I wasn’t blaming the WBC. The injury happened during a WBC game. If it happened during Spring Training and someone had said that they can’t understand why people are upset about the injury at a meaningless game MLB-wise, I would have said the same thing.
Altuve 8-10 weeks projected return I'd bet 10-11 weeks for his first rehab appearance And 11-12 for his first major league at-bat Injuries are usually underestimated, especially Astros, so Ima bet longer Late June return
Teams can post anytime but both the player and team have to agree to have the player be posted. Posting is supposed to be a lot easier now since there's no bidding process anymore. The team posts the player and the player has 30 days to sign a contract with an MLB team. I do think that as Japanese teams time when they post players since the fee paid to the Japanese team is a percentage of the overall contract. So they'll strategically wait to build hype around a player and then post when there are multiple teams ready to bid huge amounts. So when a player posts is largely tied to what the MLB free agent market looks like in a given year.
That call from Japan of that walkoff hit made me think of my grandfather whose name I carry but wasn’t really my grandfather by blood. He fought in WW2..lied about his age so he could join early. Carried a flamethrower and wouldn’t talk about it. He was bald and he used to joke with us that he lost his hair one night in a fox hole…knowing what I know now, I’m not sure he was joking. My kid leaves for the Navy in July and hopes to be in the 7th Fleet in the Pacific…out of a base in Japan. Baseball and democracy are both really good ideas. They both won. How great is it that the United States is playing Japan in baseball for the championship in the WBC? Should be a fun game…
Who says you can’t be romantic about baseball? Much like they’ve done with steak, Japan has taken what the US gave them and totally made it their own. (Yes, that’s from Mr. Baseball).
I'm not about giving players big time money, but I would do it for Ohtani. The dude loves baseball shown by coming over early and losing out on a ton of money. Would not be mad if Crane decided to give him 50 per year. That being said, there is no way the Yankees, Dodgers, and Mets will be outbid for his services. Maybe we can sell him on a winning culture.
The one bad thing is if the Astros are still not fully committed to Alvarez being a full time OF it'll take away Ohtani's DH at bats. Unless you risk fatigue and injury and throw Ohtani out in the OF at certain times. I think in Japan he's played in the OF and maybe a few innings in the MLB. You can add Giants, Padres, maybe Mariners and Rangers who'll probably outbid Houston. But as you mentioned, sell him on the winning culture. They say he cares more about winning than money.
Ohtani is probably worth 50 million on value easily..when healthy. Tying up 500 million, or whatever he will make, on a player with double the chance to get injured is the kind of risk only the stupid wealthy teams can take.
I wouldn't be against giving both more rest days and giving Alvarez every start in LF during the playoffs when it counts. With Alvarez's arm, right field should be okay also.
While I think the Astros signing Ohtani in the offseason is unlikely, there is a better chance the Astros trade for him at the deadline. If that is the case, would Ohtani want to play OF some games in the postseason?
I don't think the 8-10 weeks came from the Astros. It came from media speculation. The Astros won't give a timetable until after the surgery.
This is all academic since I don't think Crane would ever fork over a half billion dollar commitment to a player even if he is a generational talent. He would rather pay 25 million a year to two players (Alvarez and Javier) for 5 years. I would give up some decent minor league assets for an Ohtani rental especially if we need pitching depth during the playoffs. If Lance is unhealthy and/or Brown isn't ready, he could totally be the difference for us. Could you even imagine Ohtani in the lineup with Alvarez, Abreu, and Tucker protecting him? I would even explore sticking Tucker in center and Alvarez in right so Brantley could stay in the lineup. If Dirden plays up to what he's shown so far, having Dirden out there instead of Brantley would be pretty sick also. That would be the 2019 offensive potential in terms of power. Everyone would be capable of 25+ homeruns and hit for average minus Maldy. Altuve Bregmen Ohtani Alvarez Abreu Tucker Pena Brantley Maldy
Boooo! It's time for Japan to take back the crown!! Here's to a good game. But honestly I want it to be a blow out. If Japan is losing, I can watch something else. If they're winning, I can watch something else and come back for the ending.
He will be a Dodger. They saved their money this off-season to keep the funds available, they are in his current city, they have a winning resume (yes, an obnoxious and cheating one, but still…), and they need another pitcher. It is as clear as could be.
The only major differentiator w Ohtani and basically anyone else is the legitimate business case one could make for signing him. Beyond his unparalleld on field production, he is perhaps the only true transcendent superstar in the entire sport. Similar to Yao and the Rockets, Shohei would bring unreal exposure to a mega baseball market. I wouldn't be so sure $50M per wouldn't be well worth it. There's probably a 3X ROI on his contract alone.
