The Los Angeles Dodgers fire Ippei Mizuhara, Shohei Ohtani's long-time interpreter. Mizuhara was accused by Ohtani's attorneys of engaging in a “massive theft” of Ohtani's funds to place bets with an illegal bookmaker, according to the LA Times.
The “interpreter” was just a cover and is now the fall guy… does anyone really think Ohtani legit needed a full time interpreter… around him at all times and in the club house… after living in America for almost a decade?
Or that the interpreter who's lived here for 25 years didn't realize that the illegal fucking bookie wasn't the same as DraftKings?
What happened here is just so damn obvious but ultimately so impossible to prove that it's gonna have to go away. But yeah - Ohtani better get himself to a Gamber's Anonymous meeting if he's out there blowing millions on soccer games.
Because ain't no way some random bookie was taking millions in action from Ohtani's lackey. At best the guy was doing it on his own but with Othani's knowledge. And I'd still say it's more likely he was doing it at Ohtani's behest than it is that Shohei's just a really generous dude that covered nearly $5 million on gambling losses for his interpreter because he's just a nice guy that way... [Reply]
Fucking up in the 1994 lockout, then the steroid era, squandering the marketability of its best player of the 2010s in Trout and now probably being complicit in an even bigger star's gambling cover-up. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower:
MLB can't get out of its own way, can it?
Fucking up in the 1994 lockout, then the steroid era, squandering the marketability of its best player of the 2010s in Trout and now probably being complicit in an even bigger star's gambling cover-up.
In fairness, the steroid era exploded the popularity of baseball and brought it back to it's pre-strike levels. It was how they navigated their way out of it that created an issue (i.e. they ignored it until they got beaten over the head with it rather than walk away from the table when they got up a couple grand...). Had MLB gotten back to level and then said "okay fellas, lets put some testing in" before Bonds head swelled up 6 sizes, they'd have been in really nice shape and the steroid era would've actually been a huge benefit for baseball.
And MLB didn't do anything to waste Trout - that was Arte Moreno. It's no different than the Chargers and Herbert. Do we blame the NFL for the Lions wasting Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson? Nope - that's the Lions fault.
They made some good changes last season to make the game a little more watchable. I still think they need to consider moving the mound back a little more given the explosion in velocity and how pitching dominates. And I've long said the game would be significantly better if they moved the walls back across the board (though some stadiums simply can't do that).
Raw stuff has just gotten way too nasty these days. Hell, baseball as originally designed wasn't SUPPOSED to generate swings and misses. The whole "hit it back up the box" thing goes back to the days when pitchers literally stood in a box and the goal was to give guys something to hit but not something too easy to hit. So pitchers would change their angles by moving around this box that's roughly where the mound is today.
Strikeouts are boring. And besides that they're fascist. Throw some groundballs - it's more democratic. [Reply]
I’m a little unclear on sports gambling rules. So if he gambled all that on other sports besides baseball, that’s ok. Main issue is putting it through an illegal bookie and/or potentially betting in a state or country where sports betting isn’t allowed, right? So where does that fall on the punishment scale assuming he doesn’t get superstar treatment? [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
In fairness, the steroid era exploded the popularity of baseball and brought it back to it's pre-strike levels. It was how they navigated their way out of it that created an issue (i.e. they ignored it until they got beaten over the head with it rather than walk away from the table when they got up a couple grand...). Had MLB gotten back to level and then said "okay fellas, lets put some testing in" before Bonds head swelled up 6 sizes, they'd have been in really nice shape and the steroid era would've actually been a huge benefit for baseball.
And MLB didn't do anything to waste Trout - that was Arte Moreno. It's no different than the Chargers and Herbert. Do we blame the NFL for the Lions wasting Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson? Nope - that's the Lions fault.
They made some good changes last season to make the game a little more watchable. I still think they need to consider moving the mound back a little more given the explosion in velocity and how pitching dominates. And I've long said the game would be significantly better if they moved the walls back across the board (though some stadiums simply can't do that).
Raw stuff has just gotten way too nasty these days. Hell, baseball as originally designed wasn't SUPPOSED to generate swings and misses. The whole "hit it back up the box" thing goes back to the days when pitchers literally stood in a box and the goal was to give guys something to hit but not something too easy to hit. So pitchers would change their angles by moving around this box that's roughly where the mound is today.
Strikeouts are boring. And besides that they're fascist. Throw some groundballs - it's more democratic.
1) Right, Baseball didn't handle the 'roid revelations the right way.
2) Key word with Trout is marketability, not "wasting" his competitive power by not winning anything more than one or two postseason appearances.