Posts by: Ryan P. Morrison

Roundup: Trumbo Hurt; A Ross/Chavez Platoon?

On April 28, 2014 By

For a time last week, one forgot the horrible start to the season. For a time, the D-backs looked like last year’s squad, capable of a comeback or walkoff at any time. But in dropping yesterday’s contest despite an excellent start by Brandon McCarthy, the team actually went 3 for 7 in the last week. The Cubs series may …

Continue Reading →

Miguel Montero an Excellent Pitch Framer, New Statistics Show

On April 25, 2014 By

Despite two decent starts at the end of the Cubs series, the D-backs rotation is still struggling: last in ERA (5.39) and 26th in FIP (4.27). But don’t lay the blame at the feet of Miguel Montero: new statistics show that he’s been much better than the average catcher at getting pitches called as strikes. A study published by …

Continue Reading →

Why a Starter-by-Committee Approach May Work for the D-backs

On April 22, 2014 By

If we weren’t already doing it this way, is this the way we would start? Before taking over as General Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Paul DePodesta explained in a presentation (which, sadly, was taken down once he became GM) that like with many other endeavors, continually asking that question could help a team win. DePo credited “management efficiency” …

Continue Reading →

Roundup: Why It’s Time to Call Up Archie Bradley

On April 21, 2014 By

The D-backs floated back up to 28th in ESPN’s Power Rankings this week, but as noted there, the team is still in free fall. The team scratched out a win against the Dodgers on Friday in what was a great game to watch, but still lost that series after getting swept by the Mets. Something about the sweep by New …

Continue Reading →

Evaluating Kirk Gibson with Sabermetrics

On April 18, 2014 By

Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat: no one, and I mean no one, thinks a manager can be evaluated solely with sabermetrics. The game is played on the field, and while General Managers can at least be evaluated primarily on their transactions, there is a ton to the manager’s job that defies statistics and always will.…

Continue Reading →

Lefties Galore in the D-backs Bullpen: Is Current Usage Optimal?

On April 16, 2014 By

It’s been a while since I argued that Will Harris should be treated as the second lefty in the bullpen, someone who could pitch a whole inning with multiple left-handed batters due up while Joe Thatcher could be saved for matchups. When the team broke camp with an unusual thirteen-man pitching staff, the team had not one, but three …

Continue Reading →

Roundup: Collmenter Switch; Delgado Playing Up in Pen; Randy Wolf Signed

On April 14, 2014 By

After some investigation, I believe the D-backs are now the first team to have been in sole possession of worst record in the majors for a season’s first ten games. It’s not altogether unusual for a team to be in sole possession of worst after one game — frequently, one game is played on Sunday before other teams play on …

Continue Reading →

The Collmenter Conundrum: Underutilized as Reliever, Overutilized as Full Starter

On April 11, 2014 By

On Wednesday, Josh Collmenter had his longest outing of the season to date: four full innings, four strikeouts, and just three hits and one walk. Good, right? But that doesn’t mean he should be moved to the starting rotation, at least not as a normal starter. We’ve learned some lessons from Collmenter’s 35 career starts that stand for that proposition.…

Continue Reading →

Roundup: Anatomy of Mark Trumbo’s Home Runs

On April 7, 2014 By

Every baseball fan’s guide to the galaxy: don’t panic based on one week’s worth of games. Despite being in the wake of two losses Down Under, the 2-5 week has no greater an impact on the season in early April than it would in the middle of June. That said, where the D-backs now sit is the opposite of the …

Continue Reading →

Handicapping the NL West Race: Beware the Giants

On April 4, 2014 By

We get it: the Dodgers are pretty good, and probably good enough to withstand key injuries. But take a look at projected standings from FanGraphs or the Experts Panel from ESPN, and the D-backs’ chances of beating the other three NL West teams may not be so rosy.

Here are the projected standings from FanGraphs, which use a combination of …

Continue Reading →

Gerardo Parra Breaking the Mold in Right Field

On April 3, 2014 By

Gerardo Parra is doing something we haven’t quite seen before: play elite right field while trailing league-average offense for that position. That’s a big reason why it took Parra until his fifth full season to finally cross the 500 PA threshold. But when he did, with 663 PA in 2013, the results were devastating: 4.5 Wins Above Replacement, good for …

Continue Reading →

Roundup: Some Bold Predictions for the 2014 D-backs

On March 31, 2014 By

It’s finally here: opening day for the D-backs in Arizona. Remember: just 80 regular season games at Chase this season, so each one is all the more precious! I normally include some small analysis tidbits in this roundup space that don’t warrant their own posts, but today, I offer a bit of a departure: some of my own predictions for …

Continue Reading →

Breaking Down the D-backs Schedule: Strike Early

On March 28, 2014 By

Gone is the offseason, and gone is last weekend’s series in Australia. In their first game back on Wednesday, the D-backs lit up the Cubs like a pinball machine with a ridiculous 20 hits. Yesterday, the team didn’t look so hot, but we’ll let that slide. It’s time for a couple of tune ups at Chase, a day off, and …

Continue Reading →

Roundup: Cricket Grounded; New Gerardo Parra Stance Getting Results

On March 24, 2014 By

Yes, I’ll say it: the Diamondbacks have the worst record in the majors now, at 0-2. The D-backs looked overmatched for most of the two-game Dodgers series in Australia (not so hot against Team Australia, either), but cruise back into Arizona to finish up spring training with only a -4 run differential. Losing by just two runs in each, the …

Continue Reading →

How the D-backs Should Manage the Dodgers Series

On March 21, 2014 By

Getting through a 162-game season means not “going for it” in each game — you need those guys to play the next day. All bets are off in wild card games or postseason clinchers. But some bets are off in a random two-game series, too. I still have visions of Bradley benders dancing through my head, but the D-backs/Dodgers two-game …

Continue Reading →

Baseball in Australia: Here to Stay

On March 20, 2014 By

After two years with the Australian Baseball Federation (now “Baseball Australia”), Ben Foster left his position there in June 2009 to take a position as the Australian Baseball League’s first employee. “It was just me in an office, and no one sitting around me,” said Foster, who is the ABL’s General Manager. Less than five years after he began with …

Continue Reading →