Dodgers been poppin on the comms lately…4th of July game could be a Show Em of Shows…Spectacle
The phenomenon was so common in the six years Ohtani played for the Angels that the Japanese media coined a term for it: Nao-Eh — Nao meaning something like furthermore, and Eh the first letter of the Japanese word for Angels, Enzerusu.
The Japanese equivalent of the Tungsten Arm O’Doyle meme was inspired by television news reports on Ohtani’s heroics, which often concluded with broadcasters obligated to point out, “Furthermore, the Angels lost.”
Once commonly-used in sports newspaper headlines, Nao-Eh is now retired from the lexicon of Ohtani’s home country, and there hasn’t been a reason to update the made-up word to account for the two-way player’s move to the Dodgers.
Even after a 10-inning, 3-2 loss to the Angels in the opening game of the Freeway Series, the Dodgers lead their division by eight games.
Their 47-31 record is the second-best in the National League.
“I have the impression that as a team, everyone is mindful of the long term,” Ohtani said in Japanese. “Even while understanding [the long-term goals], the players know they have to win the game in front of them. There’s some difference in that balance.”
When Ohtani played for the Angels, they were just thinking about now, now, now. They were always in survival mode, and that was only if they weren’t already dead. They never came close to reaching the postseason with Ohtani on their team, just as they won’t again this year without him. They’re just 30-45, already 12 ½ games behind the first-place Seattle Mariners in the American League West.
How fortunate for the sport that Angels owner Arte Moreno refused to match the heavily-deferred, 10-year, $700-million deal offered to him by the Dodgers.
How fortunate for the Dodgers.
How fortunate for Ohtani.
Who knows what Ohtani would have done if Moreno agreed to the same bargain deal he ultimately signed with the Dodgers, but the choice was made for him and he’s now playing games that matter.
By extension, his NL-leading 22 home runs entering Saturday matter in ways his previous home runs didn’t. His 55 runs batted in matter. His major-league-best .322 average matters.