The Los Angeles Dodgers are NLDS-bound after taking care of business in the Wild Card round against the far-inferior Cincinnati Reds. As expected, Shohei Ohtani had a massive couple of games and will undoubtedly make his presence known when the Dodgers square-off against the Philadelphia Phillies in the next few days. Much like last postseason, Ohtani started off hot — he went 3/10 with two home runs, four RBIs, three runs scored and drew a walk against Reds pitchers. Now, last season he fizzled during the World Series run but don’t let facts get in the way of what Roberts had to say about playoff-Ohtani
Dave Roberts takes indirect shot at Angels discussing Shohei Ohtani’s playoff success
“That’s the reason why he signed to be with this ball club, this organization — to play in games like this, to showcase his other-worldly talent. I expect really fun things this postseason out of Shohei.”
Yes, we get it. The Angels have the longest active postseason drought in baseball, despite having both Ohtani and Mike Trout on their roster. Ohtani definitely did not let the totally legal and CBA-certified $700 million (with $680 million of deferments) sway his decision to sign with the Dodgers, it was just because he wanted to showcase his talent. He REALLY showed off his talent by slashing .230/.373/.393/.767 last year’s playoffs. Those are like Gleyber Torres numbers, Dave! Congratulations on beating Zack Littell, though!
This is not the first time Roberts has played down Ohtani’s tenure with the Angels. Ohtani was going to make his return to the Angels Stadium mound in August, so a reporter asked Roberts if it was going to be an emotional return for the two-way superstar. “Not really,” Roberts said in response. Well, it wound up being a little emotional but not in the way Ohtani or Roberts wanted — Ohtani posted an 8.31 ERA on the day in what wound up being one of his worst starts on the year. Oh, and the Dodgers did not beat the Angels once this season. 0-6 record versus Ohtani’s former employer.
Angels fans wish Dodgers nothing but the worst of luck when they play in the playoffs, and Roberts’ comments really continue to stoke that division between the two fanbases. Now, Angels fans do not showcase their frustration like Dodgers fans do…but then again, who does?
