Snake Bytes: 10/03 - Verdugo and the Mexican party

D-backs injuries and roster moves (mlb.com)

Seasons for both Marte and Rivera are over.

• IF Emmanuel Rivera placed on 60-day IL; The D-backs placed Rivera on the injured list with a left wrist fracture. The third baseman had been playing through pain after an initial X-ray was negative.
• Marte was transferred to the 10-day injured list (undisclosed). Marte was placed on the injured list ahead of the D-backs’ series opener in San Francisco on Sept. 30. He was originally in the lineup before getting scratched and going on the IL.

Jake McCarthy has big game in D-backs’ 10-inning loss to Giants (mlb.com)

“We’re on the right trajectory, but we still have a long way to go,” Lovullo said. “We know what our record is against the Giants. They’re a good baseball team. We’re proud of that. But I’ll be proud of it when we get to the top of that hill. It’s going to take a lot of work, and we’re going to keep grinding through it.”

“He’s a very good player, and he’s coming into his own,” Lovullo said. “He’s a very engaged baseball player that understands the concepts that we’re laying down on him, and the success that he’ll have at the plate is not a surprise to me.” - Torey Lovullo on Jake McCarthy

“When other teams do it [speed, DBE] to us, I see how valuable it is. And I always try to apply pressure,” McCarthy said. “I just think it continues to put us on the offensive, and just always thinking of what we’re going to do and putting pressure on them. … It’s unfortunate that we lost today, but I just think the more we do that, the better off we’ll be.”

Diamondbacks Walked Off By Giants 4-3 in Extra Innings - Sports Illustrated

Once again the Diamondbacks were unable to finish a winnable series, as they were walked off by the Giants 4-3 in 10 innings. The game followed the typical script, as the team’s shortcomings were magnified once again in a tight game.

Arizona struggled to capitalize on their scoring chances, going 3-17 with runners in scoring position and hit into three inning-ending double plays. That came to a head in the tenth inning, when the Giants scored two runs off Taylor Widener in the 10th.

Around The MLB

Alex Verdugo on Dodgers’ 2020 World Series title: ‘A 60-game season, it’s still hard to judge to this day’ - CBSSports.com

“A 60-game season, it’s still hard to judge to this day,” Verdugo said. “Like yeah, it’s a World Series, right? Yeah, they got a ring. But they didn’t play any games at their home field. They didn’t. There weren’t any fans there. It was 60 games. Anyone could ball out for 60 games. That extra 102 is a big difference. They won it, it’s a true one, for what we call it. But I still call it as I see it, it’s still a 60-gamer.”

MLB playoff race: Phillies’ fortunes turn with win and Brewers loss on wild Saturday - CBSSports.com

It was a crazy day in the fight for the third National League wild-card spot. The Philadelphia Phillies were in free fall, then the rest of the day played out and they are now actually in decent shape for the third and final NL wild-card spot.

Atlanta Braves sweep New York Mets, close on NL East title (espn.com)

The defending World Series champion Braves swept the three-game series and moved two games ahead of New York in the National League East. Any combination of one Atlanta win or one Mets loss would give the Braves their fifth straight division title.

San Diego Padres clinch second playoff berth since 2006 (espn.com)

Musgrove had plenty of his No-No Joe Double IPA from Resident Brewing on hand for the celebration. The beer was launched after his no-hitter.

Report: Tony La Russa Expected To Announce Retirement On Monday - MLB Trade Rumors

White Sox manager Tony La Russa is expected to announce his retirement tomorrow, according to a report from Bob Nightengale of USA Today. La Russa, who turns 78 years old on Tuesday, has been absent from the team since late August due to a medical issue. La Russa had his pacemaker repaired and has now been advised to not return to a managerial position.

Across The Wall

Mexican baseball fiesta begins 11th year (Mexico)

The Mexican Baseball Fiesta will return to Tucson for an eleventh year for four nights, beginning this Thursday.

Mexican Baseball Fiesta games have an electricity in the air not seen during MLB spring training in February and March with music playing all the time, mascots on the field, fans dancing in the stands and authentic Mexican food like tacos, tortas and burritos instead of hot dogs and peanuts (although those are available at concession stands.

Justin ^_^

Across The Pacific

Munetaka Murakami celebrates youngest Triple Crown with 56th homer (Japan)

Yakult Swallows third baseman Munetaka Murakami became Nippon Professional Baseball’s youngest Triple Crown winner at 22 on Monday, topping the Central League with a .318 batting average, 56 home runs and 134 RBIs.

“I’d be lying if I said there was no pressure. I’m stunned myself, I wonder whether the reward (for this year’s performance) came at the very end.”

Buffaloes win PL title on final day of regular season (Japan)

The Buffaloes’ 5-2 win over the Rakuten Eagles, coupled with the SoftBank Hawks’ 5-3 loss to the Lotte Marines, left the Buffaloes and the Hawks at the same 76-65 win-loss record with two ties each, but the Buffaloes clinched the title by virtue of a 15-10 head-to-head record against the Hawks.

“I’m proud of my players for getting through this tough season,” Buffaloes manager Satoshi Nakajima said.

Japanese baseball’s Swallows revive on-field beer shower after intoxicating pennant win (Japan)

Nippon Professional Baseball’s Yakult Swallows clinched the Central League pennant on Sept. 25 with a 1-0 win over the Yokohama BayStars. And with its second league championship in as many years, the team brought back a Japanese baseball tradition: the “Beer Kake,” or dousing all and sundry with suds.

Half-Korean MLB pitcher would love to play for S. Korea, just not right now

Born to a Korean mother and an American father, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Mitch White would love to play for the South Korean national team someday in the future. However, he won’t do that at the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC).

“It’d be an awesome experience. But it’s just there’s too much opportunity for me next year and I think I just have to make sure I get the best leadup to the season as I can.”

Indonesia celebrates 77th Independence Day with first national baseball league

Last weekend a soccer match in the Indonesian highest division left over 120 people dead, amongst them more than 30 children. Indonesian soccer has severe troubles with hooliganism so let’s hope fans will behave in baseball over there.

Former MLB World Series Winner Josh Reddick signs with the Perth Heat (Australia)

“To welcome Josh, who is the highest prized recruit the ABL has ever seen, we’re delighted and excited for him to arrive in Perth in October. I think fans right across the country will be really excited to see him perform.

Across The Atlantic

Butchers Defeat Lumberjacks to Win Third Swedish Title (Sweden)

The Rättvik Butchers swept the Leksand Lumberjacks, 3-0, to win the 2022 Swedish title and the club’s third domestic championship.

The Swedish version of Shohei Ohtani, Ben Jonson, who went 6-for-15 with a double and four RBI in the three Butcher victories was named the championship series MVP. He also tossed a complete game shutout in Game 1’s 3-0 triumph, striking out three and walking the same number while scattering four hits.

The Butchers finished atop the Elitserien North standings with a 25-2 record and swept the Stockholm Monarchs, 2-0, in the best-of-three semifinal before doing the same to the Lumberjacks in the championship series.

Espoo Expos Sweep Tampere Tigers to Claim 18th Finnish Championship (Finland)

The Espoo Expos defeated the Tampere Tigers 17-2 in Game 3 of the Finnish championship series last Saturday, Sep 10, with the victory giving the Expos a sweep in the best-of-five series and the club’s 18th Finnish championship.

The victory also avenges last year’s sweep of the Expos by the Tigers in the championship series.