Duren, Duren

Hicks with some well hit balls tonight.

Should be an infield hit but Sox are on an error streak.

Nice couple of dps keeping the bases empty.

Lucky the Sox suck on defense. Inning should have been over without any runs. Even Hicks gets in on things. Houck not pitching badly but behind 3 - 0.

Rendon turning the corner slowly?

I guess they expect some hot licks from Aaron Hicks. (A play on the old music group Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks.) Speaking of old music, the Sox are wearing their mellow yellow jerseys. Unfortunately on the road I have to ensure the home broadcasters. Today it's the NESN group.

MLB and the Dodgers are desperate to protect Ohtani's stature into the future. I have a feeling that they aren't passively sitting back. I would guess that they are proactive protecting his image and in spinning the story with damage control the top priority. How they interface with the legal, financial and investigative institutions would be interesting to know. At the least, even if totally innocent Ohtani does have his image damaged. Who could believe that he has such a cavalier detached approach to his elementary banking data? It's not bonds, securities, or other investments that are the issues. Just money regularly being drained over an extended period. Forty Niners QB of the nineties Steve Young just threw his cheques into a drawer without cashing them according to his room mate Harris Barton and others. It was treated as a joke by all concerned, showing that Young didn't need the money immediately and was only focussed on football. There were no ramifications or problems. But even that is still a far cry from having discreet large sums regularly disappearing over time. Young was a very smart guy and I doubt he would have been oblivious the way Ohtani is being portrayed. No matter how innocent Ohtani may be he still comes of as anything but a role model.

Seems Ippei had a constant cash flow coming in for other purposes despite his constant gambling. I wonder what his relationship was with the different vendors of the collectible merchandise? Auctions have to be paid for before the merchandise is delivered. Did he buy from a select few or spread the money around? Did any of them know who he was and get suspicious because of his connection to Ohtani. If any of them knew rumors could have been spread. Even for bragging rights amongst sellers. Sports collectibles aren't a sure thing investment wise. Putting it mildly. I know people who went all in on guys who had great rookie seasons but flamed out early. And they were stuck with things of little value in short time. But iconic players usually appreciate in value over time. And Ohtani certainly already has established himself as a historic figure.

The more complex and weirder this gets you'd have to suspect some sort of cover up or wild spin. Ultimately to protect Ohtani and his persona. Even if he was an innocent victim, it doesn't reflect very well on him as a mature or smart person, oblivious to four years of continuous, ongoing theft. At the least it seems like a cavalier attitude, being completely oblivious to his own private financial affairs. Even with accountants and advisors you would think that he would want to know periodically his updated financial status. He was very pro active in picking his teams and doing due diligence with his contracts. We know how he has laser focus on baseball and health details. It just seems really curious that he was entirely out of his own financial loop. Not even knowing his bank balances semi regularly? And wouldn't his wife want to be privy to how his finances stood? Seems the spin is to make him out as some kind of savant. Detached from the real world and only a baseball phenom.

Maybe not an exact thread for the subject, but Perry has to work within the parameters that Arte sets. And Arte is not popular in baseball. Speaking of ownership and management, this again is not very flattering regarding Arte. https://www.latimes.com/sports/angels/story/2024-04-10/rod-carew-angels-arte-moreno I still think of Carew primarily as a Twin and not really a core Angel icon though he certainly was a great player. Same with many of their former big name acquisitions who were long time greats on other teams.

I was out of the house since the second inning. Snuck in a few updates on the ESPN pitch by pitch site. Looked like a really frustrating game. Pitching didn't allow a walk. The wild pitch and horrible ball/strike calls seemed to be the main factors. Plus more anemic clutch hitting. Oh well, it is what it is. .500 is alright at the present. These umps seem to have no accountability. Year in, year out they rarely get better. I'd love to see them watch some of those 3D graphics of their bad calls. You can live with marginal close ones, but we see more really game changing bad calls. Betting connections? These days nothing can be overlooked.

60 pitches seen in two innings and no runs.

What a stat for Little in the first. 40 pitches and not a ball put into play. That must be close to a record.

Looks like .500 will be the ceiling to strive for with this group. Not necessarily terrible given the roster. And maybe a small step in the right direction given the last few years.

Soriano not helping his cause.

38 pitches from a wild pitcher and nothing to show. Terrible first out call set the tone even though the Angels had every opportunity for a big inning. Back to back strikeouts on weak swings not very clutch.

Weak at bat.

What a crazy first inning. And it ain't over yet.

Golden opportunity.

Should be two on, no out. Chip away.

I see this ump crew maintains their terrible ball/strike status.

A back up catcher should be a good defensive player. Wasn't Wallach supposed to have been like that? Suzuki at his age was past his prime. They really need a better option. O'Hoppe will need rest and catching is hard on the body.

Soriano only made 12 pitches and allowed three hits and a sac fly. Such economy for the Rays thanks to bad defense and bad luck.

Ugly ugly ugly

Talk about really tough luck.