MLB 2018 regular season thread

Here is how Passan explained it:

Heavy, hard-spinning curveballs are particularly rare in Japan, where the strikeout pitch of choice is a split-fingered fastball, and the curve’s rebirth in MLB recently makes for at least two pitches that could pose particular trouble for Ohtani.

 

Sing it with me, to the tune of B-I-N-G-O (obvi):

"There was a Dick who irked an oops, and troll he'll be called/T-R-O-L-L..."

 

I can't understand why the major league pitchers aren't using these most excellent scouting reports.

Shohei Ohtani Japanese Leagues Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com

 

Did that come from a scout, or is that Passan's opinion?

 

It's a little hard to tell. I think that Passan is giving what he considers background information to give context to the scout's opinion. I think he seems to agree with the assessment that curveballs are rare in Japan, but you could also read it as just straight reporting on what he was told by this scout. The fact that Passan has written extensively about Japanese baseball makes me think that if he had observed differently he would have said so:

Like the evaluator, he took a more universal view of the pitch selection Ohtani will see. It’s not just the sinkers. Heavy, hard-spinning curveballs are particularly rare in Japan, where the strikeout pitch of choice is a split-fingered fastball, and the curve’s rebirth in MLB recently makes for at least two pitches that could pose particular trouble for Ohtani.

“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?”

 

You're funny. Let's put aside the fact that you made a big stink about not engaging with me any more, yet you continue to pound away at any topic you can think of that might draw me in while still hiding behind the button.

The Pirates are better so far because they are getting production from guys who were disasters last year. Marte was suspended for 80 games and he did very little after his return. Polanco's season was derailed by injuries. The same is true of Cervelli. Of course, Cervelli has broken down every season of his career except 2015, so he is tough to trust.

Basically, you could argue that they had a hell of a lot of bad luck holding them down last season, which demonstrates why it was foolish to sell off talent in the offseason. If the Pirates knew what they had, why subtract rather than add unless it was to put the bottom line ahead of the team again?

So Dickie, is the Pirates as favorite your equivalent of MVP predictions for your man Ohtani?

 

It's true that you don't see the same pitching in Japan as you do here. Overall, the quality is lower, and the emphasis on velocity is greater. There are lots of pitchers who go fastball, slider, splitter. That being said:

1) MLB has been on a pure speed push, too. I'm not sure Greg Maddux, coming up today, gets to the majors. Even in America, the curveball isn't the weapon it was. (Probably a good story there, incidentally. Who was the last pitcher you remember people raving about his curveball? Barry Zito?)

2) There are Japanese pitchers, like Darvish, who throw good curveballs. Darvish left before Ohtani showed up, but those guys are there.

3) Japanese high-school baseball is, arguably, better and a far more intense learning experience than American high-school baseball. I think those years are worth more there than they are here.

So Ohtani won't have seen as much offspeed stuff. But that's not the same thing as saying he's seen the amount a high-school hitter has. That's ridiculous. He played high school as well as five years of top-flight professional baseball. Japan is better than Triple-A, I would say. You wouldn't say a guy who's spent five years in the minors is the same as a high-school hitter, and Japan isn't the minors.

But more important than all of that: He's a perfect fit for today's MLB, in the way Maddux would not be. He is of the time.

 

He's had a few base hits off curves, including one of his home runs.

He must be facing high school pitchers.

 

Are we talking about Ohtani the batter or pitcher there? You sort of mushed them together.

 

Kershaw and Rich Hill.

 

Oh, he is a troll, and a gutless one. There is no other way to describe someone who trolls another member of the board while hiding behind the button.

I'm more amused by how spectacularly wrong he is on this one. My criticism of the Pirates' moves this past offseason is valid either way. They sold off talent to cut payroll. That means they either weakened a potential contender or failed to move their latest rebuild forward.

 

I don't think this is true. Rich Hill throws basically only curveballs. It's always cited as what makes Kershaw so dominant. There are plenty of others.

EDIT: Dickie beat me to it.