No sign that controversy is distracting Dodgers or Shohei Ohtani
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani runs to first after hitting a double during the first inning of their home opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday at Dodger Stadium. Ohtani was thrown out at third trying to extend the play. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) LOS ANGELES — A big piece of the mythology surrounding […] Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani continues to focus on baseball, despite the controversy surrounding his close friend, his interpreter, and the gambling scandal surrounding it. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that he does not believe the controversy will affect his performance. He also suggested that the removal of Ippei Mizuhara as a "buffer" between the two players could be a good thing, as seen by Roberts. Despite the controversy, he said he is confident that the rest of the team will not be affected by it. Despite criticism from St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas about the Dodgers' financial differences, Roberts said he was not concerned by Mikolas' comments. Despite injuries to Walker Buehler and Blake Treinen, both players are on the verge of making their season debuts.
发表 : 4 周前 经过 Euro Journal 在 Sports
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani runs to first after hitting a double during the first inning of their home opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday at Dodger Stadium. Ohtani was thrown out at third trying to extend the play. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
LOS ANGELES — A big piece of the mythology surrounding Shohei Ohtani is his laser focus on baseball.
Even apparent betrayal by a close friend, his interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, and the gambling scandal surrounding it doesn’t seem to have rocked that focus.
“He’s handled it with flying colors,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I just don’t think it’s going to affect performance. I really don’t. I kind of touched on it the other day, just watching his engagement with his teammates the last handful of days. It’s been fun for me to watch.
Roberts said earlier this week that the removal of Mizuhara as a “buffer” between Ohtani and his teammates and coaches could be a good thing. He said he has started to see that play out.
“Just on the bench. Just engaging. There’s a little banter,” Roberts said. “He’s in there with the hitting coaches. He’s asking questions and things like that, which is great, which is very helpful. I’m happy to see that. I think there’s only upside with that.”
Ohtani was greeted with roars from the fans during Thursday’s pre-game ceremonies and again before his first at-bat. He was on base in each of his first three times up for the home team at Dodger Stadium – a double, a walk and a single.
Roberts said he also doesn’t expect the ongoing drama surrounding Ohtani to spill over as a distraction for the rest of the team either.
“You have to be able to compartmentalize. You have to be a professional. And we have a lot of guys in the clubhouse that are professionals,” Roberts said. “Not to say that they’re not emotional, that they’re not empathetic. But we all have jobs to do.
“So for me, I wasn’t concerned. Like I told you guys before, there’s going to be distractions, as there always are off the field. But the core group of guys that we have – which now continues to grow, because we have that continuity – has weathered a lot of things. … We’ve got to focus on baseball and that’s the only thing that guys are thinking about today, I promise you that.”
St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas tried to draw a big distinction between his team and the big-spending Dodgers this offseason.
“We’re not exactly a low-payroll team,” Mikolas said. “But you got the Dodgers playing checkbook baseball. We’re going to be the hardest-working group of Midwestern farmers we can be.
“It would be great to stick it to the Dodgers.”
Mikolas got that opportunity right out of the gate as the Cardinals’ starting pitcher in their season-opening game at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers scored five times in his 4⅓ innings.
Before the game, Roberts said he didn’t take exception to Mikolas’ comments.
“I’ve known Miles for a long time,” Roberts said of the right-hander who came up with the San Diego Padres when Roberts was working there. “I think ‘checkbook baseball’ – as a player, I think you want that. That’s probably a good thing, right?
“We’re trying to win, as I think every team is trying to do. So Miles can sound off. But I don’t think anyone pays too much attention to it.”
While starting pitcher Walker Buehler continues to progress toward his delayed start to the season, Roberts said relievers Brusdar Graterol and Blake Treinen are “a ways away” from making their season debuts. Graterol is on the injured list with shoulder soreness possibly caused by a hip flexor issue he had during spring training. Treinen was set to make his return from November 2022 shoulder surgery when he was hit by a line drive during a Cactus League game and suffered a bruised lung.
Both Graterol and Treinen are throwing on flat ground but have not started throwing bullpen sessions yet, Roberts said.
In Buehler’s case, he said, the Dodgers will be deciding whether to send the right-hander to Arizona to continue his build up or possibly to Triple-A Oklahoma City to get in game action.
Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw has also joined the Dodgers for the first homestand of the season and participated in the first-pitch ceremonies before Thursday’s game, catching for Adrian Beltre.
Kershaw is still in the early stages of his throwing program after undergoing shoulder surgery last November.
Cardinals (LHP Zack Thompson, 5-7, 4.48 ERA in 2023) at Dodgers (RHP Bobby Miller, 11-4, 3.76 ERA in 2023), Friday, 7:10 p.m., Apple TV+, 570 AM
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