By Jack Sommers So as not to bury the lead, I’ll start right off with the inspiration for this article. In last night’s game day thread a question about whither Drew Ellis from Xerostomia prompted this comment from Michael McDermott: “For an out of the box idea, Ketel Marte at 3B?It would be a less difficult position than CF […]
Major League Baseball has given the Oakland A’s permission to begin seeking relocation options while the team is still pursuing a new $1 billion ballpark on the waterfront at Howard Terminal west of downtown Oakland. The A’s have a lease to play at the Coliseum through the 2024 season, and need a resolution of the situation by […]
The Arizona Diamondbacks stumble into New York coming off a three-game sweep at the hands of the Miami Marlins, having been outscored 20-4. That dropped the team record to 15-16. They’re in 4th place in the NL West, 3 games back of the 1st place Giants. They’re 1.5 games out of the Wild Card with 5 teams in front of […]
The Arizona Diamondbacks have been a somewhat surprising team so far in 2021. After getting off to a poor start, going 5-10, they turned it around by going 10-4 since. They’ve done so primarily on the backs of an offensive surge. Through the first 15 games they scored 4.5 Runs per game, and since then 6.1, thanks […]
Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker and outfielder Tim Locastro returned to the active roster Monday after stints on the injured list. Walker was in the starting lineup for Tuesday evening’s road game against the Miami Marlins, while Locastro was a reserve. Both Walker and Locastro spoke to the press via Zoom Tuesday afternoon. Read Evan Thompson’s […]
The Arizona Diamondbacks will continue exploring new ballpark options around Maricopa County, but the National League ballclub intends to concentrate on plans for a $400 million to $500 million refurbishment of Chase Field now that the Arizona state legislature has approved a funding mechanism that will underwrite 80% of the cost. Read the rest of Barry Bloom’s […]
On April 25, Madison Bumgarner of the Diamondbacks became the first player in major league history to pitch in every scheduled inning of a game without allowing a hit yet not receive credit for pitching a no-hitter. Evan Thompson explores the controversial ruling in his article for Last Word on Baseball.
Here are 10 Tables telling the story of 2021 so far Jack Sommers looks at how early season stats for April/May 2021 compare to the same monthly pairing over the recent decade. One striking observation based on the data: the biggest negative trends and changes to the game , primarily strikeouts, reduced balls in play […]
Can the D-backs keep the momentum going ?The Padres 13-11 are coming off a 3-1 series victory against the Dodgers in L.A. They’re currently in 3rd place, 2.5 games back of the surprising Giants and Dodgers who are tied for 1st at 15-8. The 11-11 Diamondbacks are coming off a series win against the Atlanta Braves. That came courtesy of […]
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred moved to assure fans that the coming summer of collective bargaining with the players’ union will not lead to a work stoppage when the current Basic Agreement expires Dec. 1, saying the owners are “committed to the process.” Manfred addressed the labor issue along with a number of other topics, including […]