HumpLinks: One for Oh! and Oh! for One

Shohei Ohtani just put Major League Baseball on notice. Just 48 hours after throwing a 3-hit outing over 6 innings, Ohtani steps to the plate for his first at-bat since - against the dreaded Cleveland Indians, no less - and did frikkin’ THIS. For a Madison Bumgarner or a Noah Syndergaard this would be cute and fun. For Halo opponents years to come, this is the real possibility, every pitch. Hell, it was his first at-bat in his first regular season game in his new home park. And I’m lovin’ it. (Did anybody else notice that the LAA fans in the landing zone for Ohtani’s first career MLB home run behaved more like somebody dropped their car keys than a bunch of people within inches of a $20,000 baseball and a permanent piece of history?)

Let’s recap: should Shohei Ohtani stay a two-way player? I vote yes............And remember, the last guy who was a two-way player was Babe Ruth. So it was Babe Ruth who was the last guy to do what Ohtani just did............

And, hey! We also got a Mike Trout Over The Line Homer, hopefully the first of many.

Let’s not forget. Garrett Richards. 5.2 innings and 1 hit. That’s the Richards we want to see warm into our ace.

By the way, I have not yet gotten over to the stadium. For those who have, how are the new video boards? Anybody having a hard time with their eyes?

Have some It’s-A-Good-Day-To-Not-Be-A-Mariners-Fan-Links:

A Little Bit of Angels News

Matt Shoemaker has been granted early 2018 retirement, to the dreaded 10-day DL. It’s forearm strain again, which is what impacted him last June.............Parker Bridwell was recalled, and is slotted for Friday..........

I see that the mothership has chosen to board our bandwagon, as in maybe this Shohei Ohtani guy might be worthy of keeping tabs on after all...........But imagine. A guy can’t even take a day off without some hoopla............Anyway, Ohtani will take another turn on the mound on Sunday..........

Billy Eppler marches on with his never-ending, years-long, journey to provide full-employment to every pitcher ever born. His latest acquisition is Akeel Morris from the Braves............

The Angels are MLB’s second-oldest team? We can lay that stat on the shoulders of Albert Pujols and Ian Kinsler, with a smattering of Chris Young and Rene Rivera.

This Friday, be at the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Metrolink Station around 4PM. That will be the launch of the Angels Express Fan Train to the game. Clyde Wright will be present for autographs. Other stuff will be there for you, too...........

Angels Stadium food porn...um...food PG-13...........

Everywhere In Baseball

Oh I get it now. When Brian Dozier went whining over bunting while down 0-7 late (conveniently forgetting that his team went into the shift while up 7-0 late), it was actually reverse mind-control whining all targeting the next time. Sure. Makes sense. Right? Right??..........

Jose Fernandez was framed? How does that work?.............

Nothing special. Just an observation. It seems odd to me that the MLB scheduling crew delays the home opener on the season for so long with so many teams. Nearly ¹⁄₃ of MLB has yet to play a home game..........

Always fun. The Rays are searching for a new stadium. Not a new location. They got that in Ybor City. No, this is the stadium itself to go on that site. Somebody has to pay for it. And here we have the owner of the Rays doing the Other People’s Money dance............

Bryce Harper is killing it. He now has 4 home runs, 5 walks and 2 sac flys against 2 fly ball outs, 6 ground outs and 0 (as in zero, 1 minus 1) strikeouts. Over the course of 11 PA’s, he had 2 ground outs and everything else was a home run or a walk. That’s PED Bondian stuff...........Jose Altuve is also off to a brilliant start.............Albert Pujols is over at the opposite end..............

The Duffle Bag

Just one great reminder that baseball is the best..........Whistle-fights? Of course Josh Donaldson is in the middle of something like that...........Alex Wood will probably get a call from Rob Manfred about his use of advanced technology during a game...........Jeff Mathis. It’s embarrassing..............Oakland fans in inaction. We probably host more A’s fans than that when they play in Anaheim.............The Seattle injury plague continues............Dear New York, this shit is why Ohtani did not choose you...........