What fans and pundits are missing about Roki Sasaki's emotional second start

It is easy to judge an athlete's reactions without considering the events that may have lead up to that moment, the pressure they may feel, or other factors that may not be public. This past weekend once again showed that fans and pundits alike must to do a better job of embracing nuance when speaking about players' mental makeups.

Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki struggled in his second career start, and was visibly upset after he only pitched 1.2 innings. Certain reactions that have followed are unfortunate, and showcase a callous lack of understanding.

Criticizing players is a large part of what fans and analysts do throughout a long, 162-game season. But, it is more than fair to demand that strong critiques make sense and do not jump to potentially premature conclusions.

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Make no mistake, Sasaki did not pitch well. He clearly struggled to hit his spots, and his teary-eyed reaction that was caught on camera showed a player who felt as though he let his team down.

"Hope a vet pulled him aside and told him to man up. No one has time for a kid crying on national TV in the one of the biggest sports market in the world," tweeted former MLB catcher Jonathan Lucroy.

Lucroy may have been the most vocal detractor, but he has not been the only one to critique Sasaki's mental "toughness." Former executive Jim Bowden also commented on the pitcher's early problems, but was much more nuanced.

In fairness to both Lucroy and Bowden, they are identifying something that is common to speak about in sports. However, both seemed to ignore contextual information that matters.

Sasaki is just 23 years old. He is from an entirely different country, and has joined a team that is expected to steamroll their way to a World Series. He was a dominant force in Japan, and is now facing tangible failure for the first time in a long time.

"He wants to perform,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “All he’s known is success. And so I think that he’s certainly upset, disappointed. But you got to be a pro and get back to work. It’s not the first time that a starting pitcher has had two bad outings. And so again, this is all the learning curve, and we still got a good ball club, and we’re going to need him.”

Contextually, all of this matters when speaking about Sasaki's new journey. But, one should also have the audacity to ask one key question: Why is there a segment of fans and analysts that see Sasaki showing emotion as a bad thing?

It could be argued that such a reaction should be lauded. No one sheds tears about something that does not matter to them. Fans and pundits may have been more harsh if he had showed a relaxed attitude regarding his slow start.

It is also worth noting how utterly wrong it is to label Sasaki as "soft." He could have chosen to play for a small-market team where the pressure would not be as oppressive. Instead, he decided to play for a title contender who was willing to let him grow into his own while also expecting him to contribute right away. This is not the option that a "soft" person would select.

Yes, Sasaki chose the "easy way out" in some eyes, as he picked the best team in baseball during his questionable free agency tour. But the expectations in Los Angeles are far higher than they would have been elsewhere, especially since he's playing on the same team as his fellow countrymen (Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto) that have had lots of MLB success.

Sasaki has struggled thus far, but everyone should pump the brakes before making any immediate assumptions regarding the righty's mental fortitude.

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