This is a digital version of The Windup newsletter. Sign up here to receive this content straight to your inbox each morning.
Oakland A Burns. No, no – in a good way this time! Shohei Ohtani is putting up the MVP numbers again, and it was an absolute mess in Phoenix last night. I’m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal – Welcome to The Windup!
Don’t worry, I’m fine, I’m fine, okay?
At the press box in St. Petersburg this past weekend, a local asked if I was going to Oakland to cover the Rays/A Series. I joked that I made it my whole life without witnessing a murder, and I have no plans to change that now.
ok ok ok. Who makes jokes now?
He won athletics six Live games. By comparison, in the 32-day period between May 5 and June 5, they went from 6 to 24 days.
What’s even crazier: All three series (sort of) came against first-place teams. The Pirates were leading the NL Central by half a game when they beat the A’s in their first three games in Pittsburgh. They were 1 1/2 back by the time I left A, but they jumped behind In first place over the weekend because the A’s flew to Milwaukee and swept the Brewers.
Last night, Oakland faced the best Rays team in the league and lost 4-3, as James Caprillian held the Rays to three runs over six innings and Ken Waldichuk got three old-school home runs.
Tonight’s Reverse County was really going to be a party. Now fans are embarrassing A’s ownership. And Cheer for the hottest team in the league? Heck yeah.
more like: Ranking A’s dream ballparks over the years, from Fremont to Las Vegas
Ken’s Corner: Another MVP season for Otani?
For today’s segment of “Fun with Shohei Ohtani,” let’s compare the two-way star’s offensive pace to his numbers from 2021, when he was voted the MLS Most Valuable Player:
- 2021 Final: .257, 46 HR, 100 RBI
- 2023 PACE: .291, 48 HR, 119 RBIs
Ohtani’s OPS is 0.955, compared to 0.965, but let’s not get picky. Offensively, he’s pretty much the same guy he was at 21. His early recovery runs (3.18 in 21, 3.32 this season) are also comparable, and his strike rate of 33.3 percent is the highest of his career.
On Monday night, between two of Otani’s homers against the Rangers, the second was the 12th-inning hit, the great Sarah Langs. He tweeted amazing stats: Last season Ohtani became the first player to finish in the league’s top 15 in both homers and strokes since the mound was moved to its current distance in 1893…and he’s currently in the top 3 in 2023!!!!! (Exclamation marks… Pleasant!)
There’s just one problem, if we can call it that: Ohtani’s 3.32 ERA is nearly a full year higher than it was last season, when he was second in MVP voting and fourth in Cy Young. “There are times when I feel a little more tired,” Ohtani, citing his increasing workload, said Friday through his translator.
like the athleteThe Angels are considering whether to return to a strict six-man rotation, Sam Blum wrote Monday, as they have done for the last two seasons to minimize wear and tear on Ohtani.
Such an adjustment would seem appropriate, considering Ohtani’s 4.88 ERA in his last eight starts. Fatigue may not be the only explanation; Sam noted that pitch selection and mechanics may also have been part of Otani’s recent struggles.
Well, if Ohtani can get his show back on track and keep it up to its current level, it could be 2021 again. Which means second best player. And free agency is crazier than we could have ever imagined.
In the strangest moments and the dumbest ways
Well, that title makes it sound like those things all happened at the same time, which they could have been more anarchism. But, no – they happened six innings apart.
Clean benches at the bottom of the third inning. Corbin Carroll was hit by a groundout by Matt Strahm for the second time in the game, and Diamondbacks coach Torrey Lovolo was very upset. He stomped on home run Vic Carabaza, and he could clearly be seen saying “I don’t like it!” It is an objectively funny standalone phrase.
He got kicked out quickly but needed to yell at JT Realmuto for a while before leaving, then yelled at the Phillies dugout, which I guess he couldn’t hear very well, so they all went out to listen closely, as did the Arizona dugout. This was basically it. The rulers settled on everyone…until they didn’t:
This is bench coach and former Rangers manager Jeff Bannister, who was never averse to it mix on him at his time in Texas.
It all petered out in the end, and in the top of the ninth, with the score 9-7 to Arizona, Realmuto doubled, becoming just the third player of the year to hit on the cycle (Luis Aries, Miami and Cedric Mullins, Baltimore are the others). Realmuto is the first Phillies player to hit for the cycle since current Reds head coach David Bell did it in 2004. The last catcher to do so was George Kotaras, with Milwaukee in 2011.
Later in that inning, Cody Clemens hit a two-run home run off Miguel Castro to give the Phillies a 10–9 lead. But the call was canceled – it was a mistake. Clemens hit the next pitch to end the game, but then The game continuedBecause the ball hit the dirt.
D-backs quarterback Carson Kelly finally threw it to first, and as far as we’ve been able to tell (so far) it’s game over. The final score was 9-8; Arizona has it also Win six in a row and lead the NL West by four over the Dodgers.
Matt Gelb has more on a bullpen that went wrong for the Phillies.
Don’t bother calling, I’ll call you
This week’s power ratings focus on a potential first-time All-Star. Did you know that rays only have One An active player who was an All-Star? It’s Shane McClanahan, who has to go again this year. But as many as seven players in the position deserve a nod for first-timers.
Others were more complex. Sure, the A’s are the ones who beat the world now, but there weren’t many inspiring performances during the first half. Our crew went with Ryan Noda, who was so good!
One I’m invested in: Elly De La Cruz, who wasn’t called up until June 6. If he plays in every game between now and the All-Star Game, that’s just 31.
Is a traditional .300/.400/.500 sling enough? Probably not, with those few games. Does 1,000 OPS do the trick? Given the level of excitement he generated in just one week in Cincinnati, i He thinks So. If he can get an OPS above 1.100 (it was at 1.118 before the Reds’ 5-4 win over the Royals brought him 0.925), then that should be a lock.
Baseball card of the week
In honor of the winning A series, here’s one of my favorite A cards from the junk wax era: Dave Stewart’s 1990 Collect-a-Books. These were basically card-shaped booklets of current and former stars. Fun fact: According to BeckettThe cards were designed by Major League Soccer player, “Ball Four” author, and inventor of the “Big League Chew” Jim Bouton.
Handshakes and high fives
“C. Notes”—the weekly notes column from C. Trent Rosecrans—tentatively became “E. Notes” as he narrates Eli de la Cruz’s first week in adulthood. I missed one stat: De la Cruz now has the fastest pitching pitch by any player in the major leagues this year, at 96.6 mph.
I’m starting to think maybe the Cubs aren’t as good this year. Patrick Mooney says the same thing, but gives too many details.
Pre-season match predictions? You’ve heard a lot about the Mets, Padres, Cardinals, Mariners and… any Maybe some White Sox. Brett Giroli shows how all five of these teams will need a turnaround if they’re going to make the previous 162.
As the Subway series begins tonight, our writers are looking at which New York team gets more bang for their buck (several million).
In the world of college baseball, an eight-team stadium is set for the College World Series. Games start on Friday.
And staying with the college theme, Stephen Nesbitt has this story about a college student’s earnest bonding on the bizarre high school baseball fields.
(Top photo: Tim Heitman/Getty Images)
