{"id":105004,"date":"2025-10-09T08:30:42","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T08:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=105004"},"modified":"2025-10-09T08:30:42","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T08:30:42","slug":"dodgers-dilemma-swanson-says-shohei-ohtani-must-find-himself-at-the-plate-the-message-hits-hard-inside-the-clubhouse-and-pressure-on-the-superstar-has-never-been-higher-ll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=105004","title":{"rendered":"DODGERS DILEMMA: Swanson Says Shohei Ohtani Must Find Himself at the Plate, The Message Hits Hard Inside the Clubhouse, and Pressure on the Superstar Has Never Been Higher..ll"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"Dodgers<\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES \u2014 Who\u2019s that on the back of your milk carton the morning after the Dodgers lost Game 3 of the National League Division Series to the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-3, on Wednesday night?<\/p>\n

MISSING<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u014ctani Sh\u014dhei<\/em><\/p>\n

DATE MISSING: 10\/1\/25<\/em><\/p>\n

EYES: Brown<\/em><\/p>\n

HAIR: Brown<\/em><\/p>\n

HEIGHT: 6-foot-3<\/em><\/p>\n

BATS: Left<\/em><\/p>\n

THROWS: Right<\/em><\/p>\n

Of course you recognize that guy; Shohei Ohtani is only the greatest baseball player alive.<\/p>\n

Check that swing \u2013 the greatest baseball player ever.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s Him, yeah? And so, no, good isn\u2019t going to be good enough. Great wouldn\u2019t even be good enough.<\/p>\n

For $700 million, the Dodgers are right to expect marvelous Marvel-esque feats, superhuman stunts, for him to deliver two-way torment as only he can, the game\u2019s only pitching-hitter\/hitting-pitcher unicorn.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re right to be banking on Ohtani stunting through the playoffs and not swinging like he\u2019s saddled with the weight of the world, one at-bat after another marred by questionable decision-making unbecoming a leading man.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think that his plate, his decision-making hasn\u2019t been good,\u201d Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said in honest terms I appreciate. \u201cYou can see, it\u2019s balls in\/off, and he\u2019s really not giving himself a chance to hit a mistake. I just think that he\u2019s in between a little bit, but the swing decisions are just not where they need to be right now.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s kind of what I see, decision-making.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dodgers are right to expect the exceptionally popular Japanese phenomenon to clear his head and lock in. To be better when it matters than 2 for 18 with seven strikeouts since Game 1 of the Dodgers\u2019 Wild Card series against the Cincinnati Reds, when Ohtani blasted two home runs in an 8-4 victory that feels ever more like a distant memory.<\/p>\n

Certainly, Ohtani was valuable as the Game 1 pitcher in the NLDS, when he got the win in the Dodgers\u2019 5-3 victory. On the mound, he gave up three runs in six innings in his postseason pitching debut \u2013 the first runs he allowed since August \u2013 but he also looked like a pitcher at the plate, striking out four times.<\/p>\n

Said Roberts afterward: \u201cOn days that Shohei pitches, a large amount of the focus is on the pitching. But last night in particular \u2026 trying to weather that three-run inning and stay in there on the pitching side I\u2019m sure had some kind of bleed-in effect on the bat.\u201d<\/p>\n

While we\u2019re thinking about it, the Dodgers were right to expect more last season too than 14 for 61 (.230) with three home runs and 22 strikeouts in Ohtani\u2019s first MLB postseason, even though the Dodgers won the World Series despite the best player on a team loaded with stars not quite reaching his galaxian expectations (in fairness, he injured his shoulder in Game 2 of the World Series and played hurt the rest of the way).<\/p>\n

And they\u2019ll need him now, if they\u2019re going to repeat.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll need him first just to get past the Phillies, whose first three hitters in their lineup came into Wednesday\u2019s game at Dodger Stadium just 2 for 21 with 11 strikeouts \u2013 and promptly got their groove back, going a combined 7 for 13 with five RBIs in Game 3 on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

I doubt Roberts and his bigger picture-thinking Dodgers expected Clayton Kershaw to mow down the Phillies he faced in the seventh and eighth innings, after entering with the Dodgers trailing 3-1.<\/p>\n

Because Kershaw wasn\u2019t cast to play the hero in this series; he was only just added to the postseason roster this series after being left off against the Reds. The Dodgers great was cast to play the role of Brent Honeywell, the reliever who ate innings last postseason when his club didn\u2019t want to use high-leverage arms in games they didn\u2019t absolutely need to win.<\/p>\n

Ohtani, on the other hand, is absolutely needed for his superheroics.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what the \u201cM-V-P!\u201d chants are for.<\/p>\n

This is what the regular season \u2013 when Ohtani hit his franchise record-breaking 55th home run and registered 102 RBIs, 146 runs and 20 stolen bases in addition to pitching 47 innings and recording a 2.87 ERA with 62 strikeouts \u2013 was supposed to be a warmup for.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s what the really big bucks are for, deferred though they might be.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not to show up to Thursday\u2019s pivotal Game 4 in the NLDS having hit safely only four times out of 23 while striking out 10. Or to remind everyone that close is only close when he hit it to the wall but not over in the seventh inning. Not to be the guy to be merciful and fly out benignly to right field for the game\u2019s final out.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers need Ohtani to eat his proverbial Wheaties on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n

And then go find that guy on the back of the milk carton and turn him loose.<\/p>\n

Originally Published:

The Dodgers need the greatest baseball player alive to do the MVP things he is capable of if they want to avoid the NLDS returning to Philadelphia for a winner-take-all Game 5.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":105005,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nDODGERS DILEMMA: Swanson Says Shohei Ohtani Must Find Himself at the Plate, The Message Hits Hard Inside the Clubhouse, and Pressure on the Superstar Has Never Been Higher..ll - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=105004\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DODGERS DILEMMA: Swanson Says Shohei Ohtani Must Find Himself at the Plate, The Message Hits Hard Inside the Clubhouse, and Pressure on the Superstar Has Never Been Higher..ll - 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