bat flips are cool but the spring training variety is like doing the Mutombo "not in my house" after you block a shot by a 3rd grader
― and in my opinionation, the sun is gonna surely shine♪♫ (Karl Malone), Friday, 9 March 2018 22:37 (six years ago) link
ok i am going to hell but i did not expect that bat boy and i may have laughed super loud
― flippy bard (Will M.), Friday, 9 March 2018 22:43 (six years ago) link
this is an attention-getting quote
“He’s basically like a high school hitter because he’s never seen a good curveball,” the scout said. “He’s seen fastballs and changeups. And you’re asking a high school hitter to jump to the major leagues?"
https://sports.yahoo.com/verdict-shohei-ohtanis-bat-not-good-023611674.html
― ice cream social justice (Dr Morbius), Monday, 12 March 2018 16:35 (six years ago) link
i don't know if i trust any scout that compares the pitchers in the second-best professional league in the world to a USA high school league.
this does seem like a plausible scenario though:
They [the scouts interviewed for the story] also believe major league pitchers are going to punish him with inside fastballs, that his swing contains flaws in balance and mechanics, and that he needs at least 500 plate appearances of seasoning in the minor leagues to give him a chance at becoming a productive major league hitter.
which would suck, because he's probably not going to get those 500 at bats, ever, at least not while he's holding his own in a major league rotation.
― and in my opinionation, the sun is gonna surely shine♪♫ (Karl Malone), Monday, 12 March 2018 16:44 (six years ago) link
Ichiro had a lot of doubters too, though at the same time there are no scouts saying about Otani what was said by at least one major scout about Ichiro (he'd hit .300 every year, vie for batting titles, win a gold glove or two.)
― omar little, Monday, 12 March 2018 16:59 (six years ago) link
afaik no scouts are saying anything similar about Otani's bat, i mean
are there rules that prevent him from hitting in the minors on his off days?
― k3vin k., Monday, 12 March 2018 21:02 (six years ago) link
i would not have paid any heed to that story if it wasn't by Jeff Passan, who's fairly reputable i think
those scouts could be wrong of course
― ice cream social justice (Dr Morbius), Monday, 12 March 2018 21:07 (six years ago) link
xposti don't think so, other than burning up an option year? seems like the main obstacle would just be the logical nightmare of flying him back and forth across the country at a rate higher than his teammates, as he's already trying to pull double-duty learning pitching and hitting. or i might be wrong, maybe there's a rule that prevents shuttling back from the majors/minors too frequently?
― Karl Malone, Monday, 12 March 2018 21:09 (six years ago) link
players sent to the minors have to stay there 10 days (exceptions for DH 26th men and replacing an injured player). and in any case i don't think they'd want their starter being away from the team like that
― mookieproof, Monday, 12 March 2018 21:11 (six years ago) link
https://i.imgur.com/ymfE628.jpg
― mookieproof, Friday, 16 March 2018 20:57 (six years ago) link
on the plus side i bet his xFIP is pretty good for that game
― Karl Malone, Friday, 16 March 2018 20:59 (six years ago) link
His first inning was fantastic tbqf.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Friday, 16 March 2018 21:14 (six years ago) link
lol
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Friday, 16 March 2018 21:15 (six years ago) link
EJ: Obviously the spring is a tiny sample size, but if you were the Angels would you start Ohtani in AAA or in the bigs?
Keith Law: Don’t care about spring stats, as you know. If he’s not able to figure out this delivery issue – I wrote he’s not repeating it and getting to his release point – before Opening Day, I might leave him in extended spring training to get some one-on-one work in controlled situations. I think sending him to Salt Lake is kind of a bad idea all around, other than that the Buzz’s ownership would be ecstatic.
― ice cream social justice (Dr Morbius), Friday, 23 March 2018 17:00 (six years ago) link
So first mound appearance will be Sunday afternoon in Oakland.
― ice cream social justice (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 29 March 2018 19:17 (six years ago) link
batting 1.000
― mookieproof, Thursday, 29 March 2018 20:38 (six years ago) link
getting overpowered by a fastball and sneaking one thru is the new market inefficiency
― YouTube_-_funy_cats.flv (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Thursday, 29 March 2018 23:43 (six years ago) link
dummies on LA sports radio were going off on Ohtani a couple weeks ago with hot takes about him not being ready.. wasn't sure why they were so mad. the dude signed for 3m and these dudes were having a meltdown like he signed for 150m.
― officer sonny bonds, lytton pd (mayor jingleberries), Thursday, 29 March 2018 23:47 (six years ago) link
Pujols is on pace for 162 HRs.
wrong thread i know...
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Friday, 30 March 2018 00:30 (six years ago) link
Japanese two-way player Shohei Ohtani, who singled in his first at-bat in the majors on Thursday, was held out because the A's started a left-hander.
Is this gonna be SOP?
― ice cream social justice (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 31 March 2018 07:33 (six years ago) link
1-2-3 inning to start his career
― k3vin k., Sunday, 1 April 2018 20:19 (six years ago) link
there's no one at the coliseum lol
only 35,000 people saw shohei ohtani's first MLB pitching appearance. and of those 35,000, only about 15,000 even knew who ohtani was. but the other 20,000 people all started their own band
― Karl Malone, Sunday, 1 April 2018 20:30 (six years ago) link
actually yeah it looks like less than 35,000
― Karl Malone, Sunday, 1 April 2018 20:31 (six years ago) link
second inning not going so well
― k3vin k., Sunday, 1 April 2018 20:40 (six years ago) link
$3M for a closer/pinch hitter is a pretty good deal, imho.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Sunday, 1 April 2018 21:29 (six years ago) link
I think he showed he belongs in the rotation.
― Van Horn Street, Sunday, 1 April 2018 21:52 (six years ago) link
he's allowed 3 runs through 5 innings (all on a home run), struck out 6, walked 1, hit the high 90s with his fastball, struck someone out on an 88 mph changeup, and had wicked breaking pitches! not bad for a first major league start. he belongs in every single MLB rotation and would be the #1 starter on a fair amount of them.
― Karl Malone, Sunday, 1 April 2018 22:04 (six years ago) link
there's no way his arm could take being in the rotation for every team
― challops trap house (Will M.), Sunday, 1 April 2018 22:47 (six years ago) link
Phrasing. pic.twitter.com/0nhaHxOM9i— Adam (@RonSwansonTrio) April 1, 2018
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Sunday, 1 April 2018 23:18 (six years ago) link
Will, what do you mean? I think all teams are leaning toward having their ace pitch 180-200 innings, the other starters 160 and under. It's just evolving that way. (Some historically low number threw 162 last year.)
― ice cream social justice (Dr Morbius), Monday, 2 April 2018 01:48 (six years ago) link
he means literally pitching for every single team
― mookieproof, Monday, 2 April 2018 02:01 (six years ago) link
ah the ol' online humor mistranslator!
― ice cream social justice (Dr Morbius), Monday, 2 April 2018 11:07 (six years ago) link
i am excited about...shohei ohtani
― WilliamC, Wednesday, 4 April 2018 02:47 (six years ago) link
The Show Hey Kid.
― Van Horn Street, Wednesday, 4 April 2018 02:47 (six years ago) link
there was a pretty questionable discussion of ohtani's physique at the beginning of the inning :/
― k3vin k., Wednesday, 4 April 2018 03:59 (six years ago) link
his homer tonight barely got out but it also was a pretty decent pitch, i wasn't sure he had that in him
― J0rdan S., Wednesday, 4 April 2018 04:04 (six years ago) link
was it the Angels' broadcasters, kk?
― the ignatius rock of ignorance (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 4 April 2018 10:14 (six years ago) link
https://i.imgur.com/eeDVk5X.gifv
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Wednesday, 4 April 2018 16:20 (six years ago) link
haha aww cute
also sorry morbs yeah my joke was dumb he can't pitch for all 30 teams at once (altho i guess if he pitched 1 game per team, 30 games, 5-6 innings each? joke doesn't even track)
― challops trap house (Will M.), Wednesday, 4 April 2018 17:03 (six years ago) link
oppo off kluber
― mookieproof, Wednesday, 4 April 2018 21:56 (six years ago) link
okay maybe he can hit, so what
― frogbs, Wednesday, 4 April 2018 21:57 (six years ago) link
AGAIN!Shohei Ohtani knows a thing about encores. pic.twitter.com/Lmmw5HNecq— MLB (@MLB) April 4, 2018
― k3vin k., Wednesday, 4 April 2018 22:17 (six years ago) link
damn
Language at 29 seconds -- guess MLB doesn't respect the game.
― Andy K, Thursday, 5 April 2018 00:10 (six years ago) link
Bot 2nd: AngelsS. Ohtani homered (435 ft.) to deep center
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Saturday, 7 April 2018 02:57 (six years ago) link
Mike Trout now the second best player on his team.
― Van Horn Street, Saturday, 7 April 2018 03:42 (six years ago) link
whoa nellie, let's wait on that
― the ignatius rock of ignorance (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 7 April 2018 13:47 (six years ago) link
https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/shohei-ohtani-has-already-verified-something/
In his debut, Ohtani maxed out at 99 mph on the fastball and averaged 97.8 mph on the same pitch while also showcasing a darting, 90 mph splitter and breaking ball. If Ohtani can approximate anything like the 19.6% swinging-strike rate of his debut and continue to exhibit solid command, he will be an ace in short order.
Shohei Ohtani's 112.8 mph single tonight is the #Angels' hardest-hit ball of the season so far. It it their hardest base hit since a 113.6 mph Mike Trout single last August 30.— David Adler (@_dadler) April 4, 2018
― Karl Malone, Saturday, 7 April 2018 17:42 (six years ago) link