D-backs Post-season Notes #5: BEATen LA

That escalated quickly

Literally. Perdomo hit his first home-run as we were beginning to move back inside from where we had been making S'mores. By the time I'd got the inside TV on the game, Arizona had hit four of them. A grand total of 17 pitches covered all four, which may partly explain why Lance Lynn was left out there to allow all four. Though it took longer than normal, due to the review necessary to overturn Gabriel Moreno's first effort. It may be the most metal thing I've ever seen anybody do in a Diamondbacks uniform. "Overturn that, melon-farmers..." Lynn became the second pitcher to allow four HR in the NLDS. The first was... Clayton Kershaw in 2017.

Snakes strike early

Can't lose the series if you never trail in any game [insert head-pointing meme]. Here is the Arizona Win Probability at the end of the third inning in each contest this series:

• Game 1: 99.0%
• Game 2: 81.8%
• Game 3: 87.4%

They outscored the Dodgers 16-0 over the first third of the game, which seems like a solid strategy. It kept the home town crowd out of it in Los Angeles, and energized them in Phoenix.

Bob Costas was terrible

I'd not realized it before, due to social reasons. We were at a bar with the Snakepitette for much of Game 1, and was similarly distracted by peopling for Game 2 and the early portion of Game 3. It was only during the later innings that I was able to appreciate how genuinely dreadful he was. There were lengthy periods where you wouldn't have known there were two teams in the game, let alone that one of them was the D-backs. Y'know - the side who were leading?

Someone needs to do an analysis of his topics and determine the ratio of time he spent talking about LA compared to Arizona. I'd put it somewhere around 3:1, or possibly worse. That's when he wasn't flat-out wrong, such as saying the Dodgers were playing at double-play depth... when there were two outs in the inning. Thank God we won't have to endure him in the NLCS.

David Peralta is not your friend

You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. -- Harvey Dent

My philosophy has always been that I root for the name on the front of the jersey, not the one on the back. You'll get cut slack if you get traded to another team, but once you sign a contract somewhere else, you are the enemy. That's why I couldn't quite understand those who got upset when David Peralta was booed at Chase Field earlier this year. He had become a Dodger of his own free will, it wasn't as if Dave Stewart kidnapped him off the streets and water-boarded Peralta until he signed.

Recent comments by David clearly showed he has fully embraced the dark side and had no loyalty to his old team, who gave a failed pitcher another chance. So, tell me again: why should we have any loyalty to him? More fans seemed to realize this last night, and the booing was audible as Peralta went 0-for-2 with a double-play. Couldn't have happened to a nicer person.

Beat LA

If you want to know why we take such pleasure in beating the Dodgers, the video below will give you a good idea. It's smug [insert plural expletive of choice here] like Bill Plaschke, that demonstrate why fans of every other team hate the Dodgers.

Dylan Hernandez is no better. "Good for the little desert town"? GTFO. These are allegedly "professional" journalists, folks - not sarcastic amateurs on a fan site. And when called out on his bullshit, Hernandez was most amusingly triggered:

What a coincidence. We're glad you don't live here too, Dylan. Part of why I was up until 2 a.m. was due to taking a long bath in Dodger fan tears, about how unfair this all was, and the playoff system must be changed. I fear I may have overdosed, on the vast amounts of Copium I consumed.

World Series odds

From being basically 50-1 outsiders when the playoffs started, the D-backs are now fourth favorites at only +440. You can get +1900 on Corbin Carroll for World Series MVP. Maybe I should convert my standing wager on the team into a parlay?

Braves or Phillies?

Arizona now gets to rest, align its rotation perfectly, and await the winner of the other Division Series. I'd probably lean slightly to preferring the Phillies, just on the basis of them being slightly weaker overall: run differential of +81 compared to the Braves +231. I just want to see it go five games, so the winners do not get to set up their rotation, giving the D-backs a better edge for the first couple of games.

More from the road

Greenville is also home to the Class-A minor-league affiliate of Boston Red Sox, the Greenville Drive. They play at Fluor Field (named after a local company) in the West End of the city, just across from Shoeless Joe's house, mentioned last time. They were champions of the South Atlantic League this year, and their mascot is a frog named Reedy Rip’it. The ballpark is a match for Fenway, both in dimensions and the presence of a Green Monster in left, though the one here is smaller than the "real" one, being only thirty feet high, as opposed to thirty-seven. Some guy called "Mookie Betts" played for them in 2013. Wonder whatever happened to M.000kie? Obviously, there was no baseball to be seen, but the team shop was open, so I bought a shirt.

Off to Helen in Georgia today, for the town's Oktoberfest. Obviously, the team's next game will not be until Monday, so I won't be doing these every day. But there should still be plenty to talk about on the SnakePit. Rest assured, we will be doing so...