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Martin Prado has been up and down offensively, all year. He was the NL Player of the Month for August, and deservedly so — but while his May was also quite good, his April and June were dismal. His numbers are now similar to career norms (.281/.331/.414) — but what was Prado doing differently in his recent surge?
From the …
Continue Reading →A while back, I discussed how the Diamondbacks have been hurt by the home run in 2013. And by hurt, I mean totally annihilated. It’s come on both sides of the ball, too. Arizona ranks 26th in the majors in home runs hit, having only put 117 balls over the fence all year. The pitching staff hasn’t faired …
Continue Reading →Would a team with more Gerardo Parras do better than the current Arizona Diamondbacks team? -Voice in my head
In Boston four or so years ago, J.D. Drew was among the most controversial players on the Red Sox. Signed to a staggering $14M/year deal, Drew contributed high on base percentages and above average defense in right field, but hit relatively …
Continue Reading →Paul Goldschmidt was an above-average hitter last season, putting up AVG/OBP/SLG numbers of .286/.359/.490. This season, he’s taken a big step forward in becoming a significant offensive force for the Diamondbacks, posting .292/.387/.534 marks. He eclipsed his 2012 mark for home runs on July 1st of this year, and he leads the National League in RBI with 106. In 2012, …
Continue Reading →If you’ve read Jeff Wiser’s piece on lineup construction, you know that the difference between one lineup and another is pretty small in terms of runs scored. Still, the construction of a lineup is second only to bullpen alignment in terms of how something other than player performance affects games. And everyone has something to say. There are a …
Continue Reading →Jason Kubel is now a Cleveland Indian (or, he will be once rosters expand on September 1). Kubel figured to land somewhere once he was designated for assignment on Tuesday, and the trade does little to change the Diamondbacks roster this year or next.
In exchange for Kubel and cash to help offset the remainder of his salary, Arizona will …
Continue Reading →Major League Baseball rosters expand on September 1, enabling teams to carry up to 40 players, provided they are on the 40-man roster. If you’re rusty on the mechanics of the 40-man and protecting players from the winter Rule V Draft, check out this mlb.com summary. In terms of guessing at what Arizona might do this year, the main …
Continue Reading →On Monday, Dave Cameron posted an article titled, “Why Do The Angels Suck?” I know what you’re thinking: this is a Diamondbacks site. Well, you are correct, but I want to look at the data that was presented regarding the Angels and apply it to our beloved Arizona Diamondbacks, if I may.
You see, Cameron used entirely context-neutral …
Continue Reading →There are plenty of things that have gone wrong this year for Arizona, primarily not winning enough games. But beyond that, we’ve seen injuries, unexpected under-performances and much, much more. Something that’s bothered me has been the inconsistency of the leadoff spot. What kind of production have the Diamondbacks gotten out of the top of the order?
Depending on when …
Continue Reading →The Diamondbacks’ chances of making the playoffs took a big hit when the team went 1-3 against the Reds this week. Cincinnati is currently in line for the second wild card spot in the National League, and had Arizona swept the series, they would have been just one game back. Instead, Arizona gears up for its game against the Phillies …
Continue Reading →I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the Diamondbacks bullpen is quietly becoming respectable. Yeah, David Hernandez was a black hole but other guys have come around. On some nights, Heath Bell is absolutely unhittable. Brad Ziegler looks good as a closer and can I get a round of applause for Will Harris’ emergence? Matt Reynolds was functional before …
Continue Reading →I was so wowed by last night’s performance by Patrick Corbin that I set out this evening to write it up. Before completing the below, Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs posted about the 10 most unhittable pitches this season – Corbin is the only starter in there. You should really take a look at that, as I won’t republish his findings …
Continue Reading →After the Diamondbacks fell behind early in the first game of the critical Reds series yesterday, I found myself wondering just how frequent it’s been this season for Arizona to dig itself out of deficits. After the walkoff series against the Orioles and the sixteen-inning affair on Sunday in which the Dbacks came back to win, you wouldn’t be surprised …
Continue Reading →On Wednesday, we looked at where Paul Goldschmidt fits in the MVP race against fellow position players. We learned that Goldy’s individual performance definitely put him in line for consideration, but that to win, he probably needs Arizona to mount a serious campaign for a playoff spot. We also saw that some regression from Andrew McCutchen could end up making …
Continue Reading →In the past, I’ve tended to think that writing on MVP awards has been premature in August, but after Goldy’s incredible performance last night, I just can’t resist. It’s important to clarify, though, what question we’re asking. Is it whether Paul Goldschmidt should win the MVP (“is he the most valuable player”), or whether he will win the MVP (“will …
Continue Reading →Some twitter conversation from a few days ago got me thinking. I’ve seen some banter about the Diamondbacks’ lineup construction and people questioning where individual guys hit within it. We know that Kirk Gibson likes to tinker with things, at least he does when the lineup is struggling to score runs. Is this because he’s looking for the “perfect” order …
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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