When Shohei Ohtani hitting off a tee is positive news, you know you're in trouble.
The Los Angeles Dodgers can clinch their 13th NL West crown in 14 years when they play the Reds in Cincinnati Wednesday, Sept. 16. But they have never looked so vulnerable with the playoffs set to begin in less than two weeks.
Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers' All-Star first baseman, missed two games recently for tendinitis in his right knee. His bat has been ailing, too. He’d gone 1-for-26 before finally breaking out Tuesday while going 3-for-5.
The optimist will point out the Dodgers have won 10 of their last 12 games. But during that stretch, they have piled up victories against subpar teams.
Whether Los Angeles is equipped to beat the best teams in baseball remains
to be seen. After all, in August the Dodgers suffered three-game sweeps to the Chicago Cubs, the Boston Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves. They also lost three of four games to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Those are the caliber of teams the Dodgers have to beat to become the first National League club to win three straight World Series titles.
The irreplaceable Dodger
Josue De Paula is not going to save the Dodgers.
The rookie, filling in as the designated hitter, displayed his power and potential with a 416-foot home run Sept. 13 against the Miami Marlins that he and his teammates celebrated with fervor.
But entering the team’s game on Wednesday, De Paula was batting .143 (2-for-14). He’s reminded everybody that you can replace Ohtani in the lineup, but the Dodger superstar is irreplaceable.
It was bad enough that the Dodgers lost Shohei Ohtani’s pitching services because of lingering issues with his left knee and right bicep. Then they lost his bat.
Because of discomfort in his right biceps, the Dodgers put him on the injured list Sept. 8. He hit off a tee on Tuesday and presumably hopes that by the postseason he’ll be hitting 100 mph fastballs – or up to 105.5 mph if they’re being hurled by Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski.
Might be time to celebrate
The Dodgers have one of the top offenses in baseball based on batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. But a diminished Ohtani -- if he's not sidelined altogether -- substantially weakens that offense.
Teoscar Hernandez has come alive over his past 11 games, hitting .425 (17-for-40) with three home runs. Mookie Betts is hitting .294 in September. And Kyle Tucker had back-to-back three-hit games. That's right, Kyle Tucker!
But all three of those players have been largely unreliable, while Freeman, one of the team’s most reliable hitters, is struggling with a sore knee.
The trumpets and closer Edwin Diaz have faded into oblivion, and the pitching looks less dominant. Starting pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell give the Dodgers three aces, but is there anything else up their sleeves?
Maybe this team should celebrate winning the NL West with gusto and even a few bottles of champagne. Because at this point, there’s no guarantee the Dodgers will have much left to celebrate.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dodgers near NL West title but have never looked more vulnerable
