Triple-A is hard too Lee Seung-yeop a former critic legend is also frustrated
At this point, Oakland Athletics’ Shintaro Fujinami is being treated as a “public enemy” by fans as well as the media. It is receiving raw criticism without filtering. There is a good reason. It is because of a very serious slump.
Fujinami expressed his intention to advance to the Major League, referring to his “dream” after the 2022 season. It is true that it did not seem easy to advance to the big leagues as the recent performance in Japan was not good. However, Scott Boras, dubbed the “devil’s agent,” began active sales, emphasizing Fujinami’s potential for success, and drew a one-year contract of $3.25 million (about 4.3 billion won) with Oakland.
Fujimani’s ransom is ridiculously low compared to the size of contracts between Masataka Yoshida (Boston, 5 years and 90 million dollars) and Kodai Senga (New York Mets, 5 years and 75 million dollars) who entered the major leagues after the 2022 season. However, considering that he has only won 22 games in the last seven seasons, $3.25 million was never a small amount.
As it was a “dream from an early age,” Fujinami seemed to have prepared well for the season. Although he did not completely shake off the chronic ball control problem, Fujinami pitched in five exhibition games and had a 3 wins, no losses, and a 3.86 ERA, including 20 strikeouts while throwing 18⅔ innings. As a result, he succeeded in securing a spot in the starting lineup.
However, after the regular season began, results different from exhibition games began to pour out whether major league players had changed or Fujinami was a problem. Fujinami went down the mound after giving up as many as eight runs in 2⅓ innings against the Los Angeles Angels, his first start since his debut. In his second appearance, he allowed 5 runs in 4⅓ innings, which was disappointing.
In his third appearance, when he adjusted to some extent in the Major League, Fujinami pitched a quality start (less than three earned runs in six innings) with three runs in the first six innings. However, he plunged again with eight runs in two or three innings against the Texas Rangers. After the match against Texas, criticism against Fujinami flooded in.
Former coach Alex Ramirez, who played for the Yakult Swallows, Yomiuri Giants, and Yokohama DeNA BayStars in 13 seasons in the Japanese professional baseball league, recorded 1,744 hits, 380 home runs, 1,272 RBIs, and 0.301 OPS 0.859 from 2016 to 2020
Ramirez said on his SNS, “I was not surprised to see this result because I’ve seen it many times in Japan. Oakland should use Fujinami as a relief pitcher for throwing one or two innings, or drop to double – a for better results. “Fujinami is not ready to throw in the major leagues yet,” he pointed out.
In the end, Fujinami was excluded from the starting lineup after the match against Texas and changed his position to a bullpen pitcher. But Fujinami has not improved at all. He scored one run (non-earned) in two innings against the Angels, who met again, and never played a single scoreless game after stepping on the Major League stage with two runs in one inning against the Cincinnati Reds.
With not only Fujinami but also his team Oakland unable to break the chain of slump, Ramirez once again brought up the story of Fujinami. “Fujinami is a good pitcher, but we have to change something,” Ramirez said on his YouTube. “I think in Japan, I was better with the bullpen than the starting pitcher.” I’ve seen him for years, but I know how he can adapt to the Major League. “As mentioned on SNS, relief pitchers are much more effective than starters,” he pointed out 파워볼게임
Although he has been in charge of starting, Ramirez insists that he should cut one or two innings rather than long relief. He said, “You have to use him for one or two innings. Otherwise, it will drop to Double A. At this rate, it is difficult to regain confidence in Triple-A, he said. “If you become a bullpen pitcher, you will regain confidence and increase the accuracy of fastball control.” And he predicted, “I will be able to pitch with all my strength without any burden.”
Finally, Ramirez said, “The accuracy of the slider is not very good. “If you throw a forkball into the orbit of a fastball, the opponent will not be able to hit,” he said adding, “If you play as a bullpen pitcher, you will be able to succeed in the Major League.” Will Fujinami be able to rebound from the bullpen
