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MLB 2024

#381
thisheregiraffe said:
Ohtani's Former Interpreter Charged With Bank Fraud Due To Theft Of Over $16MM

Ohtani appears to be cleared of any suspicions of illegal gambling. The degree to which he was deceived and betrayed by Mizuhara has got to hurt more than the amount of money that dude took from Ohtani’s account. Awful stuff.
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It was discovered by the FED's that when Ohtani came to America, he knew nothing of American culture, let alone our banking system and financial infrastructure. SO he had his trusted friend assist him with opening bank accounts. That said, It feels bad for anyone, no matter if rich or poor, when one gets duped by a so called trusted friend.
I am also thinking the friendship betrayal hurts more than the loss of money for Ohtani.
 
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#383
I heard today that the money his interpreter was gambling with amounted to more than $150 million over time...and it's hard to believe that Ohtani didn't notice more than $100 mil of his money being played with.

In the cheap seats with the Rockies, I marvel at the early season slump. Three of the team's expected hitters are as valuable as prizes in a box of cereal:

Kris Bryant: hitting .100 (4 for 40).
Brendan Rodgers: hitting .174 (8 for 46).
Nolan Jones: hitting .157 (8 for 51) with 23 strikeouts in 47 plate appearances (40% strikeout rate). Also four errors so far.

There's only one thing left do do (which gives me two options from the movie...)

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#384
Pilgrim said:
I heard today that the money his interpreter was gambling with amounted to more than $150 million over time...and it's hard to believe that Ohtani didn't notice more than $100 mil of his money being played with.

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The original start up gambling funds were stolen from Ohtani's accounts. When there was a winning bet, the winnings were deposited in a separate account in Mizuhara's name only which he used to make additional bets. Only when Mizuhara was running at a deficit from gambling losses, did Mizuhara go back and steal more funds from Ohtani's account to cover his losses. All this was discovered when the FED's did their investigation.
 
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#385
Pilgrim said:
I heard today that the money his interpreter was gambling with amounted to more than $150 million over time...and it's hard to believe that Ohtani didn't notice more than $100 mil of his money being played with.

In the cheap seats with the Rockies, I marvel at the early season slump. Three of the team's expected hitters are as valuable as prizes in a box of cereal:

Kris Bryant: hitting .100 (4 for 40).
Brendan Rodgers: hitting .174 (8 for 46).
Nolan Jones: hitting .157 (8 for 51) with 23 strikeouts in 47 plate appearances (40% strikeout rate). Also four errors so far.

There's only one thing left do do (which gives me two options from the movie...)

Invalid Link Removed
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It’s harder for me to believe no one in the Angels organization had an inkling of what the guy was doing all those years.
 
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#386
Stewie26 said:
The original start up gambling funds were stolen from Ohtani's accounts. When there was a winning bet, the winnings were deposited in a separate account in Mizuhara's name only which he used to make additional bets. Only when Mizuhara was running at a deficit from gambling losses, did Mizuhara go back and steal more funds from Ohtani's account to cover his losses. All this was discovered when the FED's did their investigation.
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NBC News: "From November 2021 to January 2024, Mizuhara wired more than $16 million in unauthorized transfers from a checking account belonging to Ohtani, according to an affidavit filed with a criminal complaint."

Really? No one noticed millions of dollars going out of Ohtani's account? The bank didn't ask questions? This doesn't smell right. Not saying Ohtani is guilty of anything, but if his banks didn't send up a flag about this he should change his financial institutions!!! Ohtani himself should have had to authorize the withdrawals.
 
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#387
Pilgrim said:
NBC News: "From November 2021 to January 2024, Mizuhara wired more than $16 million in unauthorized transfers from a checking account belonging to Ohtani, according to an affidavit filed with a criminal complaint."

Really? No one noticed millions of dollars going out of Ohtani's account? The bank didn't ask questions? This doesn't smell right. Not saying Ohtani is guilty of anything, but if his banks didn't send up a flag about this he should change his financial institutions!!! Ohtani himself should have had to authorize the withdrawals.
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“ It was reported last night that Mizuhara was in negotiations with federal authorities about pleading guilty. As part of that reporting, it was relayed that prosecutors had evidence Mizuhara disabled notifications that Ohtani would have received from his bank about transactions. The details from today go even farther, alleging that Mizuhara called the bank and impersonated Ohtani to access funds, per Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic. He answered security questions related to Ohtani’s biographical information to wire funds to a bookmaker, saying it was for a car loan. Per Shaikin, Ohtani’s agent repeatedly asked about the account but Mizuhara told him it was “private” and that Ohtani didn’t want anyone else to monitor it.”

It seems Mizuhara helped him set up the account originally, so I guess he knew the answers to the security questions, etc., and then impersonated Ohtani to get the bank to wire money, all the while hiding his tracks from Ohtani and Ohtani’s agent.

It’s unfortunate that nobody at the bank figured out they were being deceived.
 
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#391
Atonalmodal said:
Another rough start for Gausman, the offense is sputtering, and the bull pen isn't stopping anybody.
But I hear the renos to the ballpark are nice.:sour:
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The renos sure do look nice (not being sarcastic)! It’s a shame they couldn’t also put a better team on the field in the new and improved ballpark. Two years in a row, aging veteran bats (Belt and Turner) on short free agent deals have been some of their best hitters. The rest of the core players have not been getting the job done. Sometimes this lineup turns in such awful at-bats. First pitch ground outs and stuff like that. At least make the pitcher work for it. It should have been obvious to the front office that they need more hitting. Wish they hadn’t traded Teoscar and Lourdes.

I’ll give Gausman a pass for now. He’s been very good since signing with Toronto, and he had a shortened Spring this year. It might take him a bit to get rolling. His first start was very good despite being a bit short because of the pitch count he was on. But he does occasionally have a blow-up start. Sometimes other teams just don’t swing at the splitter, and the fastball gets hit hard. Is he tipping, or is it just coincidental bad luck? Other times, the splitter makes hitters look silly. It’s strange.

The ‘pen is a mess right now and needs help fast.
 
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#392
Yamamoto pitch well
thisheregiraffe said:
The renos sure do look nice (not being sarcastic)! It’s a shame they couldn’t also put a better team on the field in the new and improved ballpark. Two years in a row, aging veteran bats (Belt and Turner) on short free agent deals have been some of their best hitters. The rest of the core players have not been getting the job done. Sometimes this lineup turns in such awful at-bats. First pitch ground outs and stuff like that. At least make the pitcher work for it. It should have been obvious to the front office that they need more hitting. Wish they hadn’t traded Teoscar and Lourdes.

I’ll give Gausman a pass for now. He’s been very good since signing with Toronto, and he had a shortened Spring this year. It might take him a bit to get rolling. His first start was very good despite being a bit short because of the pitch count he was on. But he does occasionally have a blow-up start. Sometimes other teams just don’t swing at the splitter, and the fastball gets hit hard. Is he tipping, or is it just coincidental bad luck? Other times, the splitter makes hitters look silly. It’s strange.

The ‘pen is a mess right now and needs help fast.
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Yamamoto pitched well again last night. Then Roberts turned it over to what is looking to be an unproductive pen. If it weren’t for Glasnow, the Dodgers would be right back with the pack. Stone and his almost 8 ERA starts today in what will likely be a short appearance before the pen has to try again. Good thing it’s only April.
 
#393
thisheregiraffe said:
The Blue Jays are getting blown out by the Rockies. That is not a good thing.
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Don't worry, although they really bombed the Jays, I don't expect that to continue.

This AM the Rockies announced that one of their closers, Dan Bard, has a tendon problem and will need season-ending surgery.

Just writing about the things happening to Rockies, I feel like Joe Btfsplk. (Look it up...) Joe Btfsplk - Wikipedia

Joe_Btfsplk_Excerpt.png
 
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#394
What the hell happened last night in early innings with the Rangers' pitching that they gave up those initial 3 runs that ultimately fed into a 5-run near rally for the 'Stros? I was at a gig and didn't get my home DVR turned on 'til our first break.

Alvarez? Reason the Rangers went to relief early?

Good thing the Rangers' offense was firing on all cylinders (and the Astros' starters & bullpen wasn't).
 
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#396
thisheregiraffe said:
The renos sure do look nice (not being sarcastic)! It’s a shame they couldn’t also put a better team on the field in the new and improved ballpark. Two years in a row, aging veteran bats (Belt and Turner) on short free agent deals have been some of their best hitters. The rest of the core players have not been getting the job done. Sometimes this lineup turns in such awful at-bats. First pitch ground outs and stuff like that. At least make the pitcher work for it. It should have been obvious to the front office that they need more hitting. Wish they hadn’t traded Teoscar and Lourdes.

I’ll give Gausman a pass for now. He’s been very good since signing with Toronto, and he had a shortened Spring this year. It might take him a bit to get rolling. His first start was very good despite being a bit short because of the pitch count he was on. But he does occasionally have a blow-up start. Sometimes other teams just don’t swing at the splitter, and the fastball gets hit hard. Is he tipping, or is it just coincidental bad luck? Other times, the splitter makes hitters look silly. It’s strange.

The ‘pen is a mess right now and needs help fast.
Click to expand...

The video board with the ads directly behind home plate is very distracting.
 
#399
buldog5151bass said:
Unfortunately, he's not going anywhere. The union wouldn't allow it.

I've always said, screw the robot umps. Just hold them to the same standard as players. The worst ones get demoted to the minors, the best in the minors get called up.
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The union is going to be the reason robo-umps will be used in MLB. I get that they need to protect their members. But allowing this kind of quality is begging for changes. I think most umpires do a great job, one that I wouldn't want to do. But the ones who don't, man, they ruin the experience of watching a game. OK, I'm coming off my high horse now.
 
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