The Diamondbacks’ Baserunning Woes

On February 28, 2014 By

The D-backs did some things really well last season. Baserunning was not one of those things. The D-backs were dead last in terms of how they affected games with stolen base attempts, but they also weren’t particularly good at other aspects of baserunning, either.

First, a quick look at how the D-backs fared overall. The “BsR” component of WAR combines …

Continue Reading →

Those damn extra innings

On February 27, 2014 By

It’s no secret, the Diamondbacks played a ton of extra innings last year. It was brutal for the fan base to see blown saves or inept offense drive the team to extras time and time again. It led to some really exciting baseball on the one hand, but I can’t help but wonder what kind of toll it took on …

Continue Reading →

Struggles Versus LHP, Not Versus Inside Pitches, Seems to Motivate New Parra Batting Stance

On February 26, 2014 By

As has been reported by Nick Piecoro and others, Gerardo Parra brought more than just a new one-year contract with him to spring training this season — he’s also changed his batting stance. According to the Piecoro report, the new stance is less open, with his front foot a little closer to the plate and his right leg bent before …

Continue Reading →

Hope for Hernandez?

On February 25, 2014 By

The Diamondbacks’ bullpen blew twenty-nine saves last year. Twenty-nine. That’s too many (tied for first in MLB); you don’t need Bill James to tell you that. David Hernandez was a factor in the bullpen’s unreliability. After coming over from Baltimore in the Mark Reynolds trade, Hernandez was valuable in the bullpen in 2011 and 2012. He struck out batters at …

Continue Reading →

Roundup: All Eyes (but Greinke’s) on Australia

On February 24, 2014 By

If there is an East Coast Bias (or a Coast Bias), I don’t think it’s so much about favoritism, as it might be about quantity of attention or coverage in general. But regardless of whether most of the U.S. will be rooting for them, the D-backs do take center stage (with the Dodgers) this spring for their two regular season …

Continue Reading →

In 2013, the D-backs Did Better in Late-Series Games — But Why?

On February 21, 2014 By

An 81-81 team overall, last season the Diamondbacks actually did quite a bit better as series progressed. In games 1 of individual series, Arizona’s winning percentage was just .442 (23-29). In games 2, it rose to .510 (26-25). And in games 3 or 4 of series, the team was a real winner (.543 W%, 32-27). That advantage may not seem …

Continue Reading →

Let’s talk about lineup protection

On February 20, 2014 By

In a hot-button post last week, I mentioned the myth of lineup protection. We’ve heard the D-backs leadership discuss the acquisition of Mark Trumbo as a way to protect The People’s MVP, Paul Goldschmidt. The concept of lineup protection is debatable at best and isn’t even something that all managers believe in. In reading through recent comments here …

Continue Reading →

Time for a checkup: D-backs pitcher health in 2014

On February 19, 2014 By

Injuries happen in baseball. That’s a given. Pitchers get hurt more frequently than hitters, which is something that we should also be very familiar with. Injuries test a team’s depth and the next man up has to be able to perform at an adequate level for a team with playoff aspirations. The Diamondbacks are one of those teams and they …

Continue Reading →

Did the D-backs Get Fair Value for David Holmberg?

On February 18, 2014 By

There was an uproar over the Bronson Arroyo signing two weeks ago. Arroyo is supposed to provide starting pitching depth by pushing Delgado out of the rotation and moving all the minor league pitchers one spot further from the majors.

The Diamondbacks used to have depth, however, in the form of prospects Tyler Skaggs and David Holmberg. Ryan wrote a …

Continue Reading →

Roundup: D-backs Hike Camelback, Hope to Climb NL West Mountain as Well

On February 17, 2014 By

The Diamondbacks have the earliest spring training report dates in baseball this year thanks to the Sydney series (although, the Dodgers are also headed to Australia…), and last Wednesday was the first full workout for position players. The beginning of spring training makes for one of the true “dead periods” of the baseball season — the team appears done with …

Continue Reading →

The D-backs Had Crazy Range in the Outfield

On February 13, 2014 By

The Diamondbacks were great defensively, but not at all aspects of defense. One component of both of the most-used advanced defensive statistics is range; for The Fielding Bible‘s Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), that component is Runs Plus Minus Saved (rPM). That’s right, there’s a statistic that bears my initials, and the D-backs were the best at it in 2013. …

Continue Reading →

A step or three in the wrong direction

On February 12, 2014 By

The Diamondbacks signed Bronson Arroyo last week to a 2-year deal worth $23.5 million, and with an option, could be for 3-years and $30 million. You know the dialogue on Arroyo; he’s durable but unspectacular and takes his turn every fifth day. He gives up a lot of home runs but he walks no one and limits the damage …

Continue Reading →

What can we expect from Wade Miley in 2014?

On February 11, 2014 By

In 2012, Wade Miley broke onto the scene with a 3.15 FIP and 4.4 WAR, nearly winning the NL’s Rookie of the Year award. The lefty’s peripherals were good in his first season as well. He walked only 1.71 batters per nine innings and gave up only 0.65 home runs per nine. His BABIP was almost exactly in line with …

Continue Reading →

Roundup: D-backs Sign Bronson Arroyo, Mark Trumbo

On February 10, 2014 By

There’s a pretty good general rule for baseball: extreme outliers are almost definitely the result of skill, but also of luck. Randy Johnson managed to log a perfect game on May 18, 2004, and it’s essentially impossible for any pitcher to do that without being well above average — but even RJ was not so good that he pitched perfect …

Continue Reading →

(Few) Spring Training Roster Battles to Watch

On February 7, 2014 By

With most of the roster spots all but decided for the 2014 season, the more gripping spring training story lines for the Diamondbacks may instead be playing time battles. On the position player side, in particular, the starter at each position is pretty much set — with the possible exception of Cody Ross, who has been a wild card for …

Continue Reading →

Just How Good is the Paul Goldschmidt Contract?

On February 6, 2014 By

On Tuesday, Freddie Freeman and the Atlanta Braves agreed to a whopping $135M, 8-year contract extension, avoiding a hearing in what would have been Freeman’s first year of arbitration eligibility. Armed with the Freeman contract details, we’re in a better position to evaluate what just might be Towers’s best move at the helm of the D-backs front office, which seems …

Continue Reading →