You’ve probably already noticed this, but I’ll just throw it out there: the Diamondbacks aren’t hitting the ball hard. Sure, Paul Goldschmidt and some of his friends get into one from time to time, but comparatively across the league, Arizona is struggling to make hard, meaningful contact at the plate. Losing A.J. Pollock and Mark Trumbo doesn’t help the cause …
Continue Reading →The Diamondbacks have only played 16 major league seasons since being added in MLB’s most recent expansion efforts back in 1998 (along with the (Devil) Rays). In that short time, however, the team has seen some extremely notable performances, accumulating 35 All-Star Game bids. The organization hasn’t been without it’s stars: Randy, Schill, Gonzo, Webb, JUp and Goldy. They’re not …
Continue Reading →We sometimes — maybe even often — write editorial or opinion material here at this site. But the site’s soul is sabermetric research, and even the editorial content is informed first and foremost by sabermetric principles and lessons from the past. I’m quite proud to say that the four writers who write regular content grew up as fans of four …
Continue Reading →The Diamondbacks have five outfielders on their active roster. Gerardo Parra, Mark Trumbo, and Cody Ross have all spent time as starting outfielders. Rookies Ender Inciarte and David Peralta are looking to establish themselves are legitimate major-league players. A month ago I wrote about the effects of the injuries to the outfield. Now, the rookies have played well …
Continue Reading →After skipping Triple-A Reno completely, David Peralta was called up on June 2 to replace A.J. Pollock on the active roster, hitting .325 in 131 plate appearances. His extremely unusual case, though, makes it difficult (but not necessarily impossible) to tell whether his scorching start is for real.
How unusual? Consider this: like fellow Venezuelan Gerardo Parra, Peralta started …
Continue Reading →At Inside the ‘Zona, we strive to provide analysis that you can’t get anywhere else. We like to think of ourselves as reflective rather than reactionary. This is not the blog where you go to find knee-jerk reactions or instant commentary on a game-by-game basis. Hopefully, you come here for something more thoughtful. You bookmark this page (please do…
Continue Reading →The Diamondbacks have too many infielders. Still. This logjam has been well-documented, but there have been no moves to relieve the pressure. Depth isn’t a bad thing, per se, but when the team has glaring needs, there’s no reason to be building a large reserve of infielders. Because first base is spoken for, there are three infield spots …
Continue Reading →Say what you will about the D-backs’ beleaguered pitching staff, but even with injuries to Mark Trumbo and A.J. Pollock, the D-backs’ offense has been slightly better than average — you might even say good, in some ways. But they’re accomplishing that while being among MLB’s worst in taking walks and driving the ball. And although it fights against …
Continue Reading →When looking at the Diamondbacks’ trade assets, Brandon McCarthy, Joe Thatcher, Oliver Perez, Cody Ross, Aaron Hill and a healthy Bronson Arroyo were no-brainers. Brad Ziegler and Gerardo Parra were in the depends-on-what-we-get-back category. Paul Goldschmidt and A.J. Pollock were clearly in the get-your-damn-hands-off-my-young-stars category. In Ryan’s previous discussion of trade assets, one guy that …
Continue Reading →When Ian Kennedy was traded to the Padres last summer, the main, known quantity the Diamondbacks received in return was veteran lefty Joe Thatcher. After all, the D-backs at that point were hoping to hang with the Dodgers in the division and were making win-now types of moves. While Thatcher was once again sent packing over the weekend, …
Continue Reading →Say this for GM Kevin Towers: he knows how to pull the trigger on a trade. The last few days have seen plenty of D-backs news that has little to do with the team’s play on the field.
On Saturday, Towers spun LOOGY Joe Thatcher and speedster Tony Campana for a modest but extremely reasonable return. Jeff Wiser broke down …
Continue Reading →Today, news broke that the Diamondbacks have traded Brandon McCarthy and cash considerations to the Yankees for Vidal Nuno. It was absolutely a good move to trade McCarthy, and to do so as soon as possible — but a terrible move to do so for Nuno, who is the least useful type of player that the D-backs could possibly …
Continue Reading →In a less-than-stunning move, the Diamondbacks have traded left-hander Joe Thatcher and minor league outfielder Tony Campana to the Angels. Thatcher was a member of the Arizona bullpen while Campana had been toiling away in AAA Reno. In return, Anaheim (as an Angelino, I will not count the Angeles as being from Los Angeles) will complete the trade by sending …
Continue Reading →Even after an offensive outburst in the ninth inning last night, the D-backs are playing miserably. Although the Australia trip may be at least partly to blame for the 9-22 start that essentially killed the season, the team hasn’t been great since: 27-29. A.J. “Action Jackson” Pollock was a bright spot this season, particularly in the D-backs’ 14-13 May, but …
Continue Reading →A bad closer on a bad team is bad news. So Diamondbacks fans have reason to be frustrated with Addison Reed and manager Kirk Gibson’s decision to keep him in the closing role. Reed blew his fourth save of the season on Tuesday, he is pitching to a 4.15 ERA (4.57 FIP), and his always troubling HR/FB rate has ballooned …
Continue Reading →There are a lot of headlines to cover in this edition of the Minor League Update. The Diamondbacks’ minor league affiliates have been playing well on the season and there have been some notable tidbits to emerge over the last couple of weeks. In case you missed it, we posted a “Who To Watch” version of the update last week …
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.,
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- Winning defensive MVP of the NFL Pro Bowl is something that should not actually be possible,
- Bill Swancutt (2005 draft, Lions) and Alex Brink (2008 draft, Texans). Swancutt was a DE and TE that I had to cover… https://t.co/7PvKgIVkD3,
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