After going down 5-0 in the first inning, the Orioles took a 12-inning game in the Bronx today.
All my Yankees friends on Facebook are getting antsy about Giancarlo Stanton, who went 0-7 at the plate and contributed a fielding error. One the one hand, it would be great if this massive contract backfired on the Yankees; on the other, most of them are being far too panicky over a relatively short spell of poor form.
And the Red Sox came from 5 down to score 6 in the 8th to win out of nowhere. They’re 8-1, the best start in RS history. Too early to get excited, but fun to watch.
I’m not antsy about Stanton, but I do worry that his problems might be physical. It would be weird if he forgot how to hit.
Ever since Showalter became manager of the Orioles, it seems like they’ve won every single extra-inning game against the Yankees.
Soon-to-be gazillionaire Bryce Harper made two bad plays in extra innings last night, helping the Mets hand the Nats their fifth straight loss.
First, he failed to take third on an overthrow. Even he seemed to realize he would have made it, no problem. He would have been on third with no outs, the next hitter a fly ball long enough to bring him in and send the crowd home.
Later, he failed to run out a ‘routine’ grounder, turned out the first baseman bobbled it and Bryce would probably have been safe.
Am I being too fussy in wishing a brilliant slugger could master the fundamentals as well?
Sure, but I’m really curious to see how they do against major league opposition.
Cubs home opener snowed out, slightly better weather expected for tomorrow. The calendar may say spring but winter set in back in mid November and it hasn’t let go.
Stanton’s had health problems before, that’s for sure.
No one can buy their way out of problems like the Yankees, but it seems to me Stanton’s contract is pretty clearly a bad one. He was great last year and he’s had other very good years, but, honestly,
He isn’t Mike Trout. The year before last he batted .240 withh 27 homers, the year before that .265 with 27 homers. Those years are as close to his average performance as the 59-homer year was, and
His health history is poor.
If he has one or two seasons that help the Yankees win it all I suppose he’s worth it to them.
You and me both, bro! 
And now Anthony Rizzo to the ten day DL. It seems like there’s been a lot of early season DL trips around the league but I assume that’s do to all the off days early on as well as games being postponed
I have mixed feelings about the Stanton trade. Getting him for Starlin Castro was irresistible for Cashman, but it ruined the “baby bomber” underdog narrative. Last year was so enjoyable because the team was led by home-grown young players, for the most part. And they were underdogs. Getting Stanton makes the Yankees the 1000 pound gorilla again. If I had to choose, I would have preferred getting the Gerritt Cole trade done over trading for Stanton.
Are there no Angels fans here? Quite a start for Shohei Ohtani (damn him.)
Pitching: Two starts, 13IP, 4 hits, 18 Ks and three runs surrendered (all on a three-run homer)
Hitting: 18 AB, 7 hits including three home runs.
I can’t help rooting for him a little bit. Having him alongside Trout makes the Angels a hot ticket.
I’ll tell you what, Shohei Ohtani has one hell of a swing. He generates power effortlessly.
I just emailed a couple of guys in my firm who are huge Angel fans. I told them that I was sorry Ohtani wasn’t working out for them, and that I’d be willing to trade them Pedro Baez for him. I feel like I’m offering them a good deal.
Well, with the addition of Darvish, my north siders have definitely improved their chances at another title. I’m concerned about the hitting, which was pretty anemic in the opening series in Florida. My south siders have a gaggle of very impressive young players who are potential stars. They are definitely in the developmental stage as a team and lack the pitching to be any kind of real threat at this point in time. The future looks bright, however.
Well, as a wise person once said, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” A little tweaking near the trade deadline might not hurt, however.
Another wise person said “There’s no such thing as enough pitching.”
The Angels may have to think about keeping this guy.
I haven’t been following the Angels. Does Ohtani hit (instead of a DH) when it’s his turn to start? Or is he in the lineup at other times as well?
He does not hit when pitching. If he did, the Angels would be forced to have all relief pitchers hit, or pinch hit for them. If you do not start the game with a DH, you surrender its use for the entire game.
In fact, Anaheim apparently plans to not have him play at all on days before and after his starts, and they’ve stuck to it. Maybe that’s only a temporary thing, I don’t know.
So, hypothetically speaking, could Ohtani be in the lineup as DH on his “starts”, bring in relievers for the first 2-3 innings, and then have Ohtani come in as a pitcher for the last 6 or 7?
I realize that if you ever had to lift Ohtani you’d be without the DH for rest of the game, and Ohtani’s stats would be messed up (he technically would have 0 starts, with a corresponding loss of prestige), but would this work under the rules?
Edit: I know it’s possible to bring a DH in as a position player (you forfeit the DH position if you do, forcing the pitcher to start hitting), but I’m not sure if the DH can come in as a pitcher.
You can do that, yes.