MLB 2024 Season

[Jaymann]

WTF? The regular season started on March 20th? In Korea? At 3 AM? When I saw this on the schedule I figured it was an exhibition, but no this is the season opener. Stinking Dodgers beat the Padres. Is the brain trust at MLB HQ trying to hide their product?

[Scuzz]

WTF? The regular season started on March 20th? In Korea? At 3 AM? When I saw this on the schedule I figured it was an exhibition, but no this is the season opener. Stinking Dodgers beat the Padres. Is the brain trust at MLB HQ trying to hide their product?

It’s called marketing, and yea, I hate it too. Just like when the NFL plays in Europe. Last year baseball played in Mexico City.

[El Guapo]

Ahhh, this explains the timing of my Korean-American baseball nut's friend's family trip to Korea.

[pr0ner]

WTF? The regular season started on March 20th? In Korea? At 3 AM? When I saw this on the schedule I figured it was an exhibition, but no this is the season opener. Stinking Dodgers beat the Padres. Is the brain trust at MLB HQ trying to hide their product?

No, they're trying to give baseball crazed fans in Asia a taste of MLB in person.

[Scuzz]

Ahhh, this explains the timing of my Korean-American baseball nut's friend's family trip to Korea.

The stadium only seats 16k. Pretty small venue.

[ImLawBoy]

So, what's going on with Ohtani? It appears that he's fired his translator over accusations that he stole significant sums ($4.5M) to pay illegal gambling debts. Social media is seeing something more sinister, of course, with the translator being a fall guy for Ohtani and MLB wanting to sweep things under the rug. Could get interesting!

[Jaymann]

Woot, Dodgers never recover from a 5 run meltdown in the first. Padres outslug them 15-11 to even the series.

[Jaymann]

So, what's going on with Ohtani? It appears that he's fired his translator over accusations that he stole significant sums ($4.5M) to pay illegal gambling debts. Social media is seeing something more sinister, of course, with the translator being a fall guy for Ohtani and MLB wanting to sweep things under the rug. Could get interesting!

Wow, that's nearly...1% of his annual salary.

[El Guapo]

So, what's going on with Ohtani? It appears that he's fired his translator over accusations that he stole significant sums ($4.5M) to pay illegal gambling debts. Social media is seeing something more sinister, of course, with the translator being a fall guy for Ohtani and MLB wanting to sweep things under the rug. Could get interesting!

Part of it is the sum, part of it is that it's a gambling scandal tied to MLB's current biggest star. Especially since this guy isn't just like a random contractor - he's been incredibly close to Ohtani going back years. So one immediate question is whether this guy was betting on any of Ohtani's games, and whether Ohtani knew about it. Of course, the "debts" part suggests that he wasn't doing terribly well, so probably not using inside info or anything.

[El Guapo]

So, what's going on with Ohtani? It appears that he's fired his translator over accusations that he stole significant sums ($4.5M) to pay illegal gambling debts. Social media is seeing something more sinister, of course, with the translator being a fall guy for Ohtani and MLB wanting to sweep things under the rug. Could get interesting!

Part of it is the sum, part of it is that it's a gambling scandal tied to MLB's current biggest star. Especially since this guy isn't just like a random contractor - he's been incredibly close to Ohtani going back years. So one immediate question is whether this guy was betting on any of Ohtani's games, and whether Ohtani knew about it. Of course, the "debts" part suggests that he wasn't doing terribly well, so probably not using inside info or anything.

Some possibilities on the Ohtani scandal.

Craig Calcaterra has a good roundup of the allegations and the various possibilities. He outlined three main explanations, which run from better to worse for Ohtani.

Possibility One: Ippei Mizuhara is a compulsive gambler who got in way, way over his head with a bookie To pay the bookie off, he effected either one or several massive wire transfers from Ohtani’s account without authorization. He got busted, he got fired, and he’s about to be in a world of federal legal trouble and will almost certainly be permanently banned from holding a job in Major League Baseball.

Possibility Two: These were Mizuhara’s gambling debts and, as per his and the spokesperson’s comments to ESPN, Ohtani felt bad for him, wanted to help him out, and covered his debts by transferring the money to the bookie.

Possibility Three: These were Ohtani’s gambling debts and Mizuhara is taking a bullet for his patron.

[Jaymann]

Possibility four: Ohtani will "retire" from baseball for two years to play in the NBA.

[Baroquen]

New Orioles ownership & Opening Day tomorrow! It doesn't get much better than this!

But Tony Kemp? Really??? WTF..

[Jaymann]

Today is the "real" opening day. The Orioles get the decimated (reduced by one tenth) Angels batting order. Without reliable protection in the lineup I expect Mike Trout's numbers to suffer. And their pitching lineup is nothing to write home about. It might be a long season in L. A. South.

[El Guapo]

Predictions:

- The Red Sox will finish last in the AL East for the third straight season
- Opposing fans will take over Fenway multiple times this season
- After the first week of the season, the Red Sox will spend 0 days in first place
- Alex Cora will not be back as coach of the Red Sox in 2025.

[Baroquen]

I'm at the Orioles opener right now. All fun so far. Trout hit a homer but we scored 5 in two innings.

Also the beers here are very tall. 25 oz.!

[Jolor]

Springer Dinger!

[Jaymann]

Yes! Padres come from behind twice to beat the hated Giants in their actual home opener at Petco.

[jztemple2]

Just finished watching the Marlins season opener game. I won't mention the score in case this thread is enforcing some kind of spoiler rule. Please let me know either way.

I will mention that the game went into extra innings and it was the first time I saw a game that used the Placed Runner (or Automatic Runner) Rule. Very exciting actually. I know that the intent was to keep games from going on too long, first for COVID and then for picking up the pace, but it really made the extra innings fascinating.

[Jaymann]

Just finished watching the Marlins season opener game. I won't mention the score in case this thread is enforcing some kind of spoiler rule. Please let me know either way.

I will mention that the game went into extra innings and it was the first time I saw a game that used the Placed Runner (or Automatic Runner) Rule. Very exciting actually. I know that the intent was to keep games from going on too long, first for COVID and then for picking up the pace, but it really made the extra innings fascinating.

Since there are new games every day I have never heard anyone complain about posting scores.

[El Guapo]

Predictions:

- The Red Sox will finish last in the AL East for the third straight season
- Opposing fans will take over Fenway multiple times this season
- After the first week of the season, the Red Sox will spend 0 days in first place
- Alex Cora will not be back as coach of the Red Sox in 2025.

Updated predictions:

- The Red Sox will be the first team to finish 162-0
- Alex Cora will be the first manager inducted into the Hall of Fame while still managing
- Everyone in New York will become Red Sox fans.

[Hrdina]

Phil's pick up right where they left off.

Wheeler pitches 5 innings of shutout, then the bullpen comes in and gives up 9 runs.

[Isgrimnur]

Congratulations to Ronel Blanco for his no-hitter in his eighth career start.

[Octavious]

This is the worst Mets team I've ever seen. What a joke.

[Isgrimnur]

This is the worst Mets team I've ever seen. What a joke.

This is the worst Mets team I've ever seen, so far.

Could be worse. You could be an A's fan.

[Isgrimnur]

[El Guapo]

Is the goal to make people think that the A's are a AAA team? Like if there were ever a case for a US team to be relegated...

[Isgrimnur]

A fan gets Aaron Boone ejected.