Think Blue? Fans Think They Blew It

As an avid Dodger fan who catches just about every game he can on TV, I enjoy those commercials where the fans get a chance to describe the joy of attending Dodger games and explain why the team means so much to them. I have an idea for one more spot.

Why don’t we show the executives of News Corp. sitting in a conference room, ties loosened, congratulating each other for hitting their numbers on attendance and concessions again, while not exceeding the payroll tax, all in an effort to make the team ever more attractive for a sale?

The cameras should cut off when one of them asks, “Who is this Eric Gagne guy, why does he make so much money and how can we dump him next year?�

Jim Patton

Redondo Beach

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Say it ain’t so, Bill Plaschke [Sept. 24]! Sure, Gary Sheffield has had a great year, but the Dodgers had to trade this malcontent. There is no way that Sheffield would have put up the kind of numbers in L.A. that he is putting up in Atlanta. He would have taken at-bats off, just as he admitted making errors on purpose when he was an infielder for the Brewers in the late ‘80s. While chemistry may be more about Bunsen burners than baseball, it sure helped the Angels last year when they won the World Series.

Dan Evans may be rightly criticized at times, but the trade of Sheffield for Jordan and Perez is not one of them.

Ken Feldman

Granada Hills

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Here go the Dodgers, again. Get rid of Odalis Perez as fast as you can give him away for nothing. Just the way you did with Piazza in order to punish him because he asked Fox for more money.

And you should humiliate the kid too. The way Lasorda did when he strutted out to give Konerko the news because he didn’t want anybody to compete with his pal, Karros, for a job.

We now have Jim Tracy’s halfhearted support for a potentially great young pitcher who deserves more and better. Our Dodgers are consistent, if nothing else, but because we now have proof that Tracy, like Lasorda, is just another amiable loser, maybe the Dodgers should try something different this time. Get rid of Tracy, and keep Perez.

Shel Willens

Los Angeles

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Sitting all year long, watching the Dodger hitters weakly fly out, pop out or ground out on first-pitch offers by opposing pitchers, has been almost too hard to stomach.

Watching this overpaid collection waste one of the greatest collective pitching efforts witnessed in the modern baseball era has been almost too hard to stomach.

Reading that these same no-talent rejects are upset that Odalis Perez pulled himself from his scheduled start because of an injury is too hard to stomach without comment.

The only thing the Dodger regular position players have shown up for all year long is to collect and cash their embarrassingly large checks. The Dodger hitters should just shut their mouths, give us their worthless effort and slink quietly out of town when this season is over.

R.L. Dinius

Pasadena

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Well, once again, the Dodgers have failed to make the playoffs, but they still had what I’m sure Bob Daly (What’s his title? Fox Figurehead?) and GM Dan Evans would call a great season.

Bob, in spite of silly fan sentiment and their desire to actually field a team that can hit, you stuck to your guns and refused to go over that luxury tax threshold. Bravo, Mr. Daly.

And Dan, congratulations on your hard-nosed decision to hang onto young pitching phenom Edwin Jackson. Not only that, you acquired the lithe and alert Daryle Ward, the highly motivated Fred McGriff and the impeccably reliable Jeromy “Incidental Contact� Burnitz, who sometimes doesn’t fall down. You also masterminded the deals that brought over the spry Rickey Henderson and Robin Ventura. You’re a genius!

If Fox doesn’t find a legitimate buyer, you’ll get to keep your job. Why, I’ll bet you have your eye on Mo Vaughn, Barry Larkin, Felix Jose or even Andres Galarraga. Wow! 2004 is going to be even more fun for us fans. Thanks for caring.

Steve Freeman

Los Angeles

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The Dodgers traded Gary Sheffield because he was mean. They traded Karros and Grudzielanek because they were mean to Jim Tracy. Jim Tracy is very nice.

Brian Jordan is also very nice. That’s why they got him. Who cares if he’s rarely healthy enough to play? Shawn Green is also very nice. Dave Roberts is a really nice guy. So are Cesar Izturis, Alex Cora, Paul Lo Duca, Adrian Beltre, Fred McGriff, Jeromy Burnitz and Robin Ventura. Odalis Perez is mean, so the Dodgers will get rid of him. I hear Dan Evans, though not very good at his job, is also very nice.

Congratulations, Fox. You’ve put together the nicest bunch of losers in baseball.

Sneaky Sims

Los Angeles

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We acquired two Dodger bobble-head dolls this season. The Eric Gagne doll sits proudly on our mantel, scowling competitively, obviously ready to deliver another of his wicked, unhittable sinkers.

The Brian Jordan doll, on the other hand, has a big grin on his face, as if to say: “Thanks for my fat salary, Dan Evans. I’ll take it home with me to Atlanta while I rehab. And I hope the fans enjoy the doll version of me; they won’t see the real me in Dodger blue again.�

One potential Cy Young winner and one big waste of money. That about sums up the maddeningly mediocre Dodgers of the post-O’Malley era.

Bonnie Sloane

Los Angeles

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Listening two weeks in a row to Jim Tracy being interviewed by Fred Roggin on his radio show reminded me of something my high school English teacher once told me: “Son, you can say less with more words than anyone I know.�

Kevin Holten

Manhattan Beach