Posts by: Ryan P. Morrison
The Athletics, Rays, Pirates and Red Sox may get the lion’s share of the credit for experimentation at the major league level, but there is no group of teams that offers better lessons for the Diamondbacks than the group closest to home: the NL West. Last week, we looked for some takeaways from the Rockies’ experiences, as they are …
Continue Reading →Among baseball’s divisions, there’s probably no group of teams with a more diverse collection of venues than the NL West. San Diego has long enjoyed a reputation as baseball’s most pitcher-friendly venue; San Francisco manages to coax an unusual number of triples out of hitters while helping out fly ball pitchers and serving as the platform for baseball’s single-season home …
Continue Reading →In the past, Zack Greinke has been hyperaware of the statistics pitchers control most: strikeout, walk, and home run rates, the statistics used to calculate FIP. But focusing on which type of batted ball he was looking for while trying to be a FIP pitcher didn’t turn out so well in 2010 and 2011. By 2016, Greinke’s slider had lost …
Continue Reading →You’re new here if you’re not familiar with Jake Lamb‘s penchant for an unusually high frequency of hard hit balls, the special sauce that completely changes an otherwise unremarkable minor and major league record. This season, Lamb ranks an incredible 4th in the majors per ESPN’s Well Hit Average metric, hitting the ball unusually hard in 24.3% of at …
Continue Reading →Chase Field is a strange place to play baseball. It’s Coors Field that is widely (and rightly) considered to be the most offense-friendly environment in the game; that’s due in large part to the thinness of the air (less drag on a baseball in flight), but also because it’s one of just two parks in a place with humidity significantly …
Continue Reading →Patrick Corbin and Robbie Ray have more in common than pitching left-handed. This season, both have doggedly stuck with a changeup, despite poor results in the past. And while Corbin’s slider had been one of the best in the game and Ray’s had been one of the worst, they’re both using a fourseam fastball, sinker, breaking ball, and changeup, in …
Continue Reading →Happy Memorial Day, folks, and enjoy the weekend. Here at Inside the ‘Zona, we’re getting an early start. The idea was to post some graphics in lieu of a post, and maybe add to that as the mood strikes later today, and over the weekend — I wouldn’t have written any kind of explanation here at all, but I need …
Continue Reading →We’re still waiting to hear that Jean Segura is all right after he was beaned in the 7th inning last night by the Pirates’ Arquimedes Caminero, but Caminero didn’t wait long to pitch high and inside again — in the 8th, he caught Nick Ahmed in the jaw with a pitch that glanced off the top of Ahmed’s …
Continue Reading →Has Robbie Ray been unlucky this season? He sports a weirdly high .343 BABIP this season, and a staggering 27.0% line drive percentage — both numbers that few pitchers maintain over the course of a season. Last year, the highest BABIP for a qualified starter was Gio Gonzalez‘s .341 — and even after getting shelled last night, Gonzalez has …
Continue Reading →When Michael Bourn was signed to a minor league deal a week ago, that had no impact on the 40-man roster — the D-backs do those kinds of signings all the time. To bring him up to the majors on Sunday, though, the team had to add him to the 40-man to add him to the 25-man. Since the 40-man …
Continue Reading →On the radio broadcast last night, Greg Schulte lobbed a topic at Tom Candiotti: is it time to consider moving Goldy down in the batting order? Without skipping a beat, Candiotti responded: “I’d almost think about moving him up in the order,” citing his still-stellar on base percentage. Is that the right answer? If the D-backs move Goldy in …
Continue Reading →A.J. Pollock is one inspiring fellow. He’s helped Chris Owings with center field, even donating an outfielder’s glove to the cause in the early going. When Jake Lamb changed his swing a bit over the winter, he patterned his approach after Pollock, in part. And Nick Ahmed did the same thing, noting the similarities between his body and Pollock’s. An …
Continue Reading →Something weird is going on in MLB this year. Per FanGraphs, the rate of pitches in the zone has gone up sharply, from 44.7% to 47.1%. That may not sound like a lot, but 139,949 pitches have been thrown this year — that’s an extra 3,359 pitches in the zone, and it’s not even one fifth of the way …
Continue Reading →Patience is a virtue, and for much of baseball’s history, a heavy reliance on batting average was probably misplaced; players have wildly different walk rates, and a walk is as good as a hit in terms of 1) putting a player on base, and 2) not recording an out. No one has ever said that walks are as good as …
Continue Reading →Tonight, Lamb is once again out of the lineup against lefty Adam Conley in Miami, marking the 9th time in 30 games that Lamb has ridden the pine to start a game. He’s hitting a Herrmann-esque .188 in a paltry 16 at bats against lefties this year. Brandon Drury, .281 against lefties. Drury has been really good. When Lamb …
Continue Reading →It’s the the third season of team-initiated instant replay in baseball, and it’s becoming old hat. As you’re watching, the announcers remark on how close a particular play was. The manager walks up to the front step of the dugout, looking like he regrets waiting to hold the door open for someone who’s taking way too long to get there. …
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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RT @JCGonzalezOR: Special thanks to @HillsboroHops for hosting a LatinX community outreach and visioning session. This organization i… https://t.co/OxmEgwOpEh, - Old friend alert https://t.co/xwSHU0F8Hn,
- Every once in a while you get a beer that's just a little off... Usually happens to me at airports.,
- If Pollock doesn’t sign with a team that wears red uniforms I’m going to be really disappointed. Working theory: Se… https://t.co/zHn9DqzEiD,
- The work here by @Britt_Ghiroli is splendid https://t.co/c8tSq0vw3T,
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