Letters: Another big one gets away from L.A.

Well, Mr. Plaschke, I guess money, money, money is more important than location, location, location

Russell Morgan

Carson

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I’m not sure which is crazier. That Plaschke can actually make the Dodgers look reasonable by not going “all in” with a player that made it clear he’s not truly interested in location or winning a title any time soon. Or his agent saying that Harper (getting a third of a BILLION dollars) wanted the “security” of a very long term contract like he’s the night janitor worried about his pension. Strange days indeed.

Jeff Heister

Chatsworth

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There is a reason Bill Plaschke is a sportswriter and not a major league general manager. Had Plaschke actually been negotiating for the Dodgers to get Bryce Harper, Scott Boras would’ve gotten his client a 20-year, $400-million deal.

Jerry Hiller

Rancho Santa Margarita

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In Friday’s article concerning Bryce Harper’s signing with the Phillies, Bill Plaschke described the 13-year contract as “insane,” then proceeded to chastise the Dodgers for not signing Harper. How insane is that?

John Norris

Long Beach

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If baseball history has shown us anything, it’s that 10-year player contracts just aren’t good business. They don’t work. Going back to pitcher Wayne Garland in the 1970s, to more recently the likes of ARod, Albert Pujols, and Robinson Cano, none of these contracts have had positive results for their respective teams. So with the Padres and Phillies signing Machado and Harper to 10-year contracts, only time will tell if history will repeat itself. And would you really want your team to dish out over $300 million to a couple of prima donnas?

Besides, what the heck is Mike Trout worth?

Chris Sorce

Fountain Valley

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It’s more likely Mark Walters and troupe were in Las Vegas scouting shows for their latest Dodger Stadium promotion, “Night With Cirque du Soleil” than meeting with Bryce Harper. If they did happen to cross paths and discuss a potential deal, I’m guessing they were only nine years apart in length of contract.

Allan Kandel

Los Angeles

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Despite having plenty of money the Dodgers did not actively pursue Bryce Harper. Instead, the front office extended Dave Roberts, whose mismanagement of the pitching staff has cost the Dodgers the last two World Series. L.A. also extended aging Clayton Kershaw, who now can’t play catch for more than two weeks without developing “shoulder trouble.” The Dodgers also signed the light-hitting Russell Martin to complement the Mendoza-line hitting Austin Barnes, virtually guaranteeing an automatic out in the No. 8 spot. And the big off-season acquisition was signing the oft-injured A.J. Pollock to round out their ever-changing line-up of misfits and projects.

This all speaks pretty loudly regarding the front office’s lack of interest in fielding a winning team.

Brian Gura

Redondo Beach

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Before Clayton Kershaw becomes a $93-million bust, he and Rick Honeycutt might want to take a careful look at the changes and adjustments that Warren Spahn made to his pitching arsenal between the ages of 31 and 42. As Spahn said, “Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing.”

Kip Dellinger

Santa Monica

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I wake up and read, “Angels hoping Lucroy can return to All-Star form,” and I just shake my head and laugh. It doesn’t have to be this way for us, does it? I mean, I hope Lucroy returns to All-Star form too, but how likely is that?

Mike Caliari

Riverside

Econ 101

While Dylan Hernandez rightly honors the UCLA gymnastics team for inspiring a fan following at Pauley Pavilion that rivals men’s basketball, one should acknowledge the unrealistic pricing for basketball tickets that contributes to this.

Today I went online to check tickets for both sports. A center seat in the middle section for gymnastics: $12. A similarly located seat for the basketball game against Oregon: $225. If men’s basketball charged $12, attendance would rise dramatically; if gymnastics charged $225 per seat, attendance would plummet.

My guess is that UCLA’s economics faculty would advise Dan Guerrero to reduce the cost of basketball tickets until the team’s performance merits the NBA-level prices he has chosen to set. 　

John Miller

San Juan Capistrano

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Dear Tony Bennett,

UCLA needs a basketball coach, and you may be in the crosshairs. Run! Run fast. Run far. Do not pick up the phone. You don’t want this job. Your Wisconsin roots and work ethic, the selfless style of play your teams have exhibited, and the success you’ve enjoyed coaching the game the right way — it may be exactly what is needed in Westwood, but it won’t play here.

Because the athletes that come here don’t give a rat’s patootie about any of that stuff. They come here to put in their one year and hopefully declare for the draft. You won’t hold on to any good players for more than one season. You won’t be able to build anything. But you will tear something down. That marvelous career you’ve built to date. Stay away, Tony.

Bill Lewis

Burbank

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The four UCLA basketball coaching candidates pictured in the Feb. 27 sports section share a common quality: yelling.

David Marshall

Santa Monica

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To solve the Lakers’ and UCLA’s dilemma at the same time, how about moving Luke Walton to Westwood, opening the door for Mark Jackson to come coach LeBron.

William David Stone

Beverly Hills

The color purple

We’ve heard a lot about how LeBron James “drags” teams into the playoffs. Apparently, this team has a little too much dead weight, or LeBron has turned into Albert Pujols, or Magic’s bungled trade deadline took the heart out of the entire team.

David Waldowski

Laguna Woods

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LeBron James says to be winners his teammates need to be uncomfortable. Look like he’s doing everything he can to make them feel that way.

Gary H. Miller

Encino

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I’ve got a new job for Robert Mueller when he’s finished with the Russia investigation — try to figure out what’s wrong with the Lakers. Was it the reckless attempt to trade most of the team for Anthony Davis, which had to be demoralizing? Is it LeBron’s lingering injury? And how do you let Ivica Zubac go and get nothing in return?

At this point, there’s only one trade that could save the Lakers: Magic Johnson for Jerry West. I’d even throw in a couple of draft picks.

Ron Ovadia

Irvine

To the beach!

Hey, Steve Ballmer, here is some free advice. Forget the mess you are in with Inglewood, scrap the plans and go to Long Beach. The Angels are considering a stadium there, but I think it’s too small a location for a baseball park, but a basketball venue is a good fit with great surrounding restaurants and hotel base.

I am a longtime Lakers fan, so the farther the Clippers get away from Los Angeles and change their name the better.

Don Tripler

Hawthorne

Falling on ice

The Kings’ ninth straight loss was a solid effort, getting mauled 6-1 by Carolina. Yeah, a number of the kids are getting minutes now, but this output of losses is unacceptable for a team that still has Quick, Kopitar, and Doughty.

Rob Blake felt that adding Kovalchuk would have the Kings competing for the division? This, after a much faster Vegas team chased the Kings out of last year’s playoffs.

I hope Blake has a new plan — one actually based in reality — for the Kings to be winners again.

John Fraser

Camarillo

Pulled a fast one

Was this a sly test to see who was awake on post-Oscar Monday? Your “The Day in Sports” column included the blurb, “Kyle Larson of the Ganassi team led a race-high 142 laps but was taken out of contention by a speeding penalty.”

A speeding penalty at a NASCAR race? Isn’t speeding the point?

Sharie Hartman

Oxnard

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