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Marilyn Fisher's avatar

Do you think they will give Miller an opportunity to pitch relief in September to see how he does?

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Stan Brooks's avatar

Bummer that Walker went to the Phillies. I hope that doesn’t come back to haunt us in the playoffs. My question is about the team’s effort. The Dodgers are 10-10 in their last 20 games, but they have a healthy winning percentage against GOOD teams an astonishing LOSING record against sub-.500 teams. How do we explain this? (And we’re about to start a roadie against losing teams.)

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Geoff Shackelford's avatar

Stephen Nelson and Rick Monday chatted again this week about the silliness of Ohtani batting leadoff when he pitches. I still find it unconscionable given Dr ElAttrache’s views on fatigue and injuries. Now that we have a decent sample size, have you seen any numbers to back up the stupidity of having Shohei rush off the mound to get ready to hit first?

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Peter Zales's avatar

Honestly, I think Ohtani does whatever Ohtani wants to do...

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Living The Good Life - Lifesez's avatar

Last year Shohei Ohtani won NL MVP, but not without pushback. Many argued Francisco Lindor deserved it because he was a position player, while Shohei was “just a DH.” East Coast Media even pointed to David "Big Papi" Ortiz, who twice finished 2nd for the same reason.

Ohtani had to do something historic to win: fastest ever to 40-40, first to 50-50, and one of the greatest single games in MLB history—6-for-6 with 3 HR, 2 doubles, 10 RBIs, 2 steals, and 17 total bases (nearly 4 HR and 19 TB).

Last week Kyle Schwarber hit MLB’s 21st 4-HR game: 4-for-6, 9 RBIs, 16 total bases. Great, but still shy of Shohei’s totals. Some said if he’d gotten a 5th HR, it would have surpassed Ohtani. Shohei’s double off the wall was closer to a home run than Schwarber’s routine flyout in his last at-bat (off a position player like Kiki).

This year Shohei is also pitching with strong numbers while Schwarber remains "just a DH." Yet listening to the East Coast Media, you'd have thought Schwarber solved World Peace in that game.

So my question: Is the East Coast Media being hypocritical—downplaying Shohei while inflating Schwarber? Last year they argued Lindor deserved MVP because he was in the field while Shohei was “just a DH.” This year Shohei is DH/Pitching and Schwarber is "just a DH", yet they flip the script. Is this like the attitude of the East Coast Media in college football rankings: “Do they even know football exists west of the Mississippi?” Or am I imagining it? So which is it? Hypocrisy, bias, or just winter click-bait with headlines like, ‘Schwarber’s Free Agency: NL MVP in talks with ___’?

Either way, it feels like they’ve moved the goalposts again—because when it’s Ohtani, the bar is impossibly high, and when it’s Schwarber, suddenly “just a DH” is good enough. I’m beginning to think Shohei could pitch, hit, steal, and sell Dodger Dogs between innings, and Schwarber would still walk away with MVP for dropping five bunts in a September game.

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Edwin A Becker Jr's avatar

Conforto!!! That is all!

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Peter Zales's avatar

Do you think they didn't pick up Buehler again because he wanted to START, rather than come out of the bullpen? I think he would be a better RP right now than Yates, and even

Scott, especially for one inning.

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