It's Sho-Time - The 2024 Los Angeles Dodgers Season Thread

[grabarkewitz]

It was bad enough when the Dodgers traveled to Tokyo for some pre-season games in 2008. At least these were exhibition games and didn't count except for the wear and tear plus the jet lag involved. Japan is already baseball crazy. Memo to the commissioner: Japan WON last year's World Baseball Classic.

Europe is slow to catch on to baseball and needs a boost. I actually played on a US Air Force team (Bitburg AB) and we played national teams from such not exactly baseball meccas as Amsterdam and Belgium. Most of their players were ex-pats or Latino. To my knowledge, unlike Japan and Korea, the game has not developed much of a following. I know Italy and Netherlands had WBC teams, but the players were mostly from the US or in the Netherlands' case Cuarcao.

My point, completely. Look at how they go nuts for the NFL over there. Introduce them to baseball, a game that doesn’t need hulking mutants to play and doesn’t need a huge grassroots investment in gear or training facilities to get going. Many years ago I was visiting my family in Sweden and took in a Little League tournament. The playing field was little more than a marsh but there was fun to be had. My cousins quizzed me on the game and this is where I suddenly realized that baseball, for the uninitiated, is a hard game to get. It comes down from fathers to sons and older kids to younger ones. This is where the MLB can jumpstart the game in Europe. Bring in recognizable names and big personalities to talk up the game and that might be all it takes to move the needle. Unfortunately, Manfred doesn’t know how to think outside the envelope.

 

[DodgerSSR]

My point, completely. Look at how they go nuts for the NFL over there. Introduce them to baseball, a game that doesn’t need hulking mutants to play and doesn’t need a huge grassroots investment in gear or training facilities to get going. Many years ago I was visiting my family in Sweden and took in a Little League tournament. The playing field was little more than a marsh but there fun to be had. My cousins quizzed me on the game and this is where I suddenly realized that baseball, for the uninitiated, is a hard game to get. It comes down from fathers to sons and older kids to younger ones. This is where the MLB can jumpstart the game in Europe. Bring in recognizable names and big personalities to talk up the game and that might be all it takes to move the needle. Unfortunately, Manfred doesn’t know how to think outside the envelope.

...and, I'd love to revisit Europe for a Dodger series.

 

[beefchopper]

How about starting with just being decent? That’s a good baseline.

https://dodgerblue.com/dodgers-news-mookie-betts-goals-gold-glove-shortstop/2024/03/24/

That's just not Mookie. If you really want to understand who Mookie is and why I suggest reading Pedor Moura's book, How To Beat A Broken Game. The second chapter is all about Mookie, his upbringing and his development. One line spoken by one of his early coaches summarizes it for me - "That's just who he is: If he sees something to do, he wants to do it to perfection".

 

[grabarkewitz]

...and, I'd love to revisit Europe for a Dodger series.

Me, too. I wouldn’t even have to sel Herself that hard on a road trip to Rome or Madrid or just about anywhere on that side of the Atlantic.

 

[BCmaiden]

Rotation set for home opener:

Glasnow
Miller
Yamamoto
Stone
Paxton

I see they moved Yoshi down 1 spot which I suggested they do. Even a couple spots down could take some pressure off.

 

[grabarkewitz]

Rotation set for home opener:

Glasnow
Miller
Yamamoto
Stone
Paxton

I see they moved Yoshi down 1 spot which I suggested they do. Even a couple spots down could take some pressure off.

Makes sense. I am hoping he is working on spotting the splitter in his bullpens. I am trying to think if he has thrown a decent one in his past three outings.

 

[BCmaiden]

Makes sense. I am hoping he is working on spotting the splitter in his bullpens. I am trying to think if he has thrown a decent one in his past three outings.

One

 

[beefchopper]

Ohtani plans to speak Monday on allegations surrounding his ex-interpreter

 

[BLUEFAN]

Rotation set for home opener:

Glasnow
Miller
Yamamoto
Stone
Paxton

I see they moved Yoshi down 1 spot which I suggested they do. Even a couple spots down could take some pressure off.

Thought Paxton would be #4 and Stone #5.

 

[BCmaiden]

Thought Paxton would be #4 and Stone #5.

That was the original plan, but Stone is stretched out & Paxton isn't so flipping them makes sense. I don't get why he barely pitched because I didn't hear of any sort of physical reason.

 

[DodgerSSR]

That was the original plan, but Stone is stretched out & Paxton isn't so flipping them makes sense. I don't get why he barely pitched because I didn't hear of any sort of physical reason.

Every year the Dodgers fail to stretch out their starting pitchers. It's like a runner doing ten-mile (or three in Paxton's case) training runs and then entering a marathon. What's maddening is that despite this pacing our pitchers appear to be gassed by playoff time.

 

[BCmaiden]

Every year the Dodgers fail to stretch out their starting pitchers. It's like a runner doing ten-mile (or three in Paxton's case) training runs and then entering a marathon. What's maddening is that despite this pacing our pitchers appear to be gassed by playoff time.

...or get hurt. It's maddening.

 

[DodgerSSR]

Clayton Beeter, the young pitcher we gave the Yankees for that waste of oxygen, Joey Gallo, has made the Yankees opening day roster for now.

 

[Matthew]

Ohtani’s statement:

 

[Shaft57]

Ohtani’s statement:

Hard to say how most people feel about this.
My main questions are how did Ippei have access to the accounts and how did our boy not know 4.5 mil was missing????

 

[dsinsocal]

Hard to say how most people feel about this.
My main questions are how did Ippei have access to the accounts and how did our boy not know 4.5 mil was missing????

If you had $100 in your wallet in random bills, and your kid snuck in and took $4, would you notice right away? At all?

 

[Shaft57]

If you had $100 in your wallet in random bills, and your kid snuck in and took $4, would you notice right away? At all?

How did this guy get control of his accounts?
These were large wire transfers not $1 bills

 

[beefchopper]

How did this guy get control of his accounts?
These were large wire transfers not $1 bills

It happens. At least Ohtani had the excuse of not understanding the language and probably knowing little about finance and banking. He appparently trusted Ippy enough to handle his financial accounts. Look at this story. Some years back three partners of Goldman Sachs (two were a married couple) had a total of $7 million stolen from them by a secretary and didn't notice it was missing. They CERTAINLY should have known better, And those were in 2002-2003 so the equivalent value in today's money is much higher. https://www.cnbc.com/2013/03/19/its-been-10-years-since-the-goldmantocyprus-theft-trial.html

 

[dsinsocal]

How did this guy get control of his accounts?
These were large wire transfers not $1 bills

Trusted people get away with all sorts of stuff. Happens all the time.

 

[BCmaiden]

Ohtani made 45 million in 2023 so 4.5 million over a few years is peanuts. Ippei is a pathological liar, so I believe Ohtani.