VINCE MAROTTA

Did L.A. end two of our seasons Tuesday night?

May 23, 2012, 2:08 PM | Updated: 4:25 pm

Oh, Los Angeles.

We in Phoenix have long been saddled with the label of
being L.A.’s little brother, much to our dismay. And
sure,
you’ve given us
wedgies, wet willies and played countless practical jokes
on us over the years and we’ve had no choice but to take
it.

But now, we’re getting older. More established. More
sophisticated. More
able to rise up and beat you on any given night.

We’ve had our head-to-head moments in the sun. What you
did
to us on Tuesday night, however, was just
downright cruel. In fact, we’re telling Mom.

Dustin Penner’s goal 17:42 into overtime lifted the Los
Angeles Kings to a 4-3 victory and allowed L.A. to punch
their ticket the Stanley Cup Finals for just the second
time in their 44-year team history. And of course, it
ended the Coyotes’ longest postseason run ever.

As painful as it was to watch the Kings celebrate on the
ice at Jobing.com Arena, it was inevitable. They were,
after all, the better hockey team over the course of the
five-game series. And they’re unbeatable as the road
team. Don’t believe me? Just look at the big, fat zero
in their
road loss column during the postseason.

It was a fruitful run for the Coyotes. The team exorcised
postseason demons that have haunted them since they called
Manitoba home. They ignited a dormant fan base and
continued to plant seeds for a long run of relevance
should the team
remain in Phoenix — but that’s a story for another day.
Mike Smith launched himself into the category of Phoenix
sports legend with his unbelievable play between the pipes
and Mikkel
Boedker raised the level of his game enough to make the
rest of the league take notice.

While that was going on, about 30 minutes east of
Glendale, the Arizona Diamondbacks were receiving an
atomic wedgie from the Los Angeles Dodgers. You know, the
kind that leave not only physical, but mental marks.

The D-backs
led 6-1, but when Trevor Cahill was removed from the game
after six effective innings, the wheels on the Sedona red
bus fell off. Brad Ziegler relieved Cahill (and I use
that term loosely) allowing two hits and three runs
without recording an out. Craig Breslow followed and
yielded three hits and two runs again without recording an
out. Sure, his performance was marred by a throwing error
courtesy of
third baseman Josh Bell.

In all, the Dodgers scored five times, tying the game at
6-6. Ouch. It feels like the elastic is about to rip.

Unlikely hero Lyle Overbay, who had four hits on the
night while raising his season batting average to .370,
homered in the 8th to give the D-backs the lead back. It
wouldn’t last long, as Ivan DeJesus doubled in two runs in
the top of the 9th off of J.J. Putz to give the Dodgers
their first lead of the game. Arizona went down quietly in
the 9th, losing 8-7.

That underwear is toast.

It’s only May, but this was the kind of demoralizing, gut-
wrenching, I-want-to-pull-my-hair-out kind of loss that
has derailed many a baseball club over the last 132 years.
And I fear that it will completely derail this
Diamondbacks club. At the very least, the defeat further
exposed the D-backs’ massive bullpen issue and increased
their deficit to 11.5 games — a huge number to overcome
at any point of the season.

So, thanks big brother Los Angeles. Thanks for ending one
and possibly two of our teams’ seasons within minutes.

And you owe us a new pair of boxer briefs, you jerk.

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Did L.A. end two of our seasons Tuesday night?