Week 23 Review
The line for last round was based on Goldschmidt walks, something which he had previously been doing in some abundance. However, he went back to getting actual hits this week: looks like neither the Giants nor the Dodgers were quite as scared of him as some teams. He did have a pair of walks on Sunday's finale against San Francisco, but even there, both of those were intentional ones, coming up in crucial situations with an open base. That left him well short of the projected line of five walks.
As an aside, Goldschmidt's homerless streak also continued, though I suspect that was largely disguised by the hits, and his overall good numbers for the season to date. It has now been 20 games and 93 PAs since the last time he went deep: if that had happened at the beginning of the season, there would probably be a lot more being written (not least, here!) as to whether the extension had been a good thing, etc. Thirty-plus homers later, we just want to get out of 2013. Anyway, back at the SnakePit Casino, I'd like to thank the competitors for their donations this week. Give, give, give until it hurts, I tell ya!
- Winners (1): walleye01
- Sinners (13): AJV19, Angry_Saguaro, AzDbackfanInDc, AzRattler, azshadowwalker, blank_38, eel, grimmy01, GuruB, hotclaws, JoelPre, rd33, imstillhungry95
A number of people went for the push option, but the faith in Goldie's ability to trot to first was both common and, unfortunately for them, unjustified this week. I'm awarding a discretionary bonus point to walleye01, rewarding his guts in having the courage to zig when everyone else was zagging! But it does mean that updating the standings chart this morning is a matter of mere moments...
Standings
- 13 points
blank_38 - 12 points
AJV19
grimmy01 - 11 points
Gildo
- 10 points
- 9 points
GuruB
walleye01
- 8 points
JoelPre
SenSurround
TolkienBard
- 7 points
Angry_Saguaro
AzRattler
piratedan7
xmet
- 6 points
frienetic
- 5 points
imstillhungry95
preston.salisbury
rd33
- 4 points
AzDbackfanInDc
azshadowwalker
BigLeagueAZ
Craig from Az
eel
FlannelFlapjacks
Marc Fournier
TimInTucson
- 3 points
azcougs
catbat
- 2 points
bozzy35
BrokeNBattleX
Maizefed
Songbird
- 1 point
AZfan85308
babakolo
backtocali
benhat
BobRob12
LiamNeeson
Muu
navyazfan
porty99
Shawnwck
Xipooo
- 0 points
azsportsfan31
BattleMoses
Daniel Corbin Jr.
Diamondhacks
hotclaws
leemellon
littleRoom
PatrickPetersonAZ
since_98
Stumpy657
Surksquatch
Week 24 line
It's not just Goldschmidt who has been having trouble leaving the park of late. The Diamondbacks collectively recently enjoyed (okay, it was more opposing pitchers who enjoyed!) a homerless streak covering six entire games: There has only been one longer in franchise history, an eight-game streak in July 2002. Didi Gregorius's two-run homer is all that stood between us and matching that, and we've been kept inside the field during 12 of the last 14 contests. Going back to August 28, Arizona has hit a total of four home-runs: over the same time-frame, the Nats' Ryan Zimmerman has eight, all by himself. Hell, Coco Crisp has had more (5) than the whole D-backs team.
The good news is, this week sees us back at Chase, where we certainly hit for more power: 61 HR in 71 games at home, compared to 56 home-runs in 74 road contests [we also hit a lot more triples: 17 in Arizona, with just seven elsewhere]. At first, it seems the arrival of the Colorado Rockies should help: even taking Coors out of the equation, their road ERA is 4.34, third-worst in the National League. However, that doesn't manifest itself in homers. Their 58 on the road is the third-lowest number: it's more about walks, with an OBP of .339 for the Rockies hurlers away from Denver. Then it's four against the Dodgers, who have the second-lowest HR road total, so it might not be easy...
- Home-runs per game: 0.81
- Home-runs per home game: 0.86
- Home-runs last seven home games: three
- Home-runs last series vs. Dodgers: one [three games in LA]
- Home-runs last series vs. Rockies: zero [three games in Denver]
Diamondbacks home-runs: 5½
Usual rules. Will the team be over or under? Tell us in the comments, by first pitch tonight at Chase Field (6:40pm). Get it right, and get a point - results next week!