With a league-leading ERA of only 2.47, the Diamondbacks' pen has been a thing of beauty. Despite having failed to use the bullpen cart (and at times, other important inventions) this season, the same seven men have held down their jobs, with none of them posting a ERA north of 3.75. While regression, as usual, is to be expected, Hazen has made a task that many contending teams struggle to solve seem easy.
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The Closing Window and Manny Machado
Patrick Corbin and A.J. Pollock could walk away at the end of the season, qualifying offers in the their back pockets, and the Dbacks' competitive window may slam shut as quickly as it opened. Sure, there are other possibilities. Hazen and co. could find worthy replacements in a monster free agent class, or they could resign one of the departing snakes. But the blow of potentially losing two of the teams better players, one from each side of the ball, may be one from which the Dbacks will not recover. The two players were important in last year's playoff run, and they have played vital roles in that of this year. They won't be easy to replace.
Old Age and Zack Greinke
A quick glance at Greinke's stat line will give you the impression that he is having a very mediocre season. His ERA is sittting at 3.90, and his 3.99 FIP would show that this has been about what Zack deserves. If you are a die-hard traditionalist, the 6-5 record would support these metrics. It seems "meh," which is not what you would like from a guy being paid 31 Million bucks to throw a sphere past a guy with a stick. With Greinke pitching in his age-34 season, is this simply the natural decline of an aging ace? Age does play a role in Greinke's average results, but he is pitching far better than the surface stats would indicate.
Facing Patrick Corbin
The biggest surprise for the 2018 Dbacks has been the reemergence of Patrick Corbin as an ace. Through eleven starts, he has pitched to a 2.47/3.02/2.49 ERA/FIP/DRA line, and he is striking out over 11 per nine innings. Depending on your preferred flavor of WAR, he sits between fourth and sixth in the NL Pitcher leader boards. This run has been highlighted by earning NL Player of the Week Honors after he allowed only two runs in fifteen innings of work, including a one-hit complete game shutout against the Giants in which he carried a no-no into the eighth. His slider has been his main weapon, and it has been absolutely devastating, being the twelfth most valuable slider in the league so far, according to fangraphs.
Is Goldy OK?
There is no way of hiding the fact that Goldschmidt has not been himself so far this season. His .204/.325/.370 slashline is well below his career marks, and ZIPS projects him to have his worst full season ever offensively. This kind of offense ineptitude is something nobody would expect from Goldschmidt. Three times over the previous five years, he has finished in the top-3 of the MVP race, and in each of those seasons, he has been invited to the Midsummer Classic. He's been the star of the Diamondbacks ever since the Upton trade, and he has never struggled like this before. Naturally, the slump has brought questions into the minds of Dback fans: Is this the new Goldy? Have we seen the end of America's First Baseman? Are the Golden Days over?
The New Plan B
Among the many things that can derail a team's season, the ulnar collateral ligament is among the best at doing so. The path is one that baseball fans are all too familiar with: Pitcher A is removed from the game with forearm tightness. Pitcher A claims that he will be fine. An MRI on Pitcher A's elbow reveals damage to the UCL, and Pitcher A will seek a second opinion. Shockingly, the second opinion is the same as the first, and Pitcher A will undergo Tommy John Surgery. Pitcher A's season is over. With Taijuan Walker falling victim to this process, the Snakes find the fifth spot of their rotation vastly weakened.
Maximizing Archie Bradley
2017 exemplified two important characteristics of Archie Bradley: first, his ability to go multiple innings, and second, his success in high-leverage situations. With his glittering 2017 behind him, many, especially those outside of the state, thought that Archie would be the closer in 2018, but the Diamondbacks left that to newcomer Brad Boxberger and reassigned Bradley to the fireman role. Anytime in the first eight innings that there is a situation that poses a vital threat to the Diamondback's chances of winning, Archie is handed the baseball. The advantages of this strategy lie in the ability to be flexible with Bradley's usage and allow him to pitch in only high-leverage scenarios, or those where the game has the greatest odds of being decided. But was the Diamondback's strategy the best strategy?
A World with Bullpen Carts
Bullpen carts are back for the 2018 season! But with a move like this, possibilities for what could come next are endless.
The Steps Taijuan Walker Took
Image Credit: Getty Images The Diamondback's 2017 pitching staff was historically good. Zack Greinke returned to ace-level production while Robbie Ray honed in on his elite strikeout ability to join him on that pedestal. Zack Godley surprised the world by providing production that resembled that of Brandon Webb. Patrick Corbin was maddeningly inconsistent, drawing comparisons to Jekyll and Hyde, … Continue reading The Steps Taijuan Walker Took
Welcome to Roof and Panels Open
Spring Training is a time for new things. New players march towards a new season with its set of new challenges. For the Diamondbacks, Steven Souza Jr. and Jarrod Dyson join the squad with hopes of anchoring the Chase Field grass. Yoshihisa Hirano looks for new opportunities 5,775 miles away from his old home in … Continue reading Welcome to Roof and Panels Open
Roof and Panels Open 