NEWS/RUMORS/AROUND MLB Thread

smh racists

Kenta Maeda faced Ichiro for the first time and all of Japan won
by Mike Oz | Big League Stew — 3 hours ago



It was new vs. old, then vs. now, one of MLB's finest Japanese imports against the MLB's hot new star from Japan.

Yet for Kenta Maeda, the Los Angeles Dodgers' rookie pitcher, facing Ichiro was something more. It was going up against his childhood idol, against a man who is legit baseball royalty in their homeland. And in the end, their first meeting couldn't have gone much better for Maeda.

It happened in the second inning of Thursday night's Dodgers-Marlins game. Ichiro fouled off Maeda's first offering, a four-seamer at 90 mph. Then Maeda painted the outside corner with two sliders, the first a called strike and the second a called strike that sent Ichiro back to the dugout.

In fairness, this is far from peak Ichiro. He's 42 now and not an every day player for the Miami Marlins.

Nonetheless, this was still a premiere matchup back home in Japan, where they intently follow their players who have made the jump to MLB.

Maeda, 28, is the latest star to come to America. His impact was immediate. Even though he took the loss Thursday, Maeda still carries just a 1.41 ERA through five starts. Before the Marlins tagged him for four earned runs, Maeda had allowed only one this season.

As for his matchup with Ichiro, it clearly went to Maeda, who held his hero hitless in three at-bats. Ichiro also popped up twice. Whatever the result, though, this was special for Japanese baseball fans.​

 

Roberts continues to stay the course, preaches patience for Dodgers
by Ryan Walton | True Blue LA — 1 hour ago

"Can't hit, sucks. Lose 6 in a row, sucks. Still in
1st place, priceless. Perspective. Win tomorrow!"

#WaltonYourFriend@RyanWaltonSBN
Adrian Gonzalez wrote this^ on the Dodgers clubhouse white
board the second they walked in from tonight's loss.
9:38 PM - 30 Apr 2016​

That is the veteran leadership that Adrian Gonzalez is projecting in the clubhouse after the Dodgers have lost six straight games.

It's tough to be positive when the team can't seem to find any runs to support the pitching staff. It's even harder when the wheels are coming off in front of the home crowd and relievers are hearing boos before they even throw a pitch. But that's just the kind of attitude that manager Dave Roberts consistently preaches -- and practices -- to his team.

"You look at tonight, and you don't see a whole lot of signs that it's going to turn," said manager Dave Roberts. "But you know what? They're still confident. It might not seem like it. But they're still working their tails off.

"When you don't get guys on base and things aren't going on out there it looks lackluster and low-energy. That just comes with not hitting. Any team that's struggling offensively, that's the perception. But it's not like guys are trying any less."

Ross Stripling struggled on the mound Saturday night and hasn't had consistent efficiency to this point, but the signs are there that he is figuring it out.

Just ask the manager if Stripling has plateaued or if he is regressing.

"I think that he is continuing to learn," Roberts said. "He is very good with the information. I thought his breaking ball was really good tonight. It's a different question if he gets Upton."

Roberts has stressed patience and staying the course to his ball club, pointing out that dwelling on the negative gets you nowhere.

"In baseball you can't beat someone over the head. You can't yell at them," said Roberts. "As a hitter, you can't get 'more mad' and do better. That doesn't equate to being better. It actually works against you. For us, we've talked about routine, consistency, and that's what the guys are doing."

 

I wouldn't think Roberts would or should be on the hot seat for a one month slump

 

and our only offense

 

And now Josh Ravin with an 80-game ban. What's the world coming to?

 

this

 

so it would appear ravin has crashed the car and shit the bed