let's get excited about...shohei otani

Lol

daaaang, he walked in his first two PA's (the first one in particular was impressive) and then hit an RBI single before being taken out. Ohtani-fever!

https://www.mlb.com/video/extended-cut-ohtanis-debut/c-1876969983?tid=69972428

you can watch all the footage of him pitching and hitting there from his first two games. that slide scared me a little!

https://www.mlb.com/video/c-1878145883?tid=vtp_top_50

Ohtani recorded all eight of his outs via strikeout. With his pitch count at 52, he's likely done for the day.

— Maria I. Guardado (@mi_guardado) March 2, 2018

this game doesn't seem to be mlb.com at all?

looks like a "b game" according to other tweets from Guardado, so the competition might not have been as strong as even a normal early March spring training game

you'll have to do more than THAT to impress us, ohtani

*eats doritos*

yeah it's a back fields thing against brewers minor leaguers (i think). keston hiura did double off him, think there were other hits

i'm kinda surprised they wasted a 52-pitch ohtani spring training start on a b-game, though. you'd think they want to give him as many opportunities as possible to face major leaguers before the season starts

idk. plus they're at home this afternoon (not that the cactus league involves a lot of travel)

Shohei Ohtani, breaking ball (from today). 😳 pic.twitter.com/pTrmll2bDi

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 2, 2018

otoh, i don't think it mattered that this was a minor leaguer

http://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/la-sp-dodgers-angels-ohtani-20180307-story.html

this is nagl on the dodgers part imo. boo hoo, you had to sit in some pointless unproductive meetings, welcome to every day of my life

otm

have the Angels said if they'll consider bypassing the DH when Ohtani pitches, so he can hit? Presents a problem when he's relieved, obviously.

bypassing = eschewing

could they not list him as the DH, who happened to also do some pitching at the start of the game? tbh i don't really know the DH rules

The designated hitter rule allows teams to use another player to bat in place of the pitcher. Because the pitcher is still part of the team's nine defensive players, the designated hitter -- or "DH" -- does not take the field on defense.

The DH must be selected prior to the game, and that selected hitter must come to bat at least one time -- unless the opposing team changes pitchers prior to that point. A team that chooses not to select a DH prior to a game is barred from using a DH for the rest of that game. A player who enters the game in place of the DH -- either as a pinch-hitter or a pinch-runner -- becomes the DH in his team's lineup thereafter.

If a player serving as the DH is later used on defense, he continues to bat in his same lineup spot. But for the rest of the game, his team cannot use a DH to bat in place of the pitcher. A team is also barred from using a DH for the rest of the game if the pitcher moves from the mound to another defensive position, a player pinch-hits for any other player and then becomes the pitcher, or the current pitcher pinch-hits or pinch-runs for the DH.

not sure anything here except that last bit even approaches covering Otani's situation.

i don't think he can be a "DH" while pitching because, well, he's pitching. and playing defence etc.
i think this is all we need to know:
"A team that chooses not to select a DH prior to a game is barred from using a DH for the rest of that game."

My understanding is that Otani can switch from pitcher to outfielder (and then can be switched out?)... I think there's something saying as much upthread but hey I'm lazy lol.

lit up by tijuana today, apparently

sure he can, Al, but i'm wondering why not bat him *while* he's in the game pitching, and using no DH is the only way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkDDlgh8dAY

that bat flip sucks

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

ok i am going to hell but i did not expect that bat boy and i may have laughed super loud

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

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.

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.)

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?

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

xpost
i 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?

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

https://i.imgur.com/ymfE628.jpg

on the plus side i bet his xFIP is pretty good for that game

His first inning was fantastic tbqf.

lol

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.

So first mound appearance will be Sunday afternoon in Oakland.

batting 1.000

getting overpowered by a fastball and sneaking one thru is the new market inefficiency

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.

Pujols is on pace for 162 HRs.

wrong thread i know...

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?

1-2-3 inning to start his career

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

actually yeah it looks like less than 35,000

second inning not going so well