A new year is upon us and we took the opportunity to ring in 2015 with a fresh episode of The Pool Shot. Hope abounds with a disastrous 2014 campaign firmly in the rear view window as we discuss World Series odds, recent injury research and Pitch Arsenal scores for Diamondbacks starters. With nowhere to go but up, Ryan …
Continue Reading →If you stopped by yesterday, you surely noticed a discussion regarding the Diamondbacks’ position players and their struggles to produce positive value. If you missed it, you should catch up, because this post is purely a follow-up on that same premise: visualizing just how mightily the Diamondbacks’ pitchers struggled in 2014. And perhaps this is fitting, with it being …
Continue Reading →The Diamondbacks were bad last year. You know this. We’ve written about this not-so-secret phenomenon a number of times this winter and probably with varying degrees of success. Sometimes the point gets across, sometimes it doesn’t. This is a hard thing to gauge, but occasionally, I can get a feel for the pulse of D-backs fans and their feelings on …
Continue Reading →It was not so long ago that the D-backs were making significant moves so frequently that we were fighting off worthy topics with sticks. In the last days of December, we get to return to doing what we do best: analyzing to death on-field performance and the finest minutiae the transactions list has to offer.
Matt Swartz and MLBTradeRumors projected …
Continue Reading →There’s been a lot of internet ink spilled about Diamondbacks pitching at this website recently. That’s due to a host of issues, the fact that pitching does make up half of a baseball game not withstanding. But while there’s been a lot of stressing over who will take the mound in 2015, this is the season for joy and what …
Continue Reading →The 2014-15 offseason hasn’t disappointed one bit from an entertainment standpoint. There have been some massive trades (thank you A.J. Preller) and major free agent signings (remember when Jon Lester held everyone captive for two days?). Some teams were expected to push for contention this offseason (Cubs) while other clubs have surprised people with their aggressiveness (White Sox and Padres). …
Continue Reading →Happy holidays! Jeff and I are both out of pocket for much of this week, and our coverage may be a little abbreviated. From us to you, though: stay safe and have a wonderful time.
Last week, I took a look at the Diamondbacks’ top trade assets from a “surplus value” perspective, which isn’t perfect. Ceiling can be more or …
Continue Reading →Earlier this month, Jonah Keri of Grantland rolled out his MLB Trade Value rankings (part 1, part 2), which is a tremendous read, and even better than last year’s list. Only one D-backs contract made the list, although if you’re going to have just one player among the top 50, it’s nice to have number 3. One …
Continue Reading →The Diamondbacks have a balance problem and balance is important, at least to a degree. We hear time and again that teams seek to keep a mixture of right and left-handed bats in the lineup because, as we know, platoon splits are very real and very common. Righties usually hit lefties well and lefties, righties. This is not startling news …
Continue Reading →The Diamondbacks made a bevy of moves last week. In fact, it’s been a pretty exciting offseason thus far, and given where things stand right now, I’d suggest that they’re far from done making moves. As a fan, this is mighty exciting as the status quo was surely destined for failure. Just getting healthy was bound to improve the team, …
Continue Reading →If you’ve never given our podcast (The Pool Shot) a try, now would be a really good time — Jeff and I worked our way through both major trades last week, and had a ton of fun doing it. We also hit the Oscar Hernandez acquisition through the Rule 5 draft, catching in general, and the potential weakness of having …
Continue Reading →An offseason of unusual activity in the sport has been fueled by a significant number of teams that had a regime change in the front office, and the D-backs are no exception. What originally looked like an offseason of tweaks now looks like something quite different — but what is it, really? Remember, Chief Baseball Officer expressed confidence exactly one …
Continue Reading →What was under-acknowledged before last summer’s Brandon McCarthy trade became one of baseball’s worst-kept secrets after McCarthy dominated in New York: be it rigid pitching plans, hot air, dry baseballs, or something different, Phoenix and/or the team that plays there have had as bad an effect on pitchers as has Denver and the Rockies. The D-backs’ desire and ultimate decision …
Continue Reading →In the 2015 Inside the ‘Zona Offseason Plan, Ryan and I took considerable care trying to figure out how the Diamondbacks could become more flexible. The key, in our mind, was shedding salary, and on Tuesday, the D-backs did just that by dumping Miguel Montero’s financial burden on the Chicago Cubs in exchange for a couple of non-noteworthy prospects. It’s …
Continue Reading →By now you’ve heard all about the Diamondbacks trading Didi Gregorius. There were some silly “Jeter replacement” comments made, and maybe we have our old friend Kevin Towers to thank for that, but the important part here is that the D-backs have cleared a spot in the crowded middle infield and added two worthwhile prospects. Neither Robbie Ray or …
Continue Reading →Toward the end of Episode 8 of The Pool Shot, Jeff and I talked through some sixteen left-handed “middle of the order” bats, guys who had hit a decent number of home runs against right-handed pitchers in 2014 and who could conceivably (in my mind) be available. We left out a few first basemen who couldn’t play elsewhere, but otherwise …
Continue Reading →@ryanpmorrison
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,
- RT @OutfieldGrass24: Patrick Corbin has a WPA of .318 and it's only the fifth inning.,
Powered by: Web Designers@outfieldgrass24
- I won’t be shocked if the #Dbacks are immediately in the market for #Mets’ Lagares.,
- This is disgusting https://t.co/Pq0YARVTsn,
- Mood https://t.co/CtyFHPwBfP,
RT @based_ball: What If Patrick Corbin Were a Trendsetter? https://t.co/YTgT6GL0vi, - RT @OutfieldGrass24: Who is your guess to be the more valuable player over the next decade?,
Powered by: Web Designers
