00:00And everyone expects the Los Angeles Dodgers to be playing postseason baseball. In fact,
00:04very likely they win the division, whether they get a first round buy, that'll be determined over
00:08the league's final month of games. But what we do know at this point, Tom, is that the pitching
00:14future, immediate future of Shohei Otani, very much in question at this point. And it's not even
00:20a lower leg injury anymore. It does appear to be some sort of soreness with the arm. Dave Roberts
00:26told reporters on Saturday that he would never throw a pitcher who was feeling what he is feeling.
00:31By the way, they don't think that this is serious. And it could be the kind of thing that in
00:34a month
00:34from now, we see him back getting ready to pitch in the postseason. I would doubt that, though,
00:39at this point. And what certainly has happened is that the major move in all of the odds boards
00:44after Pete Crow Armstrong's three home runs, they've now made PCA the heavy favorite to win
00:50the MVP, which I've stated many times. I do not agree with. I still think Shohei Otani
00:55what? Those pitching stats from April, May, and June just don't count? Are we just throwing those
01:00away? I got news for you. If Otani, Tom, did not pitch in April, May, and June and was pitching
01:06the way that he did in those three months, in the final three months, Otani would be the MVP.
01:11It is ridiculous. But I'm not taking anything away from PCA. I'm going to see him in person when he
01:17plays Miami next week. He has been the best position player in all of baseball this season.
01:21I still think the whole notion is ridiculous. It's more about timing to me than anything else.
01:27PCA is going to win the NL MVP, and I'm just going to have to live with it.
01:31We saw it last year when Otani didn't start the year on the mound, and then he starts pitching
01:36halfway through the season, whatever it was, and he was electric then. As for the actual issue that
01:42Otani is facing with the arm, this is something I've said for months at this point, where since Otani
01:49got hurt and wasn't pitching, where I believe that Otani wants to pitch, and Otani and his people
01:54are telling the Dodgers, like, yeah, you signed him to pitch. You signed him to do both. He's going
01:58to pitch. Meanwhile, the Dodgers are a little bit hesitant on that, and they don't want him to pitch.
02:03They don't want him rushing out there on the mound or rushing to get back on the mound. As Dave
02:07Roberts said, he would never put a pitcher out there. Frankly, all the reports that I've read,
02:12and as you alluded to, this isn't some major issue for Otani. If he just takes another couple
02:17weeks off and doesn't force himself back on the mound, he can actually be ready for the
02:21postseason. Whether or not he actually pitches during the postseason with his bicep issue or
02:25whatever it is, he should be fine. But again, I think this is, they just got to go to Otani,
02:30like, we got to play the long game here. Like, we can win another World Series. We don't need to
02:34push
02:34you out on the mound at the end of August. Let's give it a couple more weeks, and if we
02:37can get you
02:38one more start at the end of September, he can be an opener come the postseason.
