Andrew Friedman Doesn't Always Get it Right
But… he gets it right more than most of us! I am not going to name names (OK, I’ll name one: Mark Timmons), but many Dodger fans have been extremely hard on Roki Sasaki, AND Andrew Friedman, and Brandon Gomes (by extension), saying that Roki needed to go to OKC to learn to…
But… he gets it right more than most of us! I am not going to name names (OK, I’ll name one: Mark Timmons), but many Dodger fans have been extremely hard on Roki Sasaki, AND Andrew Friedman, and Brandon Gomes (by extension), saying that Roki needed to go to OKC to learn to pitch. That kind of means that Friedman and Gomes are morons… and they obviously aren’t! My excuse is that I forgot to take my Dumbass Vaccine. What’s yours?
For months, Roki Sasaki looked like a pitcher searching for a missing piece. The electric fastball that made him a superstar in Japan was there only in flashes, and the transition to Major League Baseball proved far from seamless. But on Friday night against the Angels, the Dodgers finally saw the version they’d been waiting for. Sasaki fired seven scoreless innings, punched out a career-high 10 hitters, and touched 100.6 mph in a dominant performance that screamed ace potential.
The radar gun wasn’t the only thing lighting up. Sasaki’s command has improved as his velocity has returned, and his revamped splitter and reshaped slider have become genuine weapons. Six of his 10 strikeouts came on the splitter, while his slider continues to generate ugly swings. More importantly, the uncertainty that followed him through much of last season appears to be gone. As Dave Roberts noted, hitters can sense when a pitcher lacks confidence. Right now, Sasaki is pitching like a man who knows exactly who he is.
The Dodgers trusted him enough to send him back out for a seventh inning despite an elevated pitch count, and Sasaki rewarded that faith with two more strikeouts. Since the start of May, he owns a sparkling 2.55 ERA, and the outings that once felt fragile now feel increasingly dominant. The velocity is back. The stuff is back. Most importantly, the belief is back. The Dodgers aren’t waiting for Roki Sasaki to arrive anymore. He just did. Other teams are trembling! Roki is throwing BB’s!
Rants & Raves
- The Dodgers are smoking hot and still haven’t broken a sweat. They are just going to the Country Club every day – “OK, let’s score 9 in the first and call it a day.” At some point, maybe in September, they will flip the switch and go into beast mode. That will be scary!
- It’s sad to see James Outman released by the Twins. Another team could pick him up, but I think it’s more likely he ends up in Japan. Some of you think I hate him, but the opposite is true. I just call balls and strikes. He is a great human being and made it to the Show; I’d like to see him go to Japan and make a few more millions! His case mirrors that of Joey Gallo – If you have a hole in your swing, MLB will exploit it and unless you can adjust, you are done!
- RVS could not work his magic on Michael Conforto. Hopefully, Kyle Tucker is different. We have seen flashes but not consistency. I am hopeful… but I am on the record that Tucker was a bad signing!
- Mookie Betts will hit .259 with 18 HR and a .744 OPS and win his first Gold Glove at SS. OK, maybe he will be in the Top 3. This is the decline I was worried about, but I still want him on my team!
- Tyler Glasnow wasn’t acquired for the regular season – Just the playoffs. Ditto: Blake Snell.
- The Dodgers must think Nick Frasso is closer than we think. The Dodgers originally acquired Frasso along with lefty Moises Brito in an August 2022 trade that sent righty Mitch White and second baseman Alex De Jesus to the Blue Jays. He has potential, but strikes are somewhat of a mystery to him.
- I see very little good that can come from trading for Tarik Skubal. He will be 30 this year and had Tommy John surgery in 2017, Flexor Tendon Surgery in 2022, and “Loose Bodies Surgery” this year. To believe that he will be healthy as he ages is silly, and you may end up trading a better player away! Oh, and he is a free agent in 2027. Open wide and say “Kyle Tucker.”
- I believe there is a chance that Snell or Glasnow does not make it back this season. Sasaki’s emergence mitigates that greatly. Yamamoto, Sasaki, Ohtani, and Sheehan make up a nice playoff rotation already, but if one comes back, where are Gavin Stone and River Ryan? Lest we forget, Justin Wrobleski has been nails too. Wrobleski has a 2.62 ERA. Shubal? 2.70!
- Tyler Glasnow is who he is; GLASS NOW AND FOREVER! But the guy they traded for him is out all year too… so there is that!
- Easton Shelton of the Tower Buzzers has prodigious power… but he strikes out at a 41% clip (in Low A) and walks very little. Unless he can fix that, he is doomed!
- Led by the Moron Arte Moreno, the Angels are the most pathetic team in baseball – in every way! No one is patheticer!
- Next comes the best part of this post: Jeff Dominiques’ Minor League Report. In my opinion, this is the deepest and best I have ever seen the Dodger Farm System, so they are fun to follow, and this is the best Damn Minor League Reporter on the Planet!
MiLB GAME SUMMARY REPORTS
Round Rock Express (Texas) 9 – OKC Comets 2
LHSP Charlie Barnes allowed a run in the 1st inning on 2 singles, HBP and GIDP.
OKC tied it up in the 3rd. C Eliézer Alfonzo led off with a double (7) and moved to 3rd on RF Zach Ehrhard’s single. Alfonzo scored on DH Tommy Edman’s double (1).
Barnes pitched the next 4.0 innings scoreless, with 2 singles and 5 K. RHRP Carlos Duran entered in the 6th, and retired the side in order.
In the 6th, CF Alek Thomas walked and scored on LF Ryan Fitzgerald’s double (15).
Good to have speed.
In the 7th, Duran gave up a one-out double to Jarred Kelenic. He struck out the next batter, an IBB, and a strike out. However, due to a passed ball, the bases were loaded. LHRP Jake Eder relieved Duran and walked the next batters to score two unearned runs.
With RHRP Paul Gervase pitching in the 8th, a walk and 2-out HR pushed across 2 more.
With LHRP Ronan Kopp in relief in the 9th, he got 2 quick ground ball outs. Then BB, E6, BB, BB, Balk, and single, gives the Express 4 unearned runs. RHRP Chayce McDermott came in to get the final out.
- Zach Ehrhard – 2-5
- Ryan Fitzgerald – 2-4, 1 RBI, double (15)
- Eliézer Alfonzo – 3-4, 1 rum, 2 doubles (8)
- Tommy Edman – 1-3, 1 BB, 1 RBI, double (1)
Tulsa Drillers 2 – Amarillo Sod Poodles 0 – Suspended after 1.5 innings
Of note both Josue De Paula (23) and Mike Sirota (46) continued their streaks of reaching base with walks. Jake Gelof hit a 2-run HR (10), his 4th of the week.
Great Lakes Loons 16 – Lansing Lugnuts (A’s) 6
Great Lakes failed to score in the first, but then scored in 6 of the final 7 innings, failing to score only in the 7th. They also banged out 19 hits.
RHSP Isaac Ayon started and completed 4.0 innings. He retired the side in order in the first, but gave up a HR to the first batter he faced in the 2nd.
In the bottom of the 2nd, LF Kole Myers singled, stole 2B, went to 3rd on WP, and scored on an IB Eduardo Guerrero single.
In the 3rd, C Anson Aroz doubled (1) and scored on 3B Jose Izarra single. Izarra moved to 3rd on CF Chuck Davalan single. Izarra scored on a force out for a 3-1 lead.
Ayon allowed a pair of runs (1 earned) in the 4th on a double, single, his errant pick off throw and a single.
The Loons took back the lead in the 4th, Myers tripled (2), 2B Nico Perez hit an RBI single. He stole 2nd and moved to third on the catcher’s errant throw. Perez scored on Guerrero’s SF.
RHRP Robby Porco relieved Ayon and allowed a run on walk, double, and single.
The Loons continued the offensive show in the 5th. Davalan singled and scored on DB Eduardo Quintero’s double (10). Quintero scored on RF Jose Meza’s single. Meza stole 2B. Myers walked and Meza and Myers pulled a double steal. Guerrero hit his 2nd SF, giving the Loons an 8-4 lead.
The Loons put it away in the 6th. Aroz led off with a single followed by a double by Izarra. Aroz scored on Davalan’s single. With runners on 2nd and 3rd, Quintero doubled (11) to score 2. Meza reaches on an error and Myers walked to load the bases. Perez hit a 2-run double, and Guerrero singled for 2 more runs.
In the 8th, Guerrero doubled (9) and moved to 3rd on WP. He scored on Jose D. Hernandez’s pinch hit single
With 2 outs in the 8th, RHRP Alex Makarewich came in for relief. He walked the first batter and struck out the 2nd. After a really shaky start to his season, Makarewich has been stellar for 11 games. But he reverted to his wildness in the 9th. He struck out the first batter, gave up a single, and registered another K. Double, BB, and 2 WP scores a 2nd run. For me, I am giving Alex a pass on this one because he earned it on his previous 11 games.
Every Loon had at least 1 hit.
- Chuck Davalan – 3-5, 2 runs, 1 RBI
- Eduardo Quintero – 2-6, 2 runs, 4 RBI, 2 doubles (11)
- Kole Myers – 2-3, 2 BB, 3 runs, triple (2)
- Nico Perez – 2-4, 2 runs, 3 RBI, double (13)
- Eduardo Guerrero – 3-3, 1 run 5 RBI, 2 SF, double (9)
- Anson Aroz – 2-5, 2 runs, double (1)
- Jose Izarra – 2-4, 1 BB, 2 runs, 2 RBI, double (7)
Eduardo Quintero Last 30 games stats: AVG.353/OBP.472/OPS.929 SB(22/25)- K 26.8% – BB 16.9%
Ontario Tower Buzzers 6 – Stockton Ports (A’s) 5
Ontario put up 4 in the 1st. CF Brendan Tunink walked, and 3B Chase Harlan reached on an error. RF Ching-Hsien Ko had an RBI single, and 1B Easton Shelton crushed a 3-run HR (15).
RHSP Brady Smith allowed an unearned run in the 1st inning, but completed 3.2 innings and 60 pitches. He gave up 3 singles, walked 1, and struck out 8. That’s 8 out of 11 outs via K.
RHRP Accimias Morales relieved Smith and got the final out in the 4th. He allowed a pair of unearned runs in the 5th. He walked 3 in the inning, 1 single, but the runs were aided by a passed ball and catcher’s interference. RHRP Luis Carias entered to get the final out in the 5th.
Carias allowed 3 hits, 1 BB, and committed an error giving Stockton 2 runs and taking a 5-4 lead.
SS Mairo Martinus hit a game tying HR (5) in the 6th. Shelton hit his 2nd HR (16) of the night, a solo shot giving Ontario a 6-5 lead.
Carias pitched the final 3.0 innings (4.1 in total) without allowing a run, although he did pitch out of a jam in the 8th. He allowed a 2-out triple and walked the next batter before getting the final out via K. He retired the side in order in the 9th with 2 K. Carias navigated the final 4.1 innings to get thew in.
- Easton Shelton – 2-4, 2 runs, 4 RBI, 2 HR (16)
- Ching-Hsien Ko – 2-4, 1 run, 1 RBI, double (8)
- AJ Soldra – 2-4
- Mairo Martinus – 1-5, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (5)
ACL Mariners 2 – ACL Dodgers 1 – (7 innings)
18 year old, RHSP Adriano Marrero, started and completed two scoreless innings. He allowed a single, a BB, and registered 2 K.
RHP Chris Campos returned to the mound on a rehab assignment, completing 1.0 clean inning with a K. RHRP José Rodríguez made his 2nd rehab assignment and pitched 1.0 inning. He did allow 1 BB, but also struck out the side.
RHRP Spencer Green entered in the 5th. He walked the leadoff hitter, struck out the 2nd batter he faced, and then walked 3 straight, giving the Mariners the tying run.
RHRP Alvaro Benua came in relief in the 6th. After he walked the first batter there was an injury delay. After two WP Benua was deemed injured and was lifted for RHRP Dailoui Abad who finished the walk charged to Benua. Abad served up a sac fly for the go-ahead run.
DH Matt Gorski, also on a rehab assignment, was 2-3 with an RBI. Gorski’s 2 hits were doubles.
DSL Brewers Blue 11 – DSL LAD Mega 2 – (7 innings)
The LAD Mega team managed 4 singles in this game. 3 singles, a walk, and WP allowed for 2 runs to score in the 6th inning. No LAD Mega hitter had a multi-hit game.
DSL LAD Bautista 8 – DSL Pirates Black 7 – (8 innings)
Down 2-0 in the 1st, after a BB and WP, RF Rubel Arias doubled a run home, and he scored the tying run after a pair of WP.
LF Fran-Jean Haseth led off the 4th with a triple and scored on Ariel Reynoso’s single.
Pirates scored 3 in the 5th to tale a 5-3 lead.
Two walks and a single loaded the bases for Mega in the 5th. A balk scored a run closing the deficit to 5-4.
The Dodgers scored an unearned run in the 6th to tie it up.
Neither team scored in the 7th, so the game went into extra innings. The Pirates scored 2 in the 8th. In the bottom of the 8th, with a placed runner on 2nd, a Mega batter drew a BB, and CF Helvin Mendoza hit an RBI single. Arias followed with another RBI single. After two Mega batters were retired, 1B Haram Hernandez singled home the winning run.
- Rubel Arias – 2-4, 1 BB, 1 run, 2 RBI, double (2)
- Haram Hernandez – 2-4, 1 BB,1 RBI
- Fean-Jean Hasath – 1-3, 1 BB, 1 run, triple (1)
More from Dodger Talk
Dodgers Food Trailer
I did this interview a couple of weeks ago with Chef Mike, who runs the Dodgers Food Trailer for the Great Lakes Loons. They are there for every home and road regular season and playoff game. They prepare three meals a day for approximately 50 people (players and coaches). Since games end late most evenings, they do not prepare breakfast. Many of their hotels have a complimentary breakfast anyway. However,…
Meet LAD 2026 Draft Picks 1-12
3 picks were High School players (2 SS and 1 OF). There was a college OF, college catcher, college SS, and 10 college pitchers. Of all the talk for a need for a catcher, the only catcher the Dodgers selected was Luke Bard, son of LAD bullpen coach Josh Bard. Bard was a 4th year senior from Houston Christian University. He is not a prospect, so the Dodgers are still…
Interview with Paul Beachy – Team Bus Driver For The Great Lakes Loons (LA Dodgers Minor League Team)
It’s been a few days since I did this interview. We have evidently been working my son-in-law (the video guy) like a rented mule at US Water Systems. However, I am taking him to London with me in a few days, so maybe Watford will buy him a pint as a tip, but he’s a dang Red Sox fan, so there is that! I thought that it would be interesting…
Thanks for Your Service: Chris Taylor
I was going to do this post when Chris announced he was retiring, then he changed his mind, but since the chances of him ever playing for the Dodgers again are slim and non-existent, I will go ahead with this post. He unretired, went on the IL, then decided to call it quits on May 24th. Taylor was born in Virginia Beach VA on August 29th, 1990. He attended Great…
Discussion (117)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Include me in the small group here who felt the way you did about Sasaki. Ditto your entire post. I believe Ohtani and Yamamoto had a large part in helping Sasaki with the mental aspect of pitching in MLB. The coaches handled the mechanics part. His turnaround could be huge for the Dodgers. Credit to the FO for sticking with the strategy of having Roki stay, learn, and improve against MLB hitters. Many believe Roki’s main issue was the loss of velocity and confidence. So, he was not effective throwing 97 because he used to throw 100 MPH? Really? You might want to talk to HOF Greg Maddox or later in his career Clayton Kershaw about velocity. What he needed was to learn a new pitch or two and to better locate his pitches. Which he has appeared to have done. That lead to confidence improvement and even a return of his velocity. It’s awesome to watch a player take to coaching and listening to his fellow pitchers to help improve his physical ability and mental approach. It’s like they made a trade deadline move early in the season without giving up any players. Continued success Roki!!!
The Kyle Tucker signing was good in my opinion. It solved several problems and only cost us cash. Dodger brass is way ahead of us in noticing the developing weakness of the offense–Mookie’s production continues to decline, opponents can pitch around Shohei, Pages got stage fright, Max swings for the fences (yes, he gets walked but it rarely matters bc he is slow runner and the rest of team is also swinging for the fences), Teoscar is a question mark, etc. Enter Kyle Tucker. Did we overpay? Certainly, but only in cash. Next season will likely introduce some payroll restrictions, which means a Tucker signing won’t happen again. To acquire a high caliber player in the future, the Dodgers will need to include valuable prospects and pitching. We gave (bought) ourselves another year to evaluate our OF prospects. Win. The Dodgers experimented with a reclamation project (Conforto) and likely were determined not to take that risk again due to our aging roster. Our prospects are a few years out. Tucker plays good (not great) defense, hits HR’s, and is a contact hitter–something the team was missing last October. Is he underperforming at present? Yes, but as someone said recently, “it really only matters that he shows up in the playoffs.” I believe he is adjusting to Dodger expectations, but will be fine. I have to admit, it’s nice not to worry about our outfield even when Teo goes down.
Mark: I saw in the last post that you mentioned you were going to a new format soon. Just curious what the new upgrade will be. Are you still going with a WordPress as the source code or what will you be using? I work in technology so was wondering what you will be using.
I keep hearing progress isn’t linear. I don’t know who first said it, probably some Greek dude named Hypothesis, but I think an argument could be made that the premise isn’t true at all. I believe in the traditional sense, a formal argument and path to successful consequence operates linearly by using a step-by-step progression of logic to link premises to a conclusion. This fundamental structure relies on moving in one direction from established truths or assumptions to an inevitable outcome. Premise, inference/reasoning, conclusion. I do believe I read that somewhere. Maybe in my Chico State Logic class. Or perhaps I just asked AI. The point is Roki had to get from here to there. And it looks like maybe he did it. We in here of course are non linear, flapping our yaps flying around in circles attempting to be clear concise and comprehensive and speaking for myself often failing miserably. Our complex arguments and creative rhetoric takes a non-linear or even “circular” approach—such as walking around a central problem to examine it from multiple perspectives rather than moving in a straight line. Conclusion? Progress is both linear and non linear. Oh, and it wasn’t a Greek dude who first said it. Turns out it was an Italian woman. Maria Montessori. In addition Martin Luther King in his 1967 book “Where Do Go From Here: Chaos or Community” (sounds topical) said “First, the line of progress is never straight. For a period a movement may follow a straight line and then it encounters obstacles and the path bends.” Mark Timmons and Martin Luther King. Birds of a feather.
Good post DJ. “Yes, we will miss out on a few risky superstar pitchers” AF has already accomplished this with signings of Glasnow and Snell. Both have had major injury histories yet they were signed for outrageous amounts of money. I never liked either signing. There are no sure things when it comes to evaluating pitchers. But, with such glaring red flags by both Glasnow and Snell I found it confusing that AF and Gomes would make them Dodgers. After the Snell signing I realized that money was no object when it came to the FA market. They have backed that up this offseason with the unexplainable Tucker signing. It looks like the already on the roster, Alex Call, was just as accomplished.
The Dodgers are 42-23,the Braves are 44-21,the two Best records in baseball,the Dodgers’ Run Differential is +141 and the Braves ‘+115. the Dodgers’ record against teams .500 or better is 19-12 and the Braves’ record is 20-11. These two teams are evenly matched and will probably face off to who will represent the National League in the World Series. The Brewers can’t be taken lightly either with their two stud pitchers.
Don’t forget that in addition to dealing with language and cultural issues, Sasaki had to use a baseball that was slightly bigger in size and less tacky. According to pitching guru’s, since May, Sasaki has pitched better than Skenes.
Yes, Arte Moreno has not run the Halos very well since buying the team from Disney (I think for something in the area of 185M) despite spending millions on disastrous FA signings including Tio Albert, Rendon, Hamilton Matthews Jr etc, etc. The entire Angels organization is currently a DISASTER and complete 180 difference from the Dodgers machine! The results of the upcoming lockout next season will probably dictate whether Arte will sell or not especially if MLB doesn’t figure out broadcasting rights/revenue. That being said , riddle me this… who was raised in a family of 13 as the oldest child in a tiny 2 bdrm home in Tucson, AZ, is a Vietnam combat Army veteran, put themselves through the U of A using G.I. bill, self made billionaire, first owner of Mexican descent to own a major sports franchise and currently owns a MLB team probably worth at least 4 billion? Hate but don’t negate. VIVA AZUL!!!
Jeff, what draftees are the Dodgers looking at in the upcoming Draft in July? With only 6 picks in the first 10 rounds and limited pool money, hopes are they find some talent and value. Their first pick is #40. They lost 4 picks in the first ten rounds with the signings of Diaz and Tucker.
Dodger and Braves have the largest leads in the majors. LA is 8 ahead of San Diego.
If Yamamoto can learn to have a clean first inning, which he has had problems with ever since he came to MLB< he would be a beast.
Triple A wouldn’t have challenged Roki the way MLB has. My guess is that the FO, Roberts, Prior et all made a commitment to Roki, to help him develop in the bigs, after he pitched out of the bullpen last year. Mark T has often said “progress isn’t always linear”… this progress never had to be linear! I’m sure Roki will have a bump or two, but it sure looks like he’s turned a corner. If he had wanted to make money, he could have played a few more seasons in Japan before signing as an international free agent like Yoshinobu. He didn’t. He wants to compete, against the best in the world, in MLB. Maybe he was a little stubborn to take coaching advice, but what professional athlete isn’t somewhat stubborn? Stubborn can be persistence in another light. Roki and the whole org deserve credit. Elite starting pitching is the playoff game changer, as we saw last season. The org depth will let them slow play Glasnow and Snell for 2nd half. Skubal could be a very spendy wild card. If YY, Shohei, Roki, Wrobo, Glasnow, Snell, Sheehan are all healthy or trending back to pitching by the deadline, Skubal would be an incremental upgrade at a premium cost… not a typical Friedman move. River Ryan is an in house wild card, but they’re not going to jeopardize his long term out look by over extending the innings this year. They’re as likely to promote a prospect as make some kind of trade for an upgrade. maybe another arm for the ‘pen. They’re scoring runs, even if some of the at bats make you puke a little bit… we’re so spoiled, to be Dodger fans right now!
AF hasn’t exactly knocked it out of the park with the last handful of trades and FA deals but he can make up for it by not trading any of the farm for Skubal. Yes, it is very crowded in AAA/AA but we have an aging/tradeable team with Max, Freddie, Teo, Call and yes, even Mookie, who can be offered a savings face buy-out, or coaching slot. Mookie will not ride the pine to collect his salary. He has too much pride and is too classy if his game continues to regress. That opens up 5 spots within 2 years or less. Not sure how the lockout will affect the players contracts but a long strike could be a blessing, helping to clear out the aging veterans. Maybe Jeff, Mark or Bear could give some clarity to that. Bottom line: AF could stand pat, spread rumors, stir the pot and watch the FA circus bidding war. Yes, we will miss out on a few risky superstar pitchers but Skubal will be available again, in a few years, after his TJ Surgery. The bonus is we get to promote a handful of stud position players and some pitchers we didn’t give up in trades. It’s a win-win for AF and a win for the Dodgers.
Arte Moreno should sell the Angels while franchise prices are high and move on . His team has been a total embarrassment to baseball under his ownership for years.
The Astros of all people are NOT trading Jeremy Pena to the Dodgers.Bet it!
Sure the angels are pathetic! But after a nine run inning, the “pathetic” halos shut the Dodgers down! Guess I’m just greedy. Could a nine run game possibly be followed up with a 2 run outburst? Seriously, Yamamoto is unreal! He is as good as it gets! Although the first inning is a bit of an issue at times, he was dominant after that. A bunt he couldn’t quite field, and a ball Pages normally catches kept him from possible throwing a no hitter! Yamamoto,Ohtani, and Sasaki? And they are dodgers for a long time! I’m beginning to think that Glasnow will be moved in the offseason. Love watching him pitch! When he pitches. A team like Texas would make a lot of sense. Ryan and Stone will be coming hard next season. Wrobleski and Sheehan will have to pitch their butts off to stay in the rotation. Maybe to even remain a Dodger! Jeremy Pena? Wouldn’t be a bad idea. If a deal were to be made, hopefully the front office absolutely “trashes” the aaaasssstros! I would think that Kim would be included in a deal for Pena. If Mookie has to move to second to accommodate Pena, then Kim and Freeland both become a question mark. Although I would think Freeland would not be moved since he is very good defensively at third. Dodger baseball heading east after today. I haven’t checked the schedule yet, I would assume Skeenes will be in the rotation for the series in Pittsburgh. Should be fun! One last thought on Skubal. Could the dodgers actually pull off a trade that gives the tigers some package that would satisfy them, but not really delete their top prospect inventory? One that wouldn’t cripple them in case (a very good case) the Dodgers don’t really want to resign Skubal to a crazy contract! 3 months of Skubal in that rotation? Something to consider! Again, not saying I want it to happen, just wondering out loud!
If you go back and read my comments, I was one of the few who said to give Roki a chance and that his work ethic would eventually prevail in results.Also i said coming over from Japan is a huge adjustment with the language barrier and culture.How many of us could go to Japan at 23 years old and succeed at a business the first over second year there? The answer is none of us. I knew also that it helped having Ohtani and Yamamota in his corner helped. His confident facial expressions now on the mound tell the whole story.