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Diamondbacks Offense: A Not So In Depth Look

What do the numbers say?

By Xipooo
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP BAbip tOPS+ sOPS+
1st inning 57 245 223 33 59 11 2 5 30 8 19 38 0.265 0.327 0.399 0.726 89 2 0.298 101 93
2nd inning 57 242 224 31 61 5 1 6 28 6 16 52 0.272 0.324 0.384 0.708 86 7 0.331 96 106
3rd inning 57 252 231 33 65 9 3 9 33 9 17 58 0.281 0.332 0.463 0.795 107 5 0.339 119 125
4th inning 57 245 225 32 59 9 3 9 31 3 13 35 0.262 0.309 0.449 0.758 101 4 0.273 108 100
5th inning 57 244 223 38 62 12 1 8 37 3 15 50 0.278 0.321 0.448 0.769 100 5 0.323 111 111
6th inning 57 251 226 31 64 15 0 6 28 7 18 49 0.283 0.331 0.429 0.76 97 5 0.331 110 110
7th inning 57 226 199 18 41 10 0 3 17 4 21 44 0.206 0.281 0.302 0.583 60 5 0.245 63 71
8th inning 57 248 218 30 56 12 3 5 27 6 25 55 0.257 0.331 0.408 0.739 89 6 0.319 105 123
9th inning 44 184 166 13 38 8 0 1 13 1 15 46 0.229 0.295 0.295 0.59 49 2 0.308 65 82
Ext inning 8 120 104 8 30 6 0 2 8 5 15 23 0.288 0.378 0.404 0.782 42 2 0.354 118 102
Innings 1-3 57 739 678 97 185 25 6 20 91 23 52 148 0.273 0.327 0.416 0.743 282 14 0.322 105 108
Innings 4-6 57 740 674 101 185 36 4 23 96 13 46 134 0.274 0.32 0.442 0.762 298 14 0.309 110 106
Innings 7-9 57 658 583 61 135 30 3 9 57 11 61 145 0.232 0.304 0.34 0.643 198 13 0.29 79 94

BAM!

And here you thought you'd get some sort of description of what you were about to read then I pull this crap.  I just smack you upside the head with the data and let you sort it out.

Not sure what you're looking at?  Did you READ the title of this article?  Am I being a little too "in your face" about your reasoning skills, probably but this isn't about me!

So it seems the team is especially good at putting together a rally in the 8th and extra innings, but the bulk of the action happens in innings 1-6.  The OBP is over .300 for all of those innings and they're also batting above .260 for those same innings.  Those 66.6% of innings account for 76.6% of the scoring.

What is going on in the later innings to account for this drop?  Lets look at the teams numbers for each time through facing pitching.

Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP BAbip tOPS+ sOPS+
vs. SP 57 1442 1320 179 349 52 10 43 169 33 98 275 0.264 0.318 0.417 0.734 550 28 0.304 103 103
vs. RP 57 815 719 88 186 45 3 11 83 19 76 175 0.259 0.326 0.376 0.702 270 15 0.322 95 107
vs. SP 1st 57 543 495 53 121 15 4 10 49 1 40 111 0.244 0.304 0.352 0.655 174 9 0.295 82 90
vs. SP 2nd 57 494 456 62 131 19 3 18 61 1 30 95 0.287 0.335 0.461 0.796 210 8 0.329 119 116
vs. SP 3rd 56 375 342 56 91 18 3 14 56 0 26 63 0.266 0.316 0.459 0.775 157 9 0.286 113 105
vs. SP 4th+ 16 30 27 3 6 0 0 1 3 0 2 6 0.222 0.3 0.333 0.633 9 2 0.25 76 67
vs. RP 1st 57 781 690 80 177 43 3 9 78 3 71 173 0.257 0.323 0.367 0.689 253 14 0.324 92 105
vs. RP 2nd 7 32 27 6 9 2 0 2 5 0 5 2 0.333 0.438 0.63 1.067 17 1 0.304 193 167
vs. RP 3rd+ 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -100 -100

First time through isn't great but they're killing starting pitching the 2nd and 3rd time through the order.  This is actually exceptionally good news.  It means the team is making adjustments to the pitching, something Ward and Grace should be applauded for.   Last year the team batting average for first, second, and third time through was .250, .244, and .245 respectively.  Clearly they weren't making the adjustments that this team is.

So what about those 7th and 9th innings?  Well for the 9th inning you have to consider they've won 15 games at home which wouldn't count toward their 9th inning statistics.  Plus everyone is tired, they wanna go home, and Tony La Russa needs a nap.  The 7th inning is a different matter.

Judging by the numbers relief pitching and starting pitching the 4th+ time around is causing them trouble.  They're only batting .257 the first time they see a relief pitcher and a measly .222 against starting pitching the 4th time around.  The 7th inning is typically when you see relievers or if the starting pitcher is dealing they'll stay in the game to save the bullpen.

Ok, so who is responsible for this 7th inning mess?  (But is it really a mess if it's better than last years BA?)

Welp, that would be Nick Ahmed, Paul Goldschmidt (yes THAT Paul Goldschmidt), Ender Inciarte, and Mark Trumbo.  All 4 of them have over 20 plate appearances in the 7th inning and all are batting under .210 in the 7th inning.  Goldie comes the closest with .208.

Conclusion

This was a hastily thrown together article with very little cohesiveness to it's thought process.... and you expect a conclusion?  Stop making this about me!

But no, seriously Turner Ward and Mark Grace are doing a good job.

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