Duren, Duren

Even unearned runs are welcome! Bullpen depth on display today. Cimber pitched a good inning so he rises in status now.

Looks like a familiar pattern repeating itself. Mostly get beaten by the good teams. Losing two of three, three of four, sometimes splitting but rarely taking a series. and play around .500 against equal peer level second division type teams. Not a formula for success.

As bad as Sandoval was, the bullpen is having a disastrous day. Giving up the long ball, always behind in the count, men constantly on base. Back to the familiar double digit runs allowed and double digit Ks at the plate.

I guess the Orioles learned that Trout can still hit the low ball. They just showed the sequence of his second at bat where he whiffed on pitches in the upper part of the zone. And his third at bat there were no low pitches in the strike zone. Seems that he'll have to hit mistakes or catch up better to high pitches (if he can) for homers if the rest of the league pitches him that way. Or he faces many pitchers with poor velocity.

Too bad about Suarez giving up that homer. The game wouldn't be out of reach otherwise. In theory, anyways. But he looks like he can be a decent bullpen addition.

Burnes with 11 K through 6 innings. At or near the top in Oriole pitcher history on opening day.

Well, I've caught up to real time now. Unfortunately. No fast forwarding though I did endure most of the action till now. What can you say? Sandoval with no control or stuff. Though shoddy defense didn't help. Also some bad luck on a few soft hits. Suarez OK till a big mistake. Rendon is a weak spot on defense and hasn't shown anything at the plate. He has absolutely no range any more. Oriole pitching is embarrassing Angel hitters. I have only the Oriole feed and have to keep it on mute. It's a one sided love fest as they sit there in their Oriole windbreakers.

Always something special about opening day. I prefer starting on the road too. All the ceremonies etc. for the home team can be distractions for their focus early in the game. I don't pay detailed attention to pre season in any sport unless there is a major issue. Let the players compete, management sort out the roster and the coaches do their coaching. But once the season starts it's time to see just what type of team has been assembled for real. Three of the games in this series including today will be on MLB Extra Innings so I'll be able to see the beginning of this new era. I have mild optimism for a decent, competitive season with a different managerial philosophy.

I just signed up again for MLB Extra Innings. So will have access to about 60% of the Angel games plus about the same percentage of games each night. Not the ideal setup but in Canada we are overwhelmed by everything Blue Jays and I'll gladly pay for alternatives. Cost $200 Canadian, or about 130% of the U.S. equival. I guess there are streaming options in the U.S. but in Canada everything is convoluted and restricted. So when all is said and done I prefer the convenience of watching on my 4K TV. I knew Ohtani would be gone after last season and spontaneously had the impulse to take a picture of him on my TV Samsung 4k 88 inch). Of course hit a homer that game. Here's a celebration that now is relegated to Angels history.

I don't know if this was posted, but an expected reaction from Pete Rose. https://nypost.com/2024/03/25/sports/pete-rose-i-wish-id-had-an-interpreter-like-shohei-ohtani/amp/

An in depth story about Washington. Quite revealing. David Justis especially is the most complimentary. https://andscape.com/features/ron-washington-didnt-take-shortcuts-in-his-baseball-career/

The Dodger media people and lawyers must have had some heavy strategy sessions on the weekend to finalize the narrative. They seem to be borrowing strategy from Saul Alinsky's 'Rules for Radicals.' Specifically this rule. "Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it." Ippei really is an easy target. Marginalized,without the financial resources to defend himself fully. Admittedly breaking some laws. And easily demonized particularly by those invested in the Dodgers and MLB. Which in itself doesn't absolve him pending more factual information. But this simple polarization of a 100% good guy victimized by a 100% bad guy seems overly simplistic and intentionally meant to stop further speculation.

We know how intense Ohtani is about baseball. And how deep he goes with training and conditioning. And his fixation about being the best there is. And seeking championships. Totally committed and proactive about his career. Yet they now paint him as a naive, trusting innocent kid who had no knowledge at all about how his finances were being accessed? Seems the narrative was tweaked and reconstructed over the weekend to be an all out full force attack on Ippei. No gray areas or even a tiny hint of awareness. Even though Ippei apparently was gambling long term and was a confidante of Ohtani for years. And therefore kept his gambling issues hermetically sealed from Ohtani. While still finding a devious way to siphon millions from him. This PR campaign comes straight out of political textbooks. Ohtani may indeed be a victim in one way or another. But how the Dodgers and the media are framing this tends to arouse more questions than answers.

Here's a quick overview about gambling in sports by Jack Todd. A long time Montreal sports journalist. I think it's pretty accurate. https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/jack-todd-gambling-scourge-is-running-amok-in-professional-sports/wcm/23af16f0-8d56-415e-a6a4-8d292dfe91ec/amp/

Yes! I taught high school one year a few decades ago and was burnt out and quit. And It was the same school I went to, so a bizzaro 'welcome back Cotter.' I can just imagine what it likes now. Ippei could have built up a nice nest egg on $500k for multiple years if he had discipline and functioning brain cells.

I remember seeing Rose in Las Vegas a few years ago. He was sitting on a chair with a small desk in front of him in one of those sports memorabilia stores you see in various malls there. Signing things. I can't remember the cost, but I think it varies according to the object being signed. I vaguely remember seeing $100. written somewhere in a sign. So sad,really. Like a circus monkey in a cage. I lurked a little out of curiosity. A few mostly old timers straggled in and talked to him. Not sure if they actually paid for his signature. As a modest collector I was casually thinking of bringing some obscure Expos item in just to see his reaction. Hardly the pinnacle of his career though I believe he got hit #4,000 in their uniform. Maybe at $10. But really,it was a sad spectacle.

Very unlikely to be resolved by opening day. Unless there is some sort of dramatic surprise coming soon. So I wonder how Dodger fans will react with this cloud over their new hero? I would expect over compensating reflex favorable responses. Treating him as an innocent, somewhat naive victim. Too much fan emotion and money has already been invested in expectations of him being who they want him to be. The latest franchise HOF icon and catalyst to multiple championships. I would expect a long sustained standing ovation at the opening home game ceremonies. Rallying around him and showing solidarity in support. Unless overwhelming evidence comes out clearly implicating him of actual crimes. Furious efforts are probably underway on damage control. And will be until there is a resolution.

Going off on another tangent ... If, IF ... Ippei was/is somehow more devious than he always seemed, you never know exactly how accurate his translations were to Ohtani. Perhaps intentionally misleading? Trying to cause friction between Ohtani and others? With the intention of affecting Ohtani's mood and attitude in game and/or beyond? Misrepresenting gossip and rumors as well? Ohtani basically was helpless in communication issues without Ippei. At least in the baseball context. And maybe beyond. I assume Ohtani has others in his service who were bilingual. Or other translators. Such as on his legal and accounting team. But maybe Ippei was also a friend socially to some degree. Especially recreationally as it pertained to gambling. As highly speculative as this wild theory is, you just don't know. It's possible that Ohtani was the one with the devious mindset and saw Ippei as an easy stooge. Even more unlikely given the enormous risks and money at stake, but you can be sure the spin masters will protect him at all costs.

This is really part of a much bigger issue. Gambling has taken over so much of sports. But it's become normalized because of how over saturated it has become. And the willingness of sports institutions to grovel for money. In world soccer it's been ongoing for decades. Now North American sports are the latest to be inundated and controlled in subtle ways. Stadiums named for gambling concerns. Unending advertising and sponsorship in all media and directly connected to certainly teams in various ways. Some of the biggest icons in all sports shilling for specific operations. Montana, Gretzky, and so many more. Normalizing it seeps into the mindset of youngsters and the naive. Whatever happened here, you can be sure Ohtani will be protected. He's the icon of the sport and the biggest draw. There is no Judge Landis entrusted with fighting gambling concerns. And there is no Shoeless Joe Jackson and his under paid simple minded team mates. Even assuming the likelihood that Ohtani is not involved, it opens up lots of questions into his private life. Which his handlers and scores of lawyers and PR people will vigorously protect. Even if it's all on Ippei and he turns out to be guilty of various crimes it pulls back the curtain a little on the behind the scenes ways that gambling has infiltrated into even the world of the most private athlete. And no doubt the Dodger organization will try to shift any peripheral responsibility to the Angels.

A hot start will boost fan optimism and should translate to additional attendence. The last few years quickly morphed into an Ohtani-centric focus as the team faded from contention. And attendence had a portion of Ohtani groupies and tourists who probably won't be back now. But a new manager and philosophy begin the next phase of team history. Attendence may start off slow, but should accelerate if the team plays exciting, ball. Especially if they hang in close to wild card contention into the summer.

Maybe the highest profile new acquisition with a relatively good track record. And with expectations to be better than average. And already dealing with an injury. Welcome to the team! Hopefully he doesn't miss much real season time. And it isn't a lingering, on going issue. As if.....

Should be interesting and kinda fun watching various experiments with platoons and rotations. This is the foundation for establishing structure and stability going forward. Looking back, last year was really tough because of the Ohtani factor. Selling out at the deadline especially. In the hope of impressing him enough to resign. And the better he did, the worse the odds were anyways. The most pressure will be on Trout and Rendon to stay healthy and put up career level numbers. Which would actually be a bonus, given the last couple of years when expectations weren't met. A nice productive spring so far. Nothing spectacular, but positive signs for a team re-establishing themselves and their image. One comment on this good article. I really think this is Adell's last chance with this team. So I hope he gets every opportunity to show that he belongs. That might mean patience early, but the clock will be ticking.

And to think of the stability they had in Philadelphia. Connie Mack, surreal, managing for fifty years. Nine pennants, five world series, retired at age 87. Then becoming a virtual Yankee farm team in Kansas City in the fifties in before transitioning into the Charlie Finley show in Oakland in the late sixties. And a three peat champion a few years later. Some great teams in the eighties, steroid infamy in the nineties. Moneyball after, and since then seemingly a yearly crisis of one sort of another. Vegas will be another colorful stop for the franchise most likely. I may even go to a game or two when they play the Angels. I go to Vegas every couple of years but a baseball game there would be a change of pace.

I wonder how much (if any) off season training and conditioning he did? Assuming he wasn't seriously prevented medically for the last few months at least. You would think that coming off so much inactivity and with a terrible reputation that he would want to change the narrative. At least hustle and try and get better media reaction. Instead he made things worse with his lack of tact and tone deafness. And now again the small injuries appear, likely extending into a whole season of such incidents. If he really has the integrity and self respect he claims to then he would retire. If his body actually is frail and slow healing, then he will never contribute adequately in the field. And hasn't he already made a fortune? No doubt the Angels would kick in some more in a settlement just to be rid of him.

It may be the usual spring training optimism but I like the way Washington is reshaping team philosophy. More running and aggression on the base paths in particular. It changes the filter somewhat in evaluating players. And with his familiar assistant coaches used to his methods the teaching and mindset should be smoothly applied. Pragmatically they lost a big chunk of their home run potential and need to find other ways to score. Not sure if all the right pieces are on the roster yet, but it's a process. If the pitching holds out maybe the Angels will play more competitive exciting ball compared to the static slugging approach. I"m not expecting miracles, but .500 and wild card contention aren't out of the question.