The Diamondbacks’ Roster Still Needs Improving

On July 6, 2016 By

There’s no way around it: 2016 has been a big disappointment for the Diamondbacks. A mixture of injuries and sub-par performances has pushed this team near the bottom of the NL West as we’ve reached the halfway point in the season. 85 games into the season, Arizona is 11 games under .500, 16 games off the pace set by division-leading …

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Tyler Clippard: Splitting the Difference

On July 5, 2016 By

There’s been more failure than success for D-backs pitchers recently (6.4 runs allowed per game, last 12 games), but a handful of pitchers have seemed immune. Brad Ziegler has kept up his old tricks, and while the reasons are interesting — we all know how he does it. Tyler Clippard is just as fascinating, however — and while he could …

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PECOTA Urban Achievers: Diamondbacks Offense Shows Promise

On July 1, 2016 By

If the baseball season was akin to a round of golf, the Diamondbacks would have spent Thursday at the clubhouse, refreshing their supply of balls and grabbing a quick sandwich after just finishing the first half of their round. With the team now 50% of the way through the season and heading for the back nine, now feels like an …

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Robbie Ray’s Improvement Looks Legitimate

On June 30, 2016 By

Robbie Ray started the season with three very good starts, rolling through good Cubs, Dodgers and Giants offenses to allow just 4 earned runs in 18.1 innings, good for a shiny 1.96 ERA to start the year with a strong 8.34 K/9. From late April to early June, things weren’t quite so rosy, as Ray averaged under 5 innings for …

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Are Diamondbacks Pitchers Afraid of Chase Field?

On June 29, 2016 By

The Diamondbacks have been terrible at Chase Field this year. It’s kind of hard to figure out why, at least if you apply the standard thinking that the team gets to enjoy a spacious, hitter-friendly ballpark to pile up runs in 81 times per year. As we’ve said a million times now, Chase is not Coors, but it’s the next …

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What the D-backs Can Learn From the Rest of the West

On June 28, 2016 By

The NL West is an odd place. Home to the majors’ two most offense-friendly environs and its two most pitcher-friendly parks, it’s also got Dodger Stadium for variety. Thanks in large part to the unbalanced schedule, navigating the division successfully is paramount for the teams that call it home, including the D-backs. Despite the differences, the division’s parks all have …

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Peter O’Brien is Not Working Out

On June 27, 2016 By

Peter O’Brien‘s MLB call-up this season was completely warranted. The guy had slugged his way into some big league action and based on the response of his fans, it was even a month or more late. He’d been crushing it in Reno through the first two months of the season, just like he crushed it in 2015. He was …

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Snakebitten: Though Relatively Healthy, Injuries Confounding D-backs Outfield

On June 24, 2016 By

Yeah, it’s no secret, injuries are a part of the game. They suck, we all hate them, and life would be better without them, but they are still very much there. Considering how prevalent injuries are within the game, our understanding of injuries and what causes them, especially with pitchers, still leaves a lot to be desired. About the only …

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Finding Another Brad Ziegler

On June 23, 2016 By

In a land where few pitchers succeed, the consistent dominance of Brad Ziegler is positively tantalizing. Since Ziegler’s first full season with the D-backs, Ziegler has managed a 2.52 ERA, 20th among the 160 relievers with at least 150 innings in that span, and second to just Josh Collmenter on the team. But ERA is ill-equipped to measure the value …

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Where Did Our Patrick Corbin Go?

On June 22, 2016 By

There’s no denying that the signing of Zack Greinke and the trade for Shelby Miller took the pitching spotlight off of Patrick Corbin. After all, he was a guy that the team knew they could count on and the moves this winter were meant to support him, rather than have him go it alone as the rotation’s only proven …

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What the D-backs Can Learn From the Giants

On June 21, 2016 By

The Athletics, Rays, Pirates and Red Sox may get the lion’s share of the credit for experimentation at the major league level, but there is no group of teams that offers better lessons for the Diamondbacks than the group closest to home: the NL West. Last week, we looked for some takeaways from the Rockies’ experiences, as they are …

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Speaking with Top Draft Picks: Previewing D-backs Short Season Affiliates

On June 20, 2016 By

With the draft completed, the Diamondbacks are at full capacity on the farm. With four full-season affiliates underway already (Kane County/Visalia update, Mobile/Reno update), the team has five short season teams now in action. That’s another roughly 135 players to keep track of, making my life busy, but giving us hope for the future as things at …

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Yasmany Are Called But Few Are Chosen: The Time Has Come to Build for 2017, Better Embrace It

On June 17, 2016 By

In case you haven’t noticed, we here at Inside the ‘Zona have started to buy the idea of the Diamondbacks becoming sellers as things approach the second half. Last Friday, I wrote about where things went wrong this season and about the slim opening left on the window for 2016. On Wednesday, Jeff reached the next link in the chain …

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What the D-backs Can Learn From the Rockies

On June 16, 2016 By

Among baseball’s divisions, there’s probably no group of teams with a more diverse collection of venues than the NL West. San Diego has long enjoyed a reputation as baseball’s most pitcher-friendly venue; San Francisco manages to coax an unusual number of triples out of hitters while helping out fly ball pitchers and serving as the platform for baseball’s single-season home …

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The D-backs Are Becoming Sellers Who Might Not Sell

On June 15, 2016 By

It’s Wednesday and so, yeah, today already feels like a downer. People that say, “just two days before the weekend” are wrong. It’s three. Today counts. Don’t be one of those people. Not helping matters is the fact that Archie Bradley pitched super awesome last night until he basically got destroyed. That happened in his previous start, too. The D-backs’ …

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Zack Greinke Throwing Fewer Hittable Pitches

On June 14, 2016 By

In the past, Zack Greinke has been hyperaware of the statistics pitchers control most: strikeout, walk, and home run rates, the statistics used to calculate FIP. But focusing on which type of batted ball he was looking for while trying to be a FIP pitcher didn’t turn out so well in 2010 and 2011. By 2016, Greinke’s slider had lost …

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