Dodger Fans May Be Unsure How to Act

I am befuddled by those Dodger fans who gave Paul Lo Duca a standing ovation when he came to town as a member of a team that was playing to beat the Dodgers and keep them out of the playoffs. I have nothing against Lo Duca. He was certainly a popular Dodger, but since when did it become fashionable to cheer and practically worship a guy whose mission is to beat your brains out?

Joel Rapp

Los Angeles

*

Isn’t it time for Eric Gagne to ditch the cap on which he inscribed his recently departed teammates’ numbers (30 and 16)? It’s inappropriate and lame. After walking ex-Dodger Paul Lo Duca in the middle of his Wednesday ninth-inning collapse against the Marlins, the message behind the hat tribute turned into a nostalgic idea gone sour. Now one wonders if Gagne would ever dust Lo Duca.

It’s “Game Over” for putting your old playing pals’ numbers on display. Erase the numbers or try another cap. Maybe it’ll start a new streak.

Gene Meyer

Ventura

*

More disturbing than the recent pennant-threatening, team-disemboweling trades by the Dodgers is the team’s incendiary rant that the playoffs are a cinch and the only thing left is how high they will be seeded.

These Dodgers are certainly not the Dodgers of 1951, and many of us still have Russ Hodges’ primordial scream ringing in our ear. A message to Jim Tracy et al: Shut up, put up and leave the dispensing of bulletin-board fodder to those teams that already have it locked up.

John Grush

Mission Viejo

*

To J.A. Adande and all the bandwagoners who claim they are Dodger fans: I was horrified that 53,000 fans on Monday night booed Darren Dreifort when he came in. Yes, he had a bad outing. Everyone seems to miss Mota. Oh, yeah, all of our problems would be solved if we had Mota.

Let’s look at the facts: We have gained ground since we traded Lo Duca and Mota, and we wouldn’t have Steve Finley and Hee-Seop Choi.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at how dumb Dodger fans are. These are the same fans who booed Mike Piazza when he returned, forgave Gary Sheffield and didn’t care when Eric Karros came back as a Cub. As a fan behind me put it, “These are not fans, they are attendees.”

Bruce Christensen

Northridge

*

I just finished reading J.A. Adande’s nice Aug. 14 article about how Frank McCourt needs to keep the celebration going. Funny, back at the end of June, J.A. Adande wrote an article on how the Angels were his choice over the Dodgers because they had a better record and won their interleague series.

Does J.A. just change his mind based on if one team is doing better than the other?

At least with T.J. Simers, we know exactly where he stands: He hates everyone. You’ve got to love him for that.

Steve Mirkin

North Hollywood

*

Casual observations of this Dodger team:

* David Ross has the smoothest strikeout swing on the club.

* Jose Lima knows the location of every television camera on the lot.

* The person who sold Dodger management on the “Bobblehead Family” commercials idea should receive this year’s P.T. Barnum Award.

Fred E. Stemrich

Claremont