This is the online version of our daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning. Here’s Charles Curtis.
Opening Day 2023 has come and gone, and there were so many wonderful things to see.
The pitch clock made games faster, even with some weird calls made because of it. There was late-inning drama. Hunter Renfroe might have made the catch of the year with a no-look grab. It was fun!
But we’ve got to talk about the Los Angeles Angels.
I know it’s one game, a 2-1 loss to [gags] the Oakland A’s. But here’s the thing: This whole joke about Tungsten Arm O’Doyle games — which stemmed from the now-classic tweet about how every Angels highlight is Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani making history but L.A. losing — is getting too real.
Per Sarah Langs: “Shohei Ohtani’s outing was the 26th since at least 1901 with 10+ strikeouts and no runs allowed on Opening Day. It’s the first time that pitcher’s team lost the game.”
SERIOUSLY. TUNGSTEN ARM O’DOYLE MEME!
Let’s take a moment to point and laugh at the Angels. They’ve got the best player in baseball, the unicorn who pitches like a Cy Young winner and smashes home runs with ease. And they’re about to waste having him on the team with the pitcher/hitter/unreal athlete heading toward free agency next winter.
L. O. L.
Now, I really hope I eat my words since it was just one game. Because it would be awesome to see Mike Trout — he’s played in exactly THREE playoff games in his amazing career — and Ohtani in the postseason. It’d be neat to see Anthony Rendon bounce back after all those injuries. This team has potential!
But the clock is ticking, and Opening Day is a sign that Ohtani can’t carry this team all by himself, as hard as he’s trying to.
Quick Hits: New NBA mock draft … Antetokounmpo brotherly love … Kim Mulkey outfits … and more.
— The new NBA mock draft from Bryan Kalbrosky is here as we get set for the men’s Final Four.
— Giannis Antetokounmpo got calmed down by his brother Thanasis in a sweet moment.
— All of Kim Mulkey’s (sometimes outrageous) fashion statements during the 2023 women’s NCAA tournament.
— A Dodgers fan ran on to the field (!) to propose to his significant other and got blasted by security.
