SnakeBytes, 4/1: Kneejerk edition

Recaps

[MLB.com] Bullpen can't hold D-backs' early advantage - "[Ticked] off," McCarthy said. "There was a call there in the seventh that changed the entire outlook of the game. Obviously we all have to execute after that point, but that's a juncture, that's a pitch that you're not rewarded for, so that kind of leaves a bitter taste. The next pitch was a 3-2 sinker down and away, and looking at it, it was right where I want it, and that's a credit to the young kid to stay on that and be able to hook that ball, but the pitch before ... no, I did have him struck out, it just didn't get called."

[ArizonaSports] Diamondbacks leave door open for Giants, fall in Chase Field opener - "Terrible pitch, good swing," said Addison Reed of the Posey homer. "It was right over the middle of the plate. Anybody is going to hit that a long way. I missed my spot and he made me pay for it." Added Paul Goldschmidt, "There's a lot of good things that happened throughout the game. There were some good defensive plays. Brandon pitched well. Some guys had some good hits, some good at-bats. It wasn't all negative. But in the end, we weren't able to score enough runs. Just go get them."

[AZ Central] Diamondbacks lose late lead, drop home opener - It was a stunning turnaround to a game in which the Giants had made numerous lapses to that point. But there are innings they can look back on with regret. Take the fifth inning, which began with four consecutive hits off Giants reliever Yusmeiro Petit. The Diamondbacks scored just twice, leaving runners on second and third to end the inning.

[FOX Sports] Posey HR caps Giants' rally, spoils D-backs home opener - "It's frustrating, sure," said Trumbo, who had three hits and drove in two runs in his first game in Chase Field. "Any loss is frustrating, but anyone like this, when you have a decent amount of runs scored, is kind of a gut punch. You just keep moving, keep moving, keep moving."

The D-bat dog

[ArizonaSports] Review: The 'D-bat Dog' and its copious amount of fries - It's about this point where I'm really starting to feel it. Not sick, mind you, but full. Very full. This is also about the time I realize this a gratuitous amount of food. OK, now I feel sick. Why are there so many fries? If the human body is made up of 60 percent water, mine has to at least be 30 percent french fry at this point.

[AZ Family] D-backs' 18-inch, $25 corn dog taste test - The dog's creator, Chef Snoke, talked to Ryan O'Donnell about what goes into this dog. "I wanted something that was really going to impress the fans this year and knock people back on their heels," he said. "I thought, everybody loves a corn dog, so I'll make it huge, stuff it with some cheddar cheese and jalapeno, and wrap it in lots of bacon." It's battered, deep-fried and served on a big bed of fries. You'll also get a side of spicy mustard and chipotle ketchup. Ryan taste-tested the the corn dog for us and gave us an enthusiastic thumbs-up. "It's good," he says. "It's not as spicy as I thought. I expected it to be a little spicier."

[The Wire] Open Wide: Ranking the Most Extreme Foods to Hit Baseball Parks This Season - Last year's champion was Rangers Stadium (also known as Global Life Park), which offered a slew of excessive food: the Boomstick, a 24-inch hot dog drenched in chili, cheese, and toppings weighing in at 3 pounds. This year features some true gastronomic wonders. Or horrors, depending on your perspective. In honor of Opening Day, let's rank the best new additions to concession stands this season.

Other team news

[dbacks.com] Blanco takes job as D-backs' assistant hitting coach - "It's been crazy the first day," Blanco said after going from a hitters' meeting to batting practice. While he didn't 100 percent rule out getting back onto the field again, he said it would have to be a really good opportunity to get him to leave. "I'm more now a coach," he said. "I think this is a good opportunity to stay here in Arizona." Mark Grace will now go back to his original position and be the hitting coach for Class A Short-Season Hillsboro in the Northwest League.

[FOX Sports] D-backs lead MLB with lowest cost for fans for 8th straight year - At $126.89, the D-backs finished more than $80 below the industry average of $212.46. The Fan Cost Index is a representative look at the costs for a family of four to attend a MLB game. It has been computed annually by Team Marketing Report since 1991 and is comprised of four average tickets, two beers, four soft drinks, four hot dogs, parking for one car, two programs and two adult-sized hats.

[Rant Sports] Cubs Trade Jeff Samardzija To Diamondbacks - "Pitcher Jeff Samardzija had a great Opening Day start for the Chicago Cubs yesterday. Apparently, it was good enough that the injury-depleted Arizona Diamondbacks felt they needed to go out and trade for him. They did precisely that earlier, sending two of their top three pitchers to the north side. Righties Braden Shipley and Aaron Blair were the key players included in the deal that are headed to Chicago." Check your calendar...

And, elsewhere...

[ESPN] Don Baylor injured on ceremonial first pitch - former D-back coach Don Baylor broke his right leg while catching Vladimir Guerrero's ceremonial first pitch Monday night. Baylor will have surgery Tuesday on his right femur. Baylor couldn't stand up after Guerrero's throw, his right leg bending awkwardly beneath him while he was held up by Guerrero.

[Stanford Graduate School of Business] Research: Do We Shy Away From Pivotal Calls? Green and Daniels analyzed ball and strike calls for more than a million pitches between 2009 and 2011. When the batter already has two strikes, the authors show, a borderline pitch that would typically be called a strike 50% of the time is called a strike only about 30% of the time. In other words, when an umpire isn’t quite sure that the pitch was a strike, he or she becomes biased toward making calls that maintain the status quo (keeping the at-bat going) rather than potentially making an important mistake (ending the at-bat early by calling an uncertain strike).

Sure, yesterday wasn't as good as it might have been, but it could have gone worse. We could have pitched a shutout nine innings in our opener and still lost (Cubs). We could have scored ten runs and lost there too (Rangers). Or worst of all, been blown out 10-1 by the Marlins (Rockies). 159 games left, people. And that's no April Fool.

And finallly, bovada.lv have set their odds for who will be the first Manager fired during the 2014 Regular Season. Fancy a flutter?

1. John Gibbons 2/1
2. Kirk Gibson 5/2
3. Ned Yost 5/1
   Terry Collins 5/1
4. Bo Porter 7/1
5. Mike Scioscia 12/1