Ohtani Finally Back on the Scene...

Ohtani was finally spotted on the Spring Training complex fields pre-game playing catch for the first time since Tommy-John surgery.  The biggest story-line of last years off-season was sadly injured midway through the season was sentenced to just hitting for the remainder of the year.  As he was the biggest two-way prospect to come since Babe Ruth in terms of hype, he showed his 100mph fastball and his big time power bat for the first half of the year leading up to his injury. He did show that he can hold his own on either side of the ball which makes his return to the diamond that much more fun to watch what they do with him.  Since about 4 months post Tommy-John you are allowed to his, it'll be interesting to see if they let him hit while he is rehabbing his arm or if they keep him out all together. He's such an attraction to fans that putting him in the DH role will keep the fans coming to the ballpark even if the Angels are not very good overall once again.  It'd be fun to see him doing both and hopefully see them follow his rehab journey in a documentary style for the true baseball fans out there.
When it comes to the rehabilitation process it becomes a dicey situation when it comes to balancing load of hitting to throwing, especially for an arm like Ohtani's that runs it up to 100mph.  One thinks it'll be the smart thing to keep him out for the year in order to get the most out of him the following season on both sides of the ball.  The Japanese baseball community technically holds his rights in terms of who they want him to go about it, and in their culture they are usually top of the line in the rehab process but no one knows what their stance will be when it comes to their biggest product since Ichiro.  American culture would presume he will hit but obviously the opinions here don't matter as much as what they Japanese baseball community in charge of Ohtani does on the matter.
Overall, this will be a fun watch over the next few month as he nears return.

Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 13, 2019 at 7:52 PM

    If I'm the Angels, I use him only as DH. I think the interesting dynamic here is that if the Angels are in the running for a playoff spot, do they try to speed up the process of his rehabilitation?

    -Cody Schindler

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cardinals move up to second best team in baseball....

The St. Louis Cardinals have moved into the spot of the second best team in baseball.  They have in fact been so hot lately they just beat the Brewers who have been rolling lately with their stud lineup.  The Cardinals are now 15-9 and of course have a stellar home record.  They are currently 10-3 at home which isn't surprising, but their road record has been anything but stellar at 5-6. In their last 10 games they are 7-3 and have had the biggest run differential in baseball over that stretch.  They trail only the Rays in record but have played one less game so we will see how this plays out over the next month or so with the season being so long. Baseball has a funny way of trading fortunes and things taking many twists and turns, but that is why we love this game.  The Cardinals success has come from a seemingly revived pitching staff from years past and solid bullpen, but the most impressive thing has been the lineup and hitting.  Ozuna has come wound ...
Read more

Spring Training Off And Running...

Spring training has fired up and we are all excited in the baseball community to see our teams and all teams as they have their players getting back underway.  Pitchers and catchers is nice and all but having live game action back once again always gets the blood pumping.  Its's a totally different type of preseason compared to nay other sport.  Obviously it has its similarities as in wins and losses doesn't matter much but its more about seeing the new young talent and how the off-season trades and work the players and teams have put in to try to earn a spot or be noticed.  This is my favorite time of year because baseball is back on TV and streaming all day long.  As a player its fun to see the young guys compete and how they carry themselves and show their love and passion for the game and give all their effort to earn spots or be noticed, but the most interesting thing is seeing the veterans and how they try to help the younger guys in their organizations le...
Read more

Machado Finally Pulls the Trigger...

So he finally did it, Manny Machado signed with the Padres.  Not only did he sign the biggest deal in history for 300 million dollars, but he got the 10 year deal he was looking for.  Machado will be a Padre now for the next decade and for the prime of his career.  This will set the precedent for the other free agents who haven't signed to date.  It also will cause for debate on whether Harper should get more than him.  People will be discussing it for the remained of time until Bryce Harper finally signs, but i have a strong opinion on the matter. I think Harper should get less than Machado for a few reasons.  These reasons are the fact Harper is aright fielder or corner outfielder makes his defensive contributions less as a whole compared to Machado who is a left side of the infield guy.  He has a bigger and more impact defensive role than Harper.  On top of that Machado is a more pure hitter than Harper who is a more power and big impact in a m...
Read more