NEW YORK -- Sunday was supposed to be the day two of Japan's best pitching talents squared off at Yankee Stadium in a matchup that would have had people back home -- and in the States -- buzzing.
But thanks to the Los Angeles Angels' desire to better negotiate the "workload management" of their multiposition rookie superstar Shohei Ohtani, that didn't happen.
Even still, Masahiro Tanaka, Ohtani's countryman and the New York Yankees' veteran starting pitcher, wasn't complaining. He doubts very many others are now, either. Although he and Ohtani may not have participated in the anticipated pitchers' duel, they did see one another in an arguably more exciting way.