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How Big is the Souza/Martinez Gap with a Humidor Installed?

On February 28, 2018 By

The dust has finally settled in the Diamondbacks’ outfield. J.D. Martinez is now officially in Boston. Steven Souza will presumably play in right and David Peralta will man left. A.J. Pollock will patrol his usual center field. Jarrod Dyson will spell all three D-backs outfield regulars, and maybe Chris Owings will get a few starts out there (which, in full …

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Is This What Success Feels Like?

On September 27, 2017 By

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 …

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With Playoffs Looming, Ray and Kershaw Won’t Disappoint

On September 7, 2017 By

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 …

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The Fickle Nature of Bullpens

On August 25, 2017 By

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 …

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Lineout: J.D. Martinez Is Making Them Count

On August 18, 2017 By

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 …

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There’s No Place Like Home For the D-backs

On August 15, 2017 By

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 …

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Lineout: an Early Look at Anthony Banda

On August 7, 2017 By

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 — …

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About the Whole Chris Herrmann Thing…

On July 25, 2017 By

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 …

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Just Another Advantage: D-backs Avoiding Double Plays

On July 5, 2017 By

Baseball is full of little nuances. The Diamondbacks are succeeding on the field this year for some very obvious reasons, but there are some very small reasons for their success, too. It’s easy to point to All Star performances from Paul Goldschmidt, Zack Greinke, Robbie Ray and Jake Lamb (YAY!!!), but it’s easy to miss some of the …

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Randall Delgado Putting More Pressure on Hitters

On June 26, 2017 By

It seems like only yesterday that the Diamondbacks seemed to lack quality starting pitchers. Now, they seem to have too many. Zack Greinke and Robbie Ray are one of the best tandems in baseball right now. Taijuan Walker is back and pitching effectively. Even Patrick Corbin has turned in three good starts in a row. Losing Shelby Miller hurt, but …

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Hard Hit, So What? Robbie Ray Doesn’t Care

On June 2, 2017 By

Robbie Ray. There’s so much we’ve said about the guy. He’s been tantalizing. He’s been frustrating. He’s been monstrous. He’s been dismal. For everything you had nice to say about him entering the season, there was a big caveat attached. “He’s got big velocity, but struggles to put guys away.” “That breaking ball looked good, but did you see …

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How Much Longer Can the D-backs Stick by Patrick Corbin?

On May 30, 2017 By

The Diamondbacks came from behind yesterday on a well-timed homer from Chris Iannetta, only to end up dropping their third game in a row. As Torry Lovullo said postgame, basically, baseball giveth and baseball taketh away. Perhaps another manager, Ron Washington, encapsulated it best, saying, “That’s the way baseball go.” You can pick your own favorite euphemism, …

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Pollock’s DL Stint Costs D-backs Little, For Now

On May 19, 2017 By

Entering the 2017 season, the Diamondbacks had a very narrow path to contention. True, the team is in the thick of the Contention Window, something we identified a couple of years back. Dave Stewart and Company tried to accelerate that timeline, of course, but 2017 was always the season where it looked like things might align. And align things have. …

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D-backs Pitchers Keeping Home Runs In-Check

On May 8, 2017 By

Home runs are all the rage across baseball. Since mid-2015, the ball has been flying out of every ballpark at historic levels. It’s not just sluggers putting the ball over the fence these days — even the little guys are doing it. Chris Owings is half way to double digits already and is one away from tying his career high …

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Hot Bats and Predicting the Future

On May 3, 2017 By

In case you’ve missed it, the Diamondbacks are scoring a lot of runs. Entering Tuesday’s game in Washington D.C., they were third in baseball in runs scored with 141, third in batting average at .269, 10th in isolated slugging at .169, and eighth in home runs with 31. Put all of that together and you get a pretty powerful offensive …

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Yasmany Tomas is an Arizona Wrecking Ball

On April 25, 2017 By

This Diamondbacks team entered the season full of unknowns. There were far more questions than answers and while you could surely squint and see a path to success for the squad, it was a narrow path. It would require solid pitching from both the rotation and the bullpen, and some steady production from some flawed position players. The team could …

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