Flu might have damaged Ohtani permanentlyQuote:
Originally Posted by simpdog
Angels fans were booing Ohtani too. Druff is upset and confused
I need two more runs. Gonna have to lean on Angels for that
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Flu might have damaged Ohtani permanentlyQuote:
Originally Posted by simpdog
Angels fans were booing Ohtani too. Druff is upset and confused
I need two more runs. Gonna have to lean on Angels for that
Quote:
A Hawaii real estate investor and broker are suing Shohei Ohtani, claiming the Los Angeles Dodgers star and his agent got them fired from a $240 million luxury housing development on the Big Island’s coveted Hapuna Coast that they brought him in to endorse.
According to the lawsuit filed in Hawaii Circuit Court on Friday, Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo, increasingly demanded concessions from developer Kevin J. Hayes Sr. and real estate broker Tomoko Matsumoto before demanding that their business partner, Kingsbarn Realty Capital, drop them from the deal.
If we learned one thing from the gambling scandal, it's that Ohtani entrusts his business to shady "professionals" who then sometime proceed to act in unethical ways.Quote:
Originally Posted by simpdog
I doubt Ohtani had any knowledge of this. His agent was probably far too aggressive with the negotiations to have Ohtani endorse it, and then when he didn't get them, he probably called their business partner to bitch about those two guys, stating that Ohtani would refuse to endorse it unless they were fired.
Totally believable that this would happen.
Of course, these two guys also could have just been assholes, and perhaps Ohtani's agent exposed it to the business partners. There has to be more to this.
You can't blame Ohtani for not being himself when he's back in Anaheim.
He probably still has nightmares from his time there. Here he was putting up huge numbers, and sometimes was getting support from an on-and-off healthy Mike Trout.
In six years, he didn't get to play a single postseason game. There are only two teams in MLB who haven't seen the postseason since 2018, and that's the Pirates (2015) and the Angels (2014).
Ohtani deliberately chose to hide in Anaheim. If The Angels were a dynasty it would not have suited him. Lack of competition from other team mates meant he had tremendous opportunity to pitch while being a position player. He would be given a long leashQuote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
As well, Angels executive Billy Eppler courted Ohtani since he was in high school. There was trust. It is fascinating to me thet Eppler is with Milwaukee now.
The Angels playoff ignominy was a feature not a defect to Ohtani. You know this to be true.
Curiously, Ohtani apparently has the same trust in Fraudman he felt with Eppler. Ohtani has an exit clause in his Dodgers contract should Fraudman leave the organization. Crazy. We see by the latest news story Ohtani doesn’t always have a good radar regarding non athletes
We have yet to see how Ohtani’s career will unfold after his mind boggling performance in Anaheim. Home runs are nice but that isn’t what captured the world’s attention previously. It’s trending positively. Pray for him.
Ohtani has traded one fail team for another, of course. The Dodgers legacy of playoff failure may present the opportunity for Ohtani to carry them on his back to playoff victory and cement his GOAT status. It’ll be a monumental challenge.
Regardless of how he felt in his early MLB career about keeping out of the spotlight while playing for a failteam, he clearly wanted to win once he became a free agent.Quote:
Originally Posted by SanlmarOhtani deliberately chose to hide in Anaheim. If The Angels were a dynasty it would not have suited him. Lack of competition from other team mates meant he had tremendous opportunity to pitch while being a position player. He would be given a long leashQuote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
As well, Angels executive Billy Eppler courted Ohtani since he was in high school. There was trust. It is fascinating to me thet Eppler is with Milwaukee now.
The Angels playoff ignominy was a feature not a defect to Ohtani. You know this to be true.
Curiously, Ohtani apparently has the same trust in Fraudman he felt with Eppler. Ohtani has an exit clause in his Dodgers contract should Fraudman leave the organization. Crazy. We see by the latest news story Ohtani doesn’t always have a good radar regarding non athletes
We have yet to see how Ohtani’s career will unfold after his mind boggling performance in Anaheim. Home runs are nice but that isn’t what captured the world’s attention previously. It’s trending positively. Pray for him.
Ohtani has traded one fail team for another, of course. The Dodgers legacy of playoff failure may present the opportunity for Ohtani to carry them on his back to playoff victory and cement his GOAT status. It’ll be a monumental challenge.
The trust in Friedman is based upon the (misguided) belief that Friedman is the only one in the Dodgers organization who can be counted on to build a champion.
I will say that the Dodgers are thus far 1-for-1 in World Series titles since Ohtani joined the squad, so that probably solidifies the Friedman myth even more in his head. He also got to witness one of the best Friedman moves in a long time, which was acquiring Edman and Kopech in exchange for a pile of trash. Both players made a big postseason impact, especially Edman.
The 2025 moves will yield no such miracles.
Ohtani is still OPSing over 1.000, which puts him only behind Judge. He's still going to win the MVP again.
He does have a 27% strikeout rate, so that's something to watch. But strikeouts have always been a hidden problem for Ohtani, as he's whiffed over 1000 times since 2018.
Having been allowed to develop his game in Anaheim Ohtani was ready for the next step. You are correct.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan DruffRegardless of how he felt in his early MLB career about keeping out of the spotlight while playing for a failteam, he clearly wanted to win once he became a free agent.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sanlmar
The trust in Friedman is based upon the (misguided) belief that Friedman is the only one in the Dodgers organization who can be counted on to build a champion.
I will say that the Dodgers are thus far 1-for-1 in World Series titles since Ohtani joined the squad, so that probably solidifies the Friedman myth even more in his head. He also got to witness one of the best Friedman moves in a long time, which was acquiring Edman and Kopech in exchange for a pile of trash. Both players made a big postseason impact, especially Edman.
The 2025 moves will yield no such miracles.
Ohtani is still OPSing over 1.000, which puts him only behind Judge. He's still going to win the MVP again.
He does have a 27% strikeout rate, so that's something to watch. But strikeouts have always been a hidden problem for Ohtani, as he's whiffed over 1000 times since 2018.
Dodgers winning last year with 2½ pitchers was a modern miracle. Similarly, this years troubled staff presents a blank canvass.
The only asterisk is that Ohtani is not playing a position as he did in Anaheim. The outfield, much like the entire Dodgers defense, is a shifting and mediocre landscape. If Shohei is inclined he will advise Fraudman of his intention to play right field.
I was looking at Spencer Strider tonight and his internal brace. Not pretty. He’s still learning to pitch with it. Ohtani is not human.
If 3rd base coach Dino Ebel was formally introduced to the current roster perhaps they would use him and there would be fewer base running blunders.
Any other level or any other team would bench the player who ran the way the Dodger do. Even Ohtani the other day. Senseless. There was no way Ebel gave him the sign to steal 3rd with Freeman at the plate.
There is no coaching happening lately. Players are tuning them out
LOL Druff, granted all you gave up was Outman to re-acquire him, but Brock Stewart back on his proper IL roster.
Him traded back to Prior just made me giggle. Seems like he got hurt literally walking into the clubhouse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4ODWCv0Go0
Tied for first now with Padres.
Dustin May pitched 6 scoreless and struck out 8 with a tight 2-0 lead vs the same team that knocked around one of the 5 best pitchers in MLB, Crochet, the previous nightQuote:
Originally Posted by SanlmarI posted this in the early morning hours yesterday prior to May the mound for the Sawks.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sanlmar
lol, the Sawks wasted no time deprogrammimg Dodgers Mark Prior fail out of Gingergaard. I know I would.
https://youtube.com/shorts/cyhS4RLKn...dDVr9PBpil386Z
Brewers Sawks and Cleveland. New school pitching. Deempahsizing 4 Seam and weighted balls and leaning into the cutter. It’s working
May acted the stopper ending a 4 game Red Sox skid.
Just took some decent pitching coaching for a change.
I have a ticket purchased a mere 12 days ago for Padres NL West winner +750. +175 nowQuote:
Originally Posted by simpdog
Obv gonna take some profit here
Perhaps I shoulda said something. lol
Brewers. You’ll hear about the 12 straight. They’ll miss the more important 10-2 run line record. They aren’t squeaking these out. They are just a RISP machine right now.
Tribe is a Druff special Marlins play tonight. I will stay away, Williams has been very good, but he threw 124 pitches chasing no hitter last game. We will see if it matters tonight
That is an important observation. They know how to advance a runner. I thought the bunt was illegal cause I watch so much Dodgers. Turns out it’s not.Quote:
Originally Posted by BCR
Brewers are what is good about baseball in 2025 too.
Dodgers are on a 0-7 run with bases loaded. Very impressive. Quite inept. They are the mirror image of Brewers. Swing from their heels and hope.
Both teams are hella entertaining in their own way.
May not win but it’s +EV
That is a good bet. They're playing the best of any second half NL team right now, so +650 is a good line.
It will help if Misiorowski is healthy and emotionally ready for the postseason.
Brew Crew best record too
You know Padres and Dodgers batters are gonna get drilled in the upcoming series. I can see hitting hot head Pages, for instance. He tilts easy and would be even more prone to mistakes. I just don’t think you want to give Roberts the opportunity to re-light the Dodger emotional fuse.
I’m Red Sox, Yankees, Pedro and old school so HBP is part of my DNA but I hope Machado and company just keep on autopilot and continue the run. No shenanigans. If Dodgers want to start up in the second inning don’t take the bait.
The Fraudman comments today regarding the trade deadline. Absolutely classic. Save the prospects like you are clipping coupons for Bed Bath and Beyond. He thinks he can squeeze one more year out of this crew. He will upgrade over the winter and just run out the cards for this year
Fraudman’s stated thought process is that trading prospects at the deadline yields less value than doing same in the winter. So he’ll pass the opportunity to fix holes now. He will wait till winter meetings. See what a brilliant strategist he is?
He’s not in Tampa. He’s in the triple penalty phase with payroll and he’s looking to buy dented cans at the food pantry.
I’ll show you my Ohtani player prop fades and Angels tickets if you want but what’s the point?
Expensive game tonight in LA. Like playoff expensive.
See, San, the fans do care.
Remember how bad the Padres were for awhile after their hot start? Seems like ancient history.
Guilty of being unsophisticated not apathetic.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
Padres doing what they do best -- choking when it comes to the Dodgers.
LA back in first.
In the meantime, Brewers have won 14 straight and sit 8.5 ahead of the Dodgers & Phillies for best NL record.
Anyone notice how the Mets have been scuffling lately? Bad last month for baseball in New York. Mets are only 1.5 ahead of Reds for final WC spot.
I forgot to bet against Nick Martinez on his last start. He's been consistently inconsistent, in that he pitches poorly after going 7+ innings in any start. Indeed, he got bombed yesterday. Get ready to fade him if he goes long again.
At one point the Dodgers had 5 runs on 1 hit.
Padres tested Dodgers catcher Will Smith’s arm three consecutive times and got thrown out every time.
Dropped ball on warning track by America’s sweetheart Jackson Merrill in a miscommunication with Tatis yielded two unearned runs. Again, Padres had 5 hits and no runs to Dodgers 1 hit and 5 runs.
Youth baseball. Battle of losers. I was offended as a baseball fan
Neither is playing even remotely close to Brewers baseball.
Brewers plus money ML 14 games deep into a winning streak. I get it. Normally I lay off this game. It looks advantage Reds on paper, but I would never insult the gods and do anything but mash Brewers ML until this run ends. This stretch has been glorious.
I had the Padres that first game. I liked the bullpen game with their bullpen. Pitched fine. Machado and Xander just so impatient at the plate. Made Kershaw look like a wizard. When he’s on he doesn’t give you much to hit. You have to work him. They were swinging at shit. There is something lacking on that Padres team. They don’t work pitchers. Just play bad baseball at times. They are going to waste that bullpen despite having a formidable lineup on paper. They should be better than they are.
BCR. Whatever shall we do with you?
The narrative was - being like 10 games up on anyone else in the NL and playing a double header tomorrow vs arch rival Cubs …. this game was a guiltless game to punt and reset
of course I write this post game
For those fascinated with the double NY collapse, here's an ESPN article about it:
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...n-odds-concern
The Yankees did win today, and the Mets are up 3-0 early on the Mariners.
Dodgers continue to be difficult on the Padres, sweeping them and taking back a 2 game lead, after briefly losing first place for one day.
Rob Manfred, the worst MLB commissioner in history, wants to add two teams and completely realign all of the divisions geographically, thus ruining the NL and AL forever.
Manfred's other "greatest hits" include the awful runner on 2nd in extras, the elimination of pitchers hitting in the NL, and the idiotic move of the 2021 All Star Game from Atlanta to Denver, supposedly to "fight racism". (Never mind that Denver is very white, and Atlanta has a large black population!)
Here's an article describing it: https://www.foxnews.com/sports/mlbs-...ans-torch-idea
Manfred's logic is that long travel days cause wear on MLB clubs, and baseball could eliminate this by creating a "Western Conference" and "Eastern Conference" format like the NBA.
Jim Bowden predicted two years ago that this would eventually happen.
Quote:
He predicted in an article in The Athletic that MLB could move to an Eastern and Western Conference format "consisting of four geographically-aligned divisions apiece. Four teams per division, 16 teams per conference."
The Eastern Conference would consist of the East Division (Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies), North Division (Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays), Mid-Atlantic Division (Baltimore Orioles, expansion team, Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals) and Southeast Division (Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, expansion and Tampa Bay Rays).
The Western Conference would consist of the Midwest Division (Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins), Southwest Division (Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers), Pacific Coast Division (Colorado Rockies, Athletics, Seattle Mariners and San Francisco Giants), and West Division (Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres).
Fans hate this idea, as it would completely destroy the NL/AL tradition, as well as a lot of the divisional rivalries that have developed over the years.
Shrug. Label 1 the AL and the other NL. Teams move and change constantly. Two current teams are essentially homeless! I don't care.
I think 4x4 division setup is more egregious. Below .500 teams make the playoffs that way in the NFL, you know in baseball with that it wouldn't be long for a 77-85 division winner.
Both ideas suck.Quote:
Originally Posted by gut
Nobody cares if the Brewers or Astros switch leagues, or if the A's jump from Oakland to somewhere else.
But to fuck up the Dodgers/Giants rivalry by putting them in separate divisions, or complicate the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry by dropping the Phillies into the mix, or having the World Series often take place between two former NL or two former AL teams, it's just going to ruin a lot of the game's tradition too quickly.
The best modifications to MLB are ones which react to other changes. For example, banning the shift was necessary, because there wasn't originally a shift, and the shift changed the game. The 3-batter minimum rule was also a good one, as analytics were causing a million late pitching changes, which slowed the game down and made it brutal to watch at the end.
The pitch clock? Jury is still out. It's nice to see much less dead time in our modern short-attention-span world, but if it's causing more pitching injuries, that might be a big problem.
The only realignment I think might be beneficial would involve the A's. If they really do come to Vegas, they'll be much more successful if they're in the same league and division as the three teams within driving distance -- the Dodgers, Padres, and Diamondbacks. Swapping the A's into the NL West with the Rockies to the AL West would not only help the struggling A's, but also give the Rockies a fresh start away from the big-spending Dodgers and Padres, who presumably will dominate for a long time.
2x8 division setup, skew the schedule again heavily towards interdivision. Say 50% vs division, 30% other league division, 20% vs other league.
Who knows where the 2 expansion teams will be, but hypothetically you have a "west division" with: Dodgers, Angels, Giants, Padres, dbacks, mariners, rockies, athletics.
It would be like going back in time a bit, despite "change"
If they did this, it would be great to have two division winners and two wildcards, but no change they'd do it, because MLB wants playoff drama to involve the most teams possible.Quote:
Originally Posted by gut
Division winners get byes, 4 wild cards.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan DruffIf they did this, it would be great to have two division winners and two wildcards, but no change they'd do it, because MLB wants playoff drama to involve the most teams possible.Quote:
Originally Posted by gut
:gayQuote:
Originally Posted by gutDivision winners get byes, 4 wild cards.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
The reason the Red Sox and Yankees rivalry (to use the best known example) exists is that for the vast majority of the rivalry’s history it was do or die to finish first in the AL East. Second place was for golf. Games were life and death.
Presently both the Yankees and Red Sox are in the wildcard so we talk about the Patriots quarterback situation instead. Padres and Dodgers get in regardless of how they finish. What just occurred last weekend between Padres and Dodgers was a fraction of a true old school rivalry. It’s gayness in city connect jerseys. Does Druff really have a feel for a rivalry? I have to think about that.
The idea of playing 154 games and expanding the playoffs is anathema to my already diminished enjoyment of the sport. The regular season is presently meaningless and will become even more so. Everyone should not get a trophy. EoT.
One positive is the idea of dividing the teams by time zone. If the Red Sox are playing the Angels in Los Angeles no one can or cares to watch. In the old days Boston fans never saw National League teams until the World Series or the All Star game. The time zone division will reintroduce the rarity of certain teams and players. That’s a plus.
Atlanta Braves
1991–2005: 14 consecutive division titles. One World Series win
Tomorrow is ‘95 Braves World Series Replica Ring Night
30 years from now Ben will be sure to get that 2024 Dodgers World Series Replica Ring. He will fondly remember the last time they won and how happy you were, Druff. He will travel from Newton, MA just to be there.
The parallel between the Guggenheim Dodgers and the Time Warner Braves is amazing
I'm considering doing something crazy and driving to SD for a Padres/Dodgers game this weekend. Talk me out of it.
I’m spamming your site while I’m handicapping tomorrows gamesQuote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
Dodgers Snell 1.08 era -122 vs Padres Poo Darvish 5.97 era
Doyers players rested today. Yes, leaving the Denver altitude is traditionally a fade the next game. Poo is ass vs lefty batters. Ohtani is playing.
Yes, Dodgers are 14-16 and playing sub .500 ball. We are getting a discount
Dodgers are 13-8 under Friday night lights in 2025
This closes Dodgers -142 tomorrow so you’re getting CLV if we bet tonight. That really is the only goal in handicapping. CLV.
The under 8 is the right play but even I can’t bring myself to do it. Denver recency. Maybe I play an alternate under 9 and find a dummy leg like Nolan McClean walks 2+ to reduce the juice
It’ll be fun.
badguy23 (RIP) would be proud of your love of CLV.
But what is your opinion of a 175-mile drive down to SD for one of these games? Each way, that is. I floated it by Ben and he's for it.
He promises to put down the phone you’ll agree to drive. I don’t know what 175 California miles means in time though. Could be 3 hours could be 10.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
His withdrawal symptoms should make for a memory. He might talk to you
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sanlmar
As a Braves fan it’s even more painful when you consider both how dominant their starting pitching was, and how fewer teams made the playoffs back then.
But San, why you bringing up old shit? More riffing on playoff Kershaw please.
At least the Braves will miss the postseason, so losing Riley isn’t a big deal.
I wonder why Michael Harris always takes 3-4 months to get going.
Kershaw is the Dodgers best starting pitcher. I’m no comedian but I think you just let that sit with the audience and remain deadpan on stage.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sheesfaced
That’s regular season, of course.
We are testing out new Shohei Ohtani material in some of the smaller clubs. It just might be too offensive.
I was wrong about Dodgers love tonight. Never materialized. Interesting. Poo Darvish? Really? Snell under 5.5 strikeouts was +122 and is now -115. You know I joined that crowd.
now under 4.5 +105Quote:
Originally Posted by SanlmarKershaw is the Dodgers best starting pitcher. I’m no comedian but I think you just let that sit with the audience and remain deadpan on stage.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sheesfaced
That’s regular season, of course.
We are testing out new Shohei Ohtani material in some of the smaller clubs. It just might be too offensive.
I was wrong about Dodgers love tonight. Never materialized. Interesting. Poo Darvish? Really? Snell under 5.5 strikeouts was +122 and is now -115. You know I joined that crowd.