Currently viewing the tag: "defense"

The Diamondbacks’ Infield Defense Is An Issue

On April 20, 2017 By

On Tuesday we checked in on one potential problem for the Diamondbacks: a bullpen that was expected to be terrible. Good news! They’ve been, well, not terrible. That’s not to say they’ve been really good either, but you get the idea, they’ve exceeded expectations. Tom Wilhelmsen gave up another run, but thanks to Shelby Miller‘s dominance and some …

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Appreciating an Awesome D-backs Defense

On November 9, 2015 By

You know, the idea of this website is to write about the things that are knowable and observable that sometimes go overlooked. At least, that’s generally the idea. I don’t think anyone who watched a bulk of Diamondbacks games in 2015 would have overlooked how good the team was defensively. It was readily apparent. Every night. And once Trumbo was …

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Real D-backs Defensive Shifts, Really

On March 26, 2015 By

It’s been presumed since Chip Hale was named manager: the Diamondbacks will shift more in 2015. Given his tenure in Oakland, it’s no surprise that Hale picked up a thing or two about moving around the infield based on who’s in the box (and hopefully he took notes on creating platoons, too, but more on that later). Not only …

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On Defensive Value and Ender Inciarte

On February 17, 2015 By

Over the last decade or so, defense has become an increasingly important aspect of baseball. When the Steroid Era slipped away and the old, plodding sluggers capable of hitting 40+ home runs per season all but evaporated from the game, they were often replaced by younger, faster players who could at least help prevent runs even if they weren’t capable …

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Roundup: Rules Against Shifts Could Hurt the D-backs

On January 26, 2015 By

You may have seen this back at the Worldwide Leader: Rob Manfred interviewed with Karl Ravech of ESPN in a video that aired yesterday, and promoting offense appears to be one of Manfred’s priorities. Among the options Manfred said the league would consider: rules changes to cut down or eliminate defensive shifting in baseball. I don’t know how likely this …

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Third-Tier Pitching Target: Brandon Morrow

On October 30, 2014 By

The D-backs aren’t poor, but they aren’t rich. The 2014 Opening Day payroll of $112M isn’t likely to be repeated any time soon. And as we’ve previously explored, staying in the team’s stated $80M-$110M payroll bracket for next year would not leave a whole lot of room for new salaries; even if Cliff Pennington is non-tendered or traded, current players …

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Elite Defense of Pollock, Inciarte Could Enable D-backs to Employ Five Man Infield Shifts

On October 24, 2014 By

The D-backs are an interesting team, defensively: in 2013 they were the second-best fielding team in baseball, but in 2014, they were one of the league’s worst in defensive efficiency. We speculated on Episode 2 of The Pool Shot that the D-backs may shift more under new manager Chip Hale. I’d like to take it one step further now, …

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Don’t Blame Pitching — D-backs Defense Either Much Worse, or Extremely Unlucky

On June 3, 2014 By

More than a third of the season is in the books now, and the D-backs have played a majors-leading 59 games. The team’s offense has been at least decent, but despite better pitching numbers in May, the D-backs have allowed 4.95 runs per game, easily the worst in MLB. The pitching staff has definitely struggled, but might there be more …

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Roundup: D-backs Win Three Series, But Winning May Be a Bad Thing

On May 12, 2014 By

Maybe it’s all about little victories now, and while a couple of the games could easily have gone either way, the D-backs managed to go 4-2 in the last week, with series victories over the Brewers and the White Sox. Tack that onto the series win against the Padres, and you’ve got a 6-3 record for the month.

Despite the …

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