Currently viewing the category: "Editorial/Opinion"

Welington Castillo Out, Jeff Mathis In: Fighting the D-backs’ Biggest Problem

On December 5, 2016 By

Let’s say you took over a baseball club with a recent history of some severe struggles. The main culprit, it appears, is pitching—only a handful of pitchers have broken through for the team in recent memory, and most have done quite a bit worse than expected. The fact that many pitchers have struggled at the same time has caused a …

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Taijuan Walker a Sign of Smarter Pitching Strategy

On November 25, 2016 By

Weeks after Tyler Wagner was disappeared off waivers by the Rangers, former GM Dave Stewart’s signature acquisition, Jean Segura, was parceled off to Seattle. With Segura went Mitch Haniger, half of the return former GM Kevin Towers extracted from Milwaukee in the last throes of his reign. In exchange? Taijuan Walker, the pitcher that Towers didn’t get for Justin Upton …

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Getting to Know Torey Lovullo

On November 15, 2016 By

The hot stove is heating up, but not in Arizona. There was no one to extend a qualifying offer to, though old friend Jeremy Hellickson accepted one from the Phillies and that created some waves. The Diamondbacks gave away outfielder Justin Williams, now one of Tampa Bay’s top prospects, and shortstop Andrew Velazquez, who’s had his last two …

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Major Challenges Ahead for Mike Hazen

On November 3, 2016 By

While a couple teams were busy trying to win a World Series crown, something the Cubs actually accomplished in what may be the greatest baseball game we’ll ever witness, the Diamondbacks have been working in the background to continue their overhaul under new GM Mike Hazen. There’s plenty of room for optimism with Hazen at the helm because, a) he’s …

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New GM Mike Hazen Raises Hopes and Expectations

On October 17, 2016 By

There was once a time when the hiring of Tony La Russa to oversee the Diamondbacks’ baseball functions seemed like a major victory. Oh my, does that seem like a long time ago. After Kevin Towers’ blunders, largely being hell-bent on acquiring certain player types that didn’t seem to fit the club’s home park and prioritized offense over defense, just …

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Front Office Turnover: Hyper-Traditional Tools Fail in Extra-Traditional Conditions

On October 3, 2016 By

GM Dave Stewart and Manager Chip Hale were fired today, about two weeks after cutting ties with Senior VP De Jon Watson. As of this writing, Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa‘s role was still up in the air, but as expected, the D-backs have made a loud statement about moving in a different direction. The team finished …

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Things Might Be Going Worse For the D-backs Off The Field

On August 16, 2016 By

When it rains, it pours, they say. No group of people know this better than residents of The Valley of the Sun now that we’re in the throws of monsoon season. The sky has literally opened up. But that whole phrase is usually an analogy, not a strict interpretation, and Diamondbacks fans understand this, too, no matter their geographic …

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Odds and Weekends: The D-Backs Had a Quirky Road Trip

On August 15, 2016 By

It’s a bit odd to think about how this season has gone – a season of juxtapositions. There was the splashy offseason that produced an interesting team on paper mirrored by the team on the field that is contending only for the top pick in next year’s draft. There’s early season Daniel Hudson and a midsummer night’s ‘mare Daniel Hudson. …

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In Need of Radical Change, D-backs Should Turn to Humidor

On August 11, 2016 By

Thunderstorms are in the forecast for this weekend’s series in Boston, where the hot, soupy air has had me drenched in as much perspiration as precipitation. Don’t be surprised if we see more than one player wilt over the next few days, and you can bet that most starters will get at least one of the games off. You can’t …

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The Life and Times of J. Collmenter, Vol. 1

On August 9, 2016 By

“Josh Collmenter was born February 7th, weighing in at 10-pounds, 8-ounces. He was the last of my four children, and the only one who didn’t give me any pain when I gave birth to him. That’s how I knew he was a special child.“

Okay, so between those three sentences and the title of this post, perhaps …

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A Fistful of Dollars: Arizona Saves Some Cash and Stays the Course

On August 1, 2016 By

The Ziegler trade came and the Ziegler trade went and things had been mostly quiet on the western front. The Diamondbacks continued to play at a sub-par rate and the rumor mill looked to be stalling in production of information around a team. Possibly the most interesting developments post-Ziegler were the reports describing Chip Hale’s proverbial chair as being rather …

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Who’s to Blame: Fire Chip Hale or Look To the Top?

On July 25, 2016 By

This is a weird post to write. There’s a part of me that doesn’t want acknowledge something that hasn’t been confirmed and is mostly all speculation. That is not what we do here. There’s another part of me that’s so annoyed by the situation that’s arisen that I can’t help but sound off. In the middle, somewhere, is a responsible …

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What Makes a Good D-backs Reliever?

On July 19, 2016 By

We all handle grief in our own ways. For me, the unceremonious trading of Brad Ziegler — as well as news later that he had signaled a willingness to sign an extension, as well as news they didn’t engage him in settlement talks, and as well as news later that other teams were shocked that the Red Sox price …

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Daniel Hudson’s Misses and Swings

On July 14, 2016 By

The D-backs celebrated the ten year anniversary of becoming World Champions, Brandon Webb attempted a comeback in the Rangers organization, and Katy Perry taught you that you are a firework. Do you remember 2011? That was the season that Daniel Hudson threw more than 80 innings for the organization that traded for him at the 2010 trade deadline, nearly six …

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Brad Ziegler Traded: What Did Arizona Get and What’s Next?

On July 9, 2016 By

Friday night, rather late for my tastes, the Diamondbacks executed a trade, sending right-handed reliever and Chase Field darling Brad Ziegler to the Boston Red Sox for two prospects. It’s a move that was a little shocking in the sense that it occurred in early July and not right up against the trade deadline. Trading Ziegler in and of itself …

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The Inside the ‘Zona 2016 Midseason Plan

On July 7, 2016 By

There are very few circumstances in which it makes sense to stand pat during any trade season, be it in the offseason or in July. This July, however, the D-backs are about as far on that end of the spectrum as a team can be. Currently sitting in 4th place in the NL West and in need of an historic …

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