Usually, booze-soaked clubhouse celebrations are not the time to inquire about potential changes to the lineup.
asserted
celebrations → soak → lineup
But when one potential change might have to do with Shohei Ohtani — the Dodgers’ biggest star and most troublesome question mark so far this postseason — then an exception on Wednesday night was warranted.
uncertain
exception → have → night
Yes, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman was indeed asked after the team’s Game 4 elimination of the Atlanta Braves if they were considering benching the slumping slugger after his injury-plagued struggles continued in the National League Division Series.
asserted
struggles → ask → Series
And while, no, Friedman made clear such drastic measures aren’t on the table, the fact that speculation is even swirling only underscores the tenuous nature of Ohtani’s current situation.
“At some point, it’s going to click for him,” Friedman insisted.
asserted
Friedman → make → him
“And the other team’s going to be in big trouble when that happens.”
asserted
that → go → trouble
For now, that feels more like wishful thinking for the Dodgers and their $700 million conundrum.
asserted
that → feel → Dodgers
In the NLDS, Ohtani still looked nothing like himself while continuing to play through right arm and left knee problems.
asserted
Ohtani → look → problems
During the four games against the Braves, Ohtani went 2-for-13 with two walks, four strikeouts and a glaring lack of threatening at-bats.
asserted
Ohtani → go → bats
He was dropped to fifth in the batting order for Game 3, then moved only to the cleanup spot in the team’s series-clinching Game 4 triumph.
asserted
He → drop → triumph
The 32-year-old made a positive impact on Wednesday, drawing a first-inning walk and then scoring after stealing second base and taking third on an errant throw.
asserted
old → make → throw
After that, however, he struck out, grounded out and watched fly ball die at the warning track.
asserted
ball → strike → track
As a result, he finished the NLDS with a .154 average, second-lowest among Dodgers regulars ahead of only Will Smith.
asserted
he → finish → Smith
Now, two questions will linger as the Dodgers take their step in this postseason:
Can Ohtani turn things around?
asserted
Ohtani → linger → things
Can the team still win if he doesn’t?
asserted
he → win → ?
The former seems much more difficult to answer, with repeated votes of confidence from team officials thus far having yet to materialize in consistent production from the four-time MVP.
asserted
votes → seem → MVP
After Game 3, manager Dave Roberts was adamant that Ohtani is “going to come to life — it will happen.”
asserted
it → go → life
When asked the following afternoon what fueled such conviction, though, the answer felt more like a manifestation rather than clear and tangible signs of progress at the plate.
asserted
answer → ask → plate
“The misses are better … because they’re to the big part of the field versus hitting a ball on the ground to the right side of the infield,” Roberts insisted.
asserted
Roberts → ’re → infield
“I thought the intent to stay on the baseball was better than it was in Games 1 and 2.
asserted
it → think → Games
So that’s also encouraging,” he added.
asserted
he → ’ → ?
But really, Roberts continued, his belief was based on his star hitter’s track record and penchant for catching fire even when it is least expected.
asserted
it → continue → fire
“I feel that just the talent, the care [that he has], it’s going to happen,” Roberts insisted.
asserted
Roberts → feel → that
Yet, when the skipper returned to the podium after Game 4, he — like Friedman — was back to answering questions about why it hasn’t happened yet.
asserted
it → return → questions
“He’s scuffling right now, but I really believe that he’s going to come to life at some point,” Roberts reiterated.
asserted
Roberts → scuffle → point
What Roberts said next might be more important, especially with the Dodgers entertaining no plans to drop him from the lineup for now.
“It’s just good to know that we can still win a series when he’s not doing what we all know he can do,” Roberts said.
uncertain
Roberts → say → what
Given how out of sorts Ohtani continues to look, the two-time defending champions might have to do so again in their NLCS matchup with a stingy Brewers pitching staff.
uncertain
champions → give → staff
One silver lining: Ohtani was similarly ineffective in last year’s NLDS against the Phillies, going a woeful 1-for-18 with nine strikeouts in that series, before turning around and winning NLCS MVP honors in the team’s sweep of the Brewers, a four-game rout that was capped off by his iconic three-homer, 10-strikeout masterclass in a pennant-clinching Game 4 victory.
asserted
that → go → victory
But back then, Ohtani was fully healthy, coming off a career-high 55-homer campaign and at full strength as both a hitter and pitcher.
asserted
Ohtani → come → hitter
This version of Ohtani offers no such hope of a similar turnaround.
asserted
version → offer → turnaround
He hasn’t hit a home run since Aug. 18.
asserted
He → hit → Aug.
He has just one RBI since then, as well, with his 15-day stint on the injured list in September having failed to rectify his physically diminished swing.
asserted
stint → have → swing
It means, moving forward, the Dodgers will need the rest of their lineup to keep picking up the slack.
asserted
rest → mean → slack
They did so in the NLDS, when Max Muncy and Freddie Freeman combined for five home runs, Teoscar Hernández and Kiké Hernández delivered more clutch postseason moments, and almost everyone else from Mookie Betts to Andy Pages took competitive at-bats that kept opposing pitchers under stress.
asserted
that → do → stress
Whether the team can continue to replicate that recipe might determine their fate in a bid for a third-straight World Series title.
uncertain
continue → continue → title
Because right now, despite the Dodgers’ adamant claims that Ohtani will eventually rebound this October, he looks incapable of being anything more than a complementary piece of their offense.
uncertain
he → rebound → offense
The Aporia
