NFL
By Steve Atkinson
The San Diego Padres split a two game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers the other day in South Korea. Now, the Padres will play two spring training games on Monday and Tuesday before opening the home opener on Thursday against the Giants. Playing two spring training games at Petco Park really makes no sense after playing two regular season games half way around the world in Korea. Splitting the two game series with the Dodgers was pretty big because you don’t want to return home down 0-2 to start the season. The Padres won the most important game of the series really which was the second one.
The Padres Need To Take Advantage Of The Dodgers Distraction
Why? Because late Wednesday evening our time a story broke out about Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter Ippei Mizuhara allegedly stealing $4.5 million from Ohtani’s bank account to fund his gambling debt that is currently under federal investigation. It is illegal to bet in the state of California which is where these bets took place. Then on Thursday morning local time the Padres played the Dodgers and scored five runs in the first inning. Yoshinobu Yamamoto only lasted one inning before being pulled from the game.
10 year $700 million player Ohtani swung at the first pitch consistently trying to hurry up and finish his at-bats. It almost seemed he just wanted the game to be over with. After the Padres won 15-11 Ohtani never spoke to reporters afterwards. The Padres saw the news the night before and took advantage early which was great to see. They never held up and knew that the Dodgers were distracted. If the Padres stick to the grind they could surprise people and win the division. This Ohtani story could last the entire season and with Dave Roberts already on the hot seat the Padres could sneak right up and win the division.
MLB at first wasn’t going to investigate Ohtani but now they are. Do I think they will find out it was Ohtani doing the gambling? Probably. Do I think they will plant it on his interpreter Ippei Mizuhara? Probably. Ohtani is the biggest name in baseball in an major market organization. There are people in the country that didn’t even know baseball was being played the other day in South Korea. MLB doesn’t want Ohtani out of the game of baseball so they will cover this up as much as possible watch.
The Padres Are A Better Team Now Than They Were A Year Ago
The Padres are a better team now than they were last year with Bob Melvin as manager and Juan Soto. They are a group that plays together and wants to win. There are no egos like last year and the manager isn’t looking to manage the Giants. The Padres would’ve lost game two had Bob Melvin managed the game and they’d be 0-2 heading back to San Diego.
Jackson Merrill is great in the ninth spot of the lineup who had a great day on Thursday. He’s a great setup for Xander Bogaerts who also is hit well in South Korea. The Padres scored with runners in scoring position which they had trouble with a year ago. Let’s keep it going and take advantage of the Dodgers distraction by winning games.
