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In 161 plate appearances since returning from the DL, Mark Trumbo has just one home run. We checked in with the stats and injury analytics expert Stuart Wallace in search of an explanation.
It’s not that Trumbo has been terrible at the plate since his return — his .254 average is actually better than his .248 career mark. It’s that …
Continue Reading →Over the weekend, we got a little taste of what Tony La Russa has observed over the last three months. In his new role, his first task has been to observe the organization. He’s been tight-lipped and said all of the right things so far, but this weekend he shard a couple of thoughts in an interview with the St. …
Continue Reading →The D-backs have recently stated that they’re after an outfielder and starting pitching this winter (that sounds familiar). But if no outfielder is brought into the fold and injuries aren’t a problem, the D-backs would enter spring training with a five-man outfield of players they’ve already used this season. A.J. Pollock would lead the pack, almost certainly starting every day …
Continue Reading →With just 126.1 innings under his belt this season, one wouldn’t necessarily think that the D-backs have started to count Chase Anderson‘s innings. But with just 88 innings last year and a career innings high of 104, Anderson could be shut down after just 2 or 3 more starts. Unless, of course, he only gets through six outs like …
Continue Reading →Things didn’t go so well at the outset of the season, and with playoff chances somehow disappearing in the middle of April before their eyes, the D-backs quickly replaced the struggling Trevor Cahill and Randall Delgado in the rotation. On came the parade of replacements, with the club clearly hoping that something would stick. When Mike Bolsinger had seemingly proven …
Continue Reading →We’ve used a lot of different ways to evaluate relief pitching on this site: We’ve tried to define “clutch” in terms of LOB%; We’ve looked at bullpens and one-run games; And we’ve also introduced the idea of using WPA/LI, to list a few. Our very own Ryan Morrison did excellent work at Beyond the Box Score to explain …
Continue Reading →As the trade deadline draws near, we’ve already seen two closers traded, and that may not be the last of them. Bullpen help is always in high demand come this time of year as contenders are intent on making sure that they can hold on to whatever precious leads they may be able to generate. After all, nothing stings like …
Continue Reading →We all know the story from last year: after the Derek Jeter comparison, Didi Gregorius took the National League by storm, only to see his batting average drop each consecutive month for the rest of the season. But lost with his .182 batting average in September was this: he was actually an above-average hitter. It was just 40 plate appearances …
Continue Reading →There’s always more than one way to accomplish a goal. Most often, we hear people asking if the Diamondbacks can get back to contention. The short answer is yes, but the real question isn’t if they can become contenders again, it’s how do they get there. As we all know, there are multiple routes to NL West competitiveness. We’ve weighed …
Continue Reading →It’s not that often that relievers like Brad Ziegler come along. Many teams have lefty relievers with low arm slots whose mission is to get lefty hitters out — but few have righty matchup guys, and fewer still have righty matchup guys who can generate ground balls at a rate even approaching Ziegler’s. This is, in large part, why we …
Continue Reading →You’ve probably already noticed this, but I’ll just throw it out there: the Diamondbacks aren’t hitting the ball hard. Sure, Paul Goldschmidt and some of his friends get into one from time to time, but comparatively across the league, Arizona is struggling to make hard, meaningful contact at the plate. Losing A.J. Pollock and Mark Trumbo doesn’t help the cause …
Continue Reading →The Diamondbacks have only played 16 major league seasons since being added in MLB’s most recent expansion efforts back in 1998 (along with the (Devil) Rays). In that short time, however, the team has seen some extremely notable performances, accumulating 35 All-Star Game bids. The organization hasn’t been without it’s stars: Randy, Schill, Gonzo, Webb, JUp and Goldy. They’re not …
Continue Reading →After skipping Triple-A Reno completely, David Peralta was called up on June 2 to replace A.J. Pollock on the active roster, hitting .325 in 131 plate appearances. His extremely unusual case, though, makes it difficult (but not necessarily impossible) to tell whether his scorching start is for real.
How unusual? Consider this: like fellow Venezuelan Gerardo Parra, Peralta started …
Continue Reading →Say what you will about the D-backs’ beleaguered pitching staff, but even with injuries to Mark Trumbo and A.J. Pollock, the D-backs’ offense has been slightly better than average — you might even say good, in some ways. But they’re accomplishing that while being among MLB’s worst in taking walks and driving the ball. And although it fights against …
Continue Reading →Even after an offensive outburst in the ninth inning last night, the D-backs are playing miserably. Although the Australia trip may be at least partly to blame for the 9-22 start that essentially killed the season, the team hasn’t been great since: 27-29. A.J. “Action Jackson” Pollock was a bright spot this season, particularly in the D-backs’ 14-13 May, but …
Continue Reading →Last year, Gerardo Parra finished with a stunning 4.5 WAR, which was 30th among all MLB players and 7th among all NL outfielders. This year, he’s struggled to a 0.2 WAR in more than half of his 2013 plate appearances — so what’s wrong with Gerardo Parra? Anecdotal evidence suggests that Parra has been “slower” this year, and we’ve seen …
Continue Reading →@ryanpmorrison
Congrats to @OutfieldGrass24 on a beautiful life, wedding and wife. He deserves all of it (they both do). And I cou… https://t.co/JzJtQ7TgdJ, - 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,
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RT @DefectorMedia: MLB owners have a lot of power to influence the public’s perception of the CBA proceedings, and they’re willing to… https://t.co/SMs2XAFAtF, - Old friend alert https://t.co/DeFNp8fCM8,
- TFW your 114-year old pipes leak under your house right before you try and move 🤦🏻♂️,
- Starting 2022 with a frigid dog walk sounds just lovely https://t.co/xoLZSZBpGp,
- I’ll never forget seeing Kyle Seager at the Scottsdale Fashion Square one March with his family and thinking “damn,… https://t.co/uapNYdsU2a,
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