 By

The Diamondbacks have a balance problem and balance is important, at least to a degree. We hear time and again that teams seek to keep a mixture of right and left-handed bats in the lineup because, as we know, platoon splits are very real and very common. Righties usually hit lefties well and lefties, righties. This is not startling news …

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The D-backs’ Rotation has a Long Way to Go

On December 16, 2014 By

The Diamondbacks made a bevy of moves last week. In fact, it’s been a pretty exciting offseason thus far, and given where things stand right now, I’d suggest that they’re far from done making moves. As a fan, this is mighty exciting as the status quo was surely destined for failure. Just getting healthy was bound to improve the team, …

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Montero is First D-backs Financial Casualty of Winter

On December 9, 2014 By

In the 2015 Inside the ‘Zona Offseason Plan, Ryan and I took considerable care trying to figure out how the Diamondbacks could become more flexible. The key, in our mind, was shedding salary, and on Tuesday, the D-backs did just that by dumping Miguel Montero’s financial burden on the Chicago Cubs in exchange for a couple of non-noteworthy prospects. It’s …

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Robbie Ray and Domingo Leyba Are: Interesting?

On December 9, 2014 By

By now you’ve heard all about the Diamondbacks trading Didi Gregorius. There were some silly “Jeter replacement” comments made, and maybe we have our old friend Kevin Towers to thank for that, but the important part here is that the D-backs have cleared a spot in the crowded middle infield and added two worthwhile prospects. Neither Robbie Ray or …

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D-backs Could Gamble on Non-Tendered Pitching Targets

On December 4, 2014 By

The Diamondbacks tendered contracts to all of their arbitration eligible players on Tuesday. It was hardly a surprise to see David Hernandez, Cliff Pennington, Mark Trumbo, Daniel Hudson, Jeremy Hellickson, Wade Miley and Addison Reed offered contracts. But while the D-backs offered deals to all of their arbitration eligible players, not every team followed suit. …

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Could the D-backs Have Acquired Josh Donaldson?

On December 2, 2014 By

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, the Diamondbacks recently signed Cuban slugger Yasmany Tomas. That was big news. Then the Athletics traded All-Star third baseman Josh Donaldson to the Blue Jays. That was arguably bigger news, and surely more surprising news. Early in the offseason, the A’s had stated that Donaldson wouldn’t be moved; and then he got moved. The …

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Ten Things We’re Thankful For: 2014

On November 27, 2014 By

At Inside the ‘Zona, we routinely write about ways to improve the Arizona Diamondbacks. To improve the team means that we’re forced to find areas of weakness. That can lead to us sounding routinely critical of our favorite baseball team, but that’s surely not the intent. As 5th Century Greek tragedian Euripides wrote, “question everything, learn something, answer nothing.” In …

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Trading Trumbo Should, Won’t Happen

On November 25, 2014 By

Last week we introduced the Inside the ‘Zona 2014-2015 Offseason Plan. If you haven’t read the post, I strongly recommend it. There are number of key moves that we laid out for the Diamondbacks to set themselves up for the future, when they’re most likely to get back to contention. Among them were several impactful trades, including moving Aaron …

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Altered Offerings: Notable D-backs Pitch Changes in 2014

On November 19, 2014 By

Baseball seems so simple if you’re not looking closely, but I’d beg to differ. Every baseball play starts with the pitcher, and pitchers are always seeking to improve their odds of defeating the batter in the box. Their weapons to do so are contained in an arsenal of pitches that they have at their disposal. But here’s the thing: for …

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