The doubt is ugly. The disbelief is unsettling. I don't feel great about writing this. I'm guessing many Dodgers fans aren't feeling so great about living it.

Does Shohei Ohtani have a gambling problem, or a money management problem, or neither, or both?

Is Shohei Ohtani devious enough to throw his closest colleague under the bus to save himself, or was he simply naive enough to allow that colleague to fleece him for millions?

Ohtani has spoken, but has taken no questions.

The season has started, but this isn't ending.

There remains a cloud over Ohtani's previously pristine presence, and as much as everyone wants to believe otherwise, it's not dissipating anytime soon.

The storm hit last week when Ohtani's name was linked to a federal investigation into illegal sports gambling. The Los Angeles Times reported his name appeared on nine wire transfers of $500,000 each, with the money allegedly going to suspected Orange County bookmaker Mathew Bowyer.

In an interview with ESPN that was arranged by an Ohtani spokesman, Ohtani's longtime translator Ippei Mizuhara said that Ohtani sent the money to cover Mizuhara's gambling debts. The spokesman even gave ESPN a quote from Ohtani in which he said he knew about the payments.

The story was repeated by Mizuhara and club executives to the entire Dodger team during a meeting in the Dodgers' clubhouse in Seoul after their opening night win over the San Diego Padres.

Early the next morning, however, Ohtani's representatives completely changed course, claiming that Ohtani was unaware of the transfers and accusing Mizuhara of a "massive theft."

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