Currently viewing the tag: "Wade Miley"

Roundup: Order Among Winter Meetings Chaos; Humidor the Key to the Offseason?

On December 15, 2014 By

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 …

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Are the Diamondbacks Rebuilding, Retooling, or Doing Something Else?

On December 12, 2014 By

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 …

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D-backs Place Enormous Bet on Themselves by Trading Wade Miley

On December 11, 2014 By

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 …

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Roundup: A Farewell to Fringe Arms; Henry Blanco to Cubs; 40-Man Decisions

On November 24, 2014 By

At what point did you realize during the 2014 season that that you had been watching a train wreck? The D-backs’ first few weeks of games were so bad that it essentially killed the season. We knew that, but nothing put an exclamation point on it quite like when Mike Bolsinger was installed in the rotation.

Bolsinger was coming off …

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Altered Offerings: Notable D-backs Pitch Changes in 2014

On November 19, 2014 By

Baseball seems so simple if you’re not looking closely, but I’d beg to differ. Every baseball play starts with the pitcher, and pitchers are always seeking to improve their odds of defeating the batter in the box. Their weapons to do so are contained in an arsenal of pitches that they have at their disposal. But here’s the thing: for …

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Montero and Miley: A Match Made in Pitch Framing Heaven

On September 18, 2014 By

On Monday, the Diamondbacks beat the Giants 6-2 at Chase Field. The game was rare not just in that the D-backs won, but that it featured the top two pitch framing pitcher-catcher batteries in MLB this season. Using at least 1,000 “pitch framing chances” as defined by Baseball Prospectus, the tandem of Ryan Vogelsong and Buster Posey is tops in …

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D-backs in the All-Star Game: an Historical Perspective

On July 15, 2014 By

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 …

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Wade Miley is the Canary in the Coal Mine

On July 9, 2014 By

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 …

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Ranking D-backs Trade Assets

On June 6, 2014 By

Building a major league roster is a lot like building a sandcastle while the tide is coming in. Focus on some positions to the detriment of others, and you’ll never complete it adequately. Take too little care in order to complete it sooner, and you’ll never win the contest. One must be methodical and effective — and also realistic about …

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Home Runs Continue to Haunt the Diamondbacks

On May 29, 2014 By

The Diamondbacks were terrible in the home run department last year. They tied for 25th in baseball in home runs hit in 2013 and were 23rd in home runs allowed. You don’t need any reminder of this if watched much D-backs baseball in last year, it was literally painful to watch. Giving up a lot of homers isn’t nearly as …

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Projections vs. Reality: D-backs Pitchers

On May 15, 2014 By

Last week, we explored the performance of the Diamondbacks’ position players this season compared to their preseason projections. Never one to leave you hanging, it’s time that we apply the same methodology to the pitching staff. The necessary caveats were in the previous post, but I’ll remind the reader that these projections are updated to reflect the performances …

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Wade Miley, Strikeout Pitcher

On March 26, 2014 By

Losing the opening game of the 2014 season in front of a international audience wasn’t what any of us wanted. The Dodgers winning the opening game of the 2014 season is a close second. I’m just going to say it now so I don’t have to later: I can’t stand those guys. Moving on, perhaps the thing that we should …

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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 …

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Will Arizona’s Home Run Woes Continue?

On January 14, 2014 By

In case you missed it, Ryan and I have begun contributing over at Beyond the Box Score as of three weeks ago. During our short stint there to date, we’ve published some really good stuff and I encourage you to head over there and check out our work and the writing of our saber-savvy colleagues. I’m bringing this up because …

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Diamondbacks Steamer Projections – 2014 Rotation

On December 27, 2013 By

*If you’re unfamiliar with these projections, please read the Primer on Steamer Projections

The Arizona rotation did not grade out particularly well in 2013. Although Patrick Corbin had an unexpected breakout, several rotation members disappointed. Ian Kennedy pitched himself right out of a Diamondbacks uniform, Brandon McCarthy never got it together and Trevor Cahill was wildly inconsistent. Wade Miley …

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No Need for Starting Pitchers as Trade Market in Focus for Dbacks

On July 22, 2013 By

Fans and GM Kevin Towers seem to agree: the real area of need for the Diamondbacks is on the defensive side of the ball.  Although the team is only 5th in scoring in the league, there are no obvious places for improvement in the lineup.  In the infield, the team has an MVP candidate at first, an above-average second baseman, …

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