MLB 2018 regular season thread

He’s not going to be ready as either a pitcher or hitter when the season starts.
He’s not going to be ready as either a pitcher or hitter when the season starts.
He’s not going to be ready as either a pitcher or hitter when the season starts.

 

I should say, I hope they are wrong. Baseball desperately needs a player like this, even if he is on the wrong coast.

 

They 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.

 

None of that has been remotely proven wrong at this point.

 

The 2016 White Sox started 23-10.

Suck it, naysayers!

2016 Chicago White Sox Schedule | Baseball-Reference.com

 

The Barry opines part 5 (March 6): Ohtani hasn’t risen to the occasion; frozen by Kershaw

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Shohei Ohtani show has reached the humdrum stage here in spring training.

During the second full week of Cactus League games, Ohtani started as the Angels’ designated hitter for the fourth time. He went 0–2 with a walk and two strikeouts against the D-backs at Salt River Fields. His spring batting numbers are now 1–11 with three walks and four Ks. The hit — an RBI single — came on Feb. 26 against the Padres in Peoria Stadium. Seemingly a light year ago.

The Barry opines part 4 (March 2): Real Ohtani emerges in third inning of “B” game – Boomskie on Baseball

PHOENIX — It took the real Shohei Ohtani until the third inning of Friday’s “B” game against the Brewers at Maryvale Baseball Park before the Japanese right-hander was able to give the Angels a glimpse of his eventual future.

During the first two innings, he allowed two runs on four hits and tossed 39 of his 51 pitches, again showing the same lack of location he exhibited in his first start against Milwaukee about a week ago.

The Barry opines part 3 (February 27): Ohtani slated to pitch in “B” game on Friday – Boomskie on Baseball

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Japanese two-way phenom Shohei Otani was the Angels’ designated hitter for the second time in consecutive Cactus League games against the Rockies on Tuesday at Salt River Fields. But his next start on the mound will be under much more controlled circumstances.

He’s slated to pitch a “B” game for the Angels on Friday in a 10:00 a.m. MT start against the Brewers at Maryvale Baseball Park. The Angels play their regularly scheduled game against the Cubs at Tempe Diablo Stadium that afternoon.

The circumstances of more lax rules in the early game will allow Angels manager Mike Scioscia and pitching coach Charles Nagy to work closer with the right-hander on his location, control and mechanics. Mechanics might have been the reason why Ohtani had such an erratic outing against the Brewers, his first time out this past Friday.

The Barry opines part 2 (February 26): Ohtani on base three times in first MLB game as hitter

PEORIA, Ariz. — Phase Ni (two) of the Shohei Ohtani experiment was unveiled on Monday as the two-way player who came over from Japan, took his first live hacks against Major League pitching in a Cactus League game. And this time it was an unmitigated success. His first start as a pitcher this past Saturday wasn’t so good. This time, the lefty-swinging Ohtani was on base all three times he hit against three Padres pitchers. He had a run-scoring single up the middle in the fifth and walked on 11 pitches his first two times to the plate. He looked at nine of the 12 pitches, swinging through a pitch each in his first two plate appearances.

The Barry opines part 1 (February 24): Ohtani not at his best in first spring start – Boomskie on Baseball

TEMPE, Ariz. — Shohei Ohtani made his first start on Saturday against Major League hitting and looked decidedly ordinary.

He faced seven Brewers batters and left with one out in the second inning after throwing 31 pitches. He was constantly behind in the count and didn’t have much bite on his fastball, allowing a long home run into the left field berm by Keon Broxton to open the second.

“I thought it was great that he got out there,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said after his club came from behind to win, 6–5. “Tomorrow we’ll go over the outing and get a plan to make some adjustments so Shohei will find it, but you could see that his stuff was there."

 

April 1

• Ohtani notches his first major league win, as the Angels prevail 7-4 in Oakland. In that game, he retires 14 of the last 15 batters he faces.
• Ohtani throws 92 pitches, 63 of them strikes and tosses first-pitch strikes 14 times in 22 tries, including against eight of the first nine men he faced.
• Ohtani induces 18 swings and misses, a total surpassed by Angels starters only three times last season.
• His hits 100 mph twice.

Tuesday

• Just two days after picking up his first major-league win on the mound, Ohtani blasts a three-run home run off Indians starter Josh Tomlin in his first plate appearance at Angel Stadium. He finishes 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs.
• He is the first player to earn a win in one game, then homer in a start as a non-pitcher in his next game since Babe Ruth in 1921.

Wednesday

• Ohtani homers in his second straight game -- this time off Corey Kluber, the reigning AL Cy Young winner.
• He becomes the first Angel to homer in his first two career home games.

Friday

• For the third consecutive game, Ohtani blasts a home run -- a solo shot in his first at-bat off Daniel Gossett of the Athletics.
• Ohtani's homer flew off his bat at 112.4 mph and traveled an estimated 449 feet, according to Statcast. It stands as the hardest-hit and longest home run for the Angels this season.

Sunday

• In his second start as a pitcher, Ohtani retired the first 19 batters he faces, with 12 strike outs to beat the Athletics 6-1. He allows just one hit over seven innings to improve to 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA

• Ohtani induces 24 pitches for swinging strikes -- the highest total accumulated in a start this year. Of the 12 strikeouts, only three are foul balls.
• The only pitchers who in their first two career starts had a game in which they pitched at least 7 innings, allowed 1 hit or fewer, 1 walk or fewer and struck out at least 12: Steve Woodard in 1997, Juan Marichal in 1960.

Sure. All of the above just screams "Not ready" and "needs 500 at bats in the minors"

 

It's OK, Dick. You don't have to defend Passan anymore. Passan isn't even defending Passan.

10 Degrees: Dear Shohei: I'm sorry. I was totally wrong about you.

And there it was, in the last exhibition game of the year against the Los Angeles Dodgers, seemingly out of nowhere. You ditched your leg kick and tried a new timing mechanism: a slight inward twist of your front ankle. The balance issues disappeared. You weren’t late on fastballs anymore. The scouts weren’t wrong. Something did need to change. You just changed with such ease that they’re still flummoxed.

“I think it has more to do with great athletes making quick adjustments,” the scout said this week, “and teams not knowing how to attack him yet.”

It was a good lesson for me in rendering judgment before a player even tries to adjust. In baseball, the best athletes are often the ones most capable of fixing themselves and finding something new that works. Giancarlo Stanton, one of the game’s purest athletes, reinvents his swing all the time when he slumps badly and finds a way each time to tap into his deep power reserves. All spring, your teammates were telling anyone who would listen: You should see Ohtani in batting practice. It’s special. And I scoffed, having seen dozens of guys who put on a BP show only to shrink during games.

 

What does his pitching have anything to do with it?

 

Even the guy who wrote that drivel has given his mea culpa.
10 Degrees: Dear Shohei: I'm sorry. I was totally wrong about you.

 

He has batted 19 times.

 

A baseball writer is touting a fun baseball story?

Imagine that!