Dodgers Shohei Ohtani spin is getting harder to swallow as disastrous ending to NLCS looms

Shohei Ohtani wants to play on Wednesday, so Shohei Ohtani will play.Like he has the entire season.Anyone who was gullible enough to think Dodgers would actually bench Ohtani against the Milwaukee Brewers in the Game 3 of the National League Championship Series wasn’t paying attention, both to how they have treated their star player and the other options they have on their roster.About the only surprising element of the Dodgers’ choice to continue playing an obviously-compromised Ohtani were the preposterous stories that were told to justify the decision.The debate over whether the Dodgers should bench a physically-compromised Ohtani ignores a sobering reality: Their other candidates to step in to be their designated hitter won’t dramatically improve their chances of reversing their two-games-to-none deficit against the Brewers.The Dodgers aren’t in serious trouble because Ohtani was their designated hitter instead of Josue De Paula in the first two games of this series.They’re in trouble because Ohtani isn’t healthy.Ohtani had his worst performance of these playoffs in Game 2, when he was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts on which he looked completely overmatched.But Ohtani reached base in every one of his previous five games.

The Dodgers weren’t about to exclude him from their lineup because he couldn’t draw a walk or poke a ball into the outfield in one game.The widespread curiosity to see what De Paula could do over four at-bats in a single game is entirely understandable, as the 21-year-old is the best offensive prospect to break into the team in recent years.However, the quality of pitching in the playoffs is much higher than it is in the regular season, and it would be extremely naive to think De Paula could be productive against the same Brewers pitchers who have shut down the likes of Freddie Freeman.Considering Ohtani’s deteriorated state, De Paula is certainly more likely to run into a pitch and send it over the wall.But will he reach base a...