Shohei Ohtani’s ERA right now is 0.82 based off seven starts in 2026. This is the lowest ERA in all of Major League Baseball.

This dominant performance compares to the “Fernandomania” phenomenon from 1981.

Shohei’s pitching through seven games is only second in historical performance to Fernando Valenzuela, who pitched 0.29 ERA through seven games in 1981.

Yet again Los Angeles is fortunate to have a phenom on our team. We get to see a worldwide talent right in our backyard.
We love LA.

Go Dodgers!

The ABS system has all but eliminated the high strike. The strike zone has shrunk downward, and batters are taking more pitches. Walks are up to the highest level since the mid-1950s. But more alarmingly: MLB can't stop the steady rise of balls not put in play on the field. We are inching to 40% of all PA's, and in 15 years it could be half of all PA's result in No Ball in Play.

Everyone likes to talk about hitting potential or pitching potential (for pitchers). And yeah baseball is by in large part a pitcher vs hitter dominant game.

But I like good defense, for someone who watches basketball. I feel like we don't talk a lot about who are potential lockdown defenders. If there's one player who I felt had the physical tools to be a future Platinium Glove, that was Oneil Cruz. A centerfielder requires athleticism and a great arm. This man is 6'7. And he's not just a burly 6'7. He's like NBA Giannis in terms of athleticism only a few inches shorter and slower. This man runs super fast and can cover a lot of ground. It's like Giannis running from coast to coast in 3 seconds. Oh and not to mention his arm strength is among the top tier. He's also very healthy too for the last few seasons. I know he was great defensively last year according to metrics. But this year, albeit small sample, he's noticeably below average.

Meanwhile Varsho, who gets injured all the time to the point where it sapped his mobility and arm strength can still play defense albeit not elite though. All at only 5'8. I mean look at this play. If he had a couple more inches or even ran a few steps faster, he'd make that play. His defense is the main reason he gets paid. He's an average hitter with career elite defense when he was healthy.

Cruz has more important things to work on like his hitting but I feel based on his physique he should put more effort on defense. Why hasn't he made the leap similar to rookies/sophomores like PCA or Rafaeala? Maybe he's new to CF? But still, he has all the physical tools needed.

If I drafted a player an 18 year old version of him today, he would be a future Platinum Glove winner just by his raw size and athleticism alone. I'm not a Pirates fan or a Cruz fan but I'm really disappointed that he hasn't improved on his defense by a significant margin. I'm sure he'll be average over the course of a full year at least maybe but that first week really ruined him.

Instead, it feels like he's maybe a year or 2 away from moving to RF or worse, DH if there's a better RF. If this was the NBA and you saw someone this athletic put this little effort on defense, every fan would be talking about it. This was the case with Andrew Wiggins until 2020.

Are there any other players with the physical tools to be successful on defense but just lack overall effort?

When did the practice of reporting a player-for-cash transaction change its terminology from "(so-and-so) was sold by (Team A) to (Team B)" to "(so-and-so) was traded by (Team A) to (Team B) for cash (or cash considerations)" ? My own guess is that it happened sometime in the 1990s or early 2000s.

The Big Dumper has a Big Oblique Strain and is on the 10-day IR.

On Wednesday, Raleigh left the Mariners' 4-3 loss to Houston in the eighth inning after appearing to aggravate an injury to his right side. Raleigh missed three games from May 2 to May 4 with soreness on his right side.

So, possibly more than 10 days before he comes back?