Letters: Just an average off-season for the Dodgers

If the general manager of the Dodgers has to ask one of his players what the team needs, then I don’t think the biggest problem is Yasiel Puig.

Charlie Morillas

Toluca Lake

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So Jake Arrieta of the Cubs gets voted the NL Cy Young. So be it, and congratulations to him. He had a great four months. However, from May 11 through June 23, Zack Greinke started nine games and went 0-2 despite giving up only 12 runs. He could have been 7-2 during that run, and that would have made his record 26-3. That’s Koufaxian. It would have been nice to have seen that somewhere before the ballots were filled out.

Eric Monson

Temecula

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Without his second Cy Young in his pocket, instead of a six-year, $180-million contract, Zack Greinke may drop all the way down to six years and $168 million. How will he make do now?

Allan Kandel

Los Angeles

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You are not serious. Chase Utley again? When he was signed last year he was batting .217 but was touted as an All-Star. By the end of the year he had dropped to .202, with no game-winning hits or defensive saves. He just took up space on the bench.

Please say that it is just a bad dream and re-sign Howie Kendrick.

David Kistler

Goleta

Hard courts

Let me get this straight, Luke Walton is undefeated coaching the Warriors, Kevin McHale is fired after coaching the Houston Rockets to the Western Conference finals, and Byron Scott still has a job?

Kevin H. Park

Woodland Hills

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Reading some of the Kobe-bashing comments by so-called Lakers fans last week make me want to puke. Not to sound like an old man, but some of us need to examine our lives. These people are acting like Kobe is some kind of bum or parasite who has been sucking the Lakers dry for 20 years. Good luck watching the Kobeless Lakers for the next 20 years.

Willis Barton

Los Angeles

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One of the downsides of fantasy sports is that a lot of couch potatoes suddenly think they should be in charge of the Lakers, like fantasy general managers. Then they would fire this coach, dump that player, and everything would be magically OK. Fantasy fans who aren’t worthy to tie Kobe’s sneakers insult him, bash Byron Scott, rip Kupchak ... all from the safety and security of their couches.

Phil Brimble

Los Angeles

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The Lakers may be losing most of their games, but they aren’t giving up 23-point leads.

Steve Shaevel

Woodland Hills

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If you think about it, the Dodgers and Clippers have many similarities.

Both came from the state of New York. Both have players named Crawford.

Both were sold recently for around $2 billion. Both of their recent owners had their reigns end in scandal.

Both of their current announcers have extended longevity. Both have rivalries with teams in the Bay Area. Both had star players near the end of their careers come from Boston, Paul Pierce and Manny Ramirez.

And most important, both cannot close out games when they are ahead.

Craig London

Encino

Mora this, Mora that

Officiating? Jim Mora should be thankful UCLA fans don’t have headsets they can throw in frustration after some of HIS calls.

Wes Wellman

Santa Monica

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Jim Mora is way off base complaining that “other” conferences schedule “lesser” opponents toward the end of the year to give those teams a breather. He says “we aren’t allowed to do that.” On the contrary, Coach Mora, USC schedules UCLA every year at the end of the season.

John Mark

Newport Beach

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Congratulations to UCLA kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn for setting a new Pac-12 record for points scored. It should be noted, however, that dozens of his points were scored after UCLA coaches elected to go for field goals instead of touchdowns.

Roy Reel

Culver City

Oh yeah, him

In touting Clay Helton as the possible USC coach, Bill Plaschke writes he is not “glitzy or glamorous or even close to being Hollywood” — similar traits that helped run Ted Tollner out of town not too long ago.

Barry P. Resnick

Orange

Golden Boy vs. Money

I could not agree more with Oscar De La Hoya. Floyd Mayweather’s reign of terror over the sport lasted way to long. Yes, boxing is “the manly sport of self-defense” but some offense would be nice too. Mayweather never showed his complete talent. Fighting him was more of a track meet than boxing. The last person he knocked out was his girlfriend. So, good riddance.

So, you go, Oscar. You couldn’t beat him in the ring, but you whipped his butt with your letter.

Chuck Rinaldi

Huntington Beach

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Of all the people past and present connected with boxing, De La Hoya should be the last person to criticize Floyd Mayweather. In Mayweather’s career he fought all contenders. Unlike De La Hoya, who earned the nickname “Chicken De La Hoya”

John O. Atkinson Sr.

Long Beach

Not too bright

I read that colorblind viewers couldn’t identify last Thursday’s solid-red team from the solid-green team (or whatever ridiculous colors these NFL geniuses cooked up.)

I wish I was colorblind for these Thursday night games, because recognizable uniforms and logos identify the teams we’ve grown to love and root for. Thursday’s Titans-Jaguars contest made the game look like a contest between copper-top batteries and aqua toothpaste.

Is this intended to groom the London/European crowd to say, “I’m rooting for the purple over the yellow” because they’re clueless about team identity?

I say the same when the league dresses up their players in “throwback uniforms,” back to the “good old days” when football teams looked like a bunch of wasps. None of us were alive when these dumb uniforms (and leather helmets) were popular, and there is no nostalgia I know of to bring them back.

I’m surprised the players don’t revolt over looking so ridiculous in what are close to Halloween costumes.

Mark Collins

Altadena

Old story

Kobe, Peyton, Tiger, I’d like you to meet Father Time. Father Time, say hello to Mr. Bryant, Mr. Manning and Mr. Woods. Oh, you’re already acquainted? My bad.

Richard Turnage

Burbank

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