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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 →The game of baseball is in very good hands. With the influx of young talent over the past several years, baseball has been lent an opportunity to turn the chapter from the awkward post-Steroid Era years and entrust the game to an exciting crop of diverse talent. Young phenoms Mike Trout, Manny Machado, Kris Bryant, Bryce Harper…
Continue Reading →When you think of base running, the first thing that comes to mind is usually stolen bases. Of course you want to avoid any and all TOOTBLANs (Thrown Out On The Bases Like A Nincompoop), but steals are front and center. As long as guys are getting around alright, this just isn’t something that often under the scrutiny of fans. …
Continue Reading →Few things in life seem to make sense. Why do bad things happen to good people? What makes rational people do irrational things? How do I always manage pick the slowest checkout lane? Well, at least there’s an answer for that last question. That notwithstanding, life loves to sprinkle in little bits both of mystique and brooding.
Nevertheless, this is …
Continue Reading →Nick Ahmed‘s stats are really bad at the plate. Like, really bad. Entering Tuesday, Ahmed had the 6th-lowest wRC+ of any qualified hitter and even though he’s changed his swing a little and is possibly the most valuable defensive asset in the entire National League, there’s still the distinct possibility that he’s in the process of swinging his …
Continue Reading →It feel like just yesterday (actually it was Monday) that we were all roused up about how bad the Diamondbacks’ outfield defense is. Let’s face it: Yasmany Tomas is really just Mark Trumbo again. Well, in fairness to Mr. Trumbo, Tomas’ career UZR/150 in the outfield is far worse, but there are some sample size issues there. Chris Owings…
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 →When Ender Inciarte was traded for Shelby Miller, it was a swap of production — from the outfield to the pitcher’s mound — with an extremely high transaction cost. Inciarte was a 2-3 win outfielder while Miller looked like a 2-3 win pitcher and the Diamondbacks were short on productive arms with established track records. It was a terrible …
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 →As a few D-backs fans have noted, one Paul Edward Goldschmidt hasn’t really been himself to kick off the 2016 season. These feelings come from a place of privilege, it should be noted, because Goldy is still a perennial and current top performer in the National League, producing offense at a rate about 40% higher than league average. But this …
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 →On Thursday night, Rubby De La Rosa threw a gem — the type of gem that makes you kind of wonder why you ever doubted him. Maybe you never doubted him, but I sure as hell did. It’s been a frustrating ride for De La Rosa with enough troubling outings to put his future into jeopardy and, somehow, enough …
Continue Reading →Yesterday I had a little fun on Twitter dot com. I decided to run off some very brief, nearly context-free stats. That seemed to resonate pretty well with people because stats are cool and good, plus you’re probably busy and doing things quickly can be a positive sometimes. So here’s an unstructured little check-in on the Diamondbacks. You can call …
Continue Reading →If we’re being honest, Silvino Bracho was a pretty fringy big leaguer upon first glance. He’s listed at 5’10”, 190-pounds, which means he probably closer to 5’9″. There aren’t many good, sub-six-foot right handed pitchers in the majors. You’re mind is racing to find examples right now, and you probably thought of Marcus Stroman and/or Craig Kimbrel, which is …
Continue Reading →In case the secret isn’t out yet, Diamondbacks starters have had a bit of a rough go of things to start the season, with home runs allowed serving as the main bugaboo – 17 allowed by the starting rotation in their first 19 games. As Ryan wrote about after the team acquired Shelby Miller, the mix of his fastballs has …
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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