Letters: Is this still a Lakers town?

The Lakers put up banners. The Clippers put up “selfies.”

Enough said.

Sandy Aaronson

Santa Monica

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Don’t worry, Lakers fans. Kobe will come back and hog the ball. You’ll lose some games. Drama will ensue and things will be back to normal.

Pat Fraley

Long Beach

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Every coach has a finite shelf life with a team. Given Doc Rivers’ emphasis on defense, hustle, rebounding and grit, after watching the Clippers in the opener against the Lakers, it is obvious that the players have tuned him out. Sadly, though he has been a great coach, it is time to let him go before the season is irrevocably lost.

Andrew Rubin

Playa Vista

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Am I the only Lakers fan who can’t stomach Mike D’Antoni as coach and Steve Nash as our point guard? I mean these guys couldn’t win in their prime with the Phoenix Suns and they aren’t winning now. D’Antoni is delusional when he talks about Nash like he is the second coming. He wants to watch his minutes so he doesn’t get hurt. Heck, Nash is nearly 40: He gets hurt brushing his teeth. Let’s face it, even when he is healthy he can’t guard anyone, not even me. As long as these two are with the Lakers we will never win.

Rick Forbes

Cathedral City

Blue Sox

A little over a year ago the Dodgers pulled the trigger on a blockbuster trade with Boston, hoping it would result in a World Series championship. Mission accomplished!

Jim Edwards

Riverside

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So, let me get this straight. The Red Sox dump all of their high-priced talent to the Dodgers. The Dodgers back up the Brink’s truck to take on the Red Sox fading stars and inflated salaries. The Red Sox win the World Series.

I want to drink some of the Red Sox Kool-Aid!

Ron Yukelson

San Luis Obispo

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Magic, three months after your investment group purchased the Dodgers, you rescued the Red Sox from the abyss by allowing them to shed $270 million in horrible contracts, in exchange for basically nothing more than a past-his-prime Adrian Gonzalez.

We forgive you for the 1987 “junior” sky hook!!

Jerry Sondler

Warwick, R.I.

Can we trust him?

I found Bill Plaschke’s column Friday profoundly sad. At first I thought I was troubled only by the guilt by association attack on David Ortiz, whom Mr. Plaschke admits has never tested positive for PEDs after 2009. I was, and still am. Perhaps Mr. Ortiz was scared straight? But then I realized the real problem is that in the doping era questions always surround seemingly superhuman performance. This is generally Mr. Plaschke’s point, but I still find something distasteful in the extent to which he made it at the expense not just of Mr. Ortiz, but also of the sacred value that one is innocent until proven guilty.

Mark Rothman

Los Angeles

Love for A.J.

Who would have thought? A big leaguer as a sports columnist — and a good one too. I hope The Times makes room for A.J. Ellis on its roster when he hangs up his cleats.

Terry Andrues

Altadena

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As a son of a professional football player (Stu Clarkson, Chicago Bears linebacker), I was genuinely moved by A.J. Ellis’ column describing a player’s “end of season” transition and welcoming home. A.J. captures the important message that the families of pro players, as proud as they are of their star, miss them dearly during long seasons. And, as A.J. seems to be transitioning into his literary period of life (which is not as hard on your knees), it demonstrates that he is continuing to think of his, and his family’s future.

Scott C. Clarkson

Santa Ana

Back at home

In last week’s letters, some called to replace Don Mattingly with Tim Wallach. It seems that the Tim Wallach Marching & Chowder Society (as Vin Scully would say) actually believes “Eli” can manage a major league team.

Tim Wallach? Do you mean the guy that waved Mark Ellis around third on his futile race against Carlos Beltran’s throwing arm? Tim Wallach? The same coach who failed to mention to Nick Punto that he was about to be picked off second? What was Wallach doing when he should have been screaming at Punto, texting to Yasiel Puig or working on his managerial resume?

Jeff Bringle

San Luis Obispo

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As a longtime Giants fan, it’s probably none of my business but I have to admit some surprise at the tone of the letters condemning Don Mattingly. He took over a team mired in the disastrous McCourt ownership and then had to deal with a bunch of new, perhaps overpaid players. Despite a terrible start to the season he brought the Dodgers’ closer to the World Series than they had been in 25 years. And did it while calmly and effectively dealing with prima donnas like Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp.

Here’s my unsolicited advice to the Dodgers: Give Mattingly a three-year contract. After that, he will be tired of the Dodgers’ fair-weather fans, their lurching management (four owners in 16 years), and Stan Kasten’s “If we pay it, they will win” mentality. By that time, Bruce Bochy will probably retire, and Mattingly can come and manage the Giants.

Thomas Bailey

Long Beach

Ouch

USC’s victory over Utah gave us Trojans fans a sigh of relief, even though for DirecTV subscribers there is no Pac-12 TV, so it was back to listening to games on the radio. The ironic part was that the game was, in part, sponsored by the USC Keck Medical Center. I hear that Heritage Hall has been moved downtown to the headquarters of Blue Cross.

Larry Booth

Santa Monica

Wait for it

Wow, that was quite the exciting game at Staples Center the other night. A sellout crowd watched in awe as our supposedly inferior local team came from behind to defeat their higher-ranked, in-state rivals. It’s obviously still quite early in the season, but if there can be a statement game in October, this was it. Way to go Kings, and we’ll see you again, San Jose. By the way, I heard the basketball game played there the night before was good too.

Bella Janner

El Segundo

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