LETTERS: Angels, Dodgers can’t stand pat, can they?

Despite all the statements from the Angels’ front office, they could have used some help before the trade deadline. They couldn’t beat Houston and fell out of first place, and they couldn’t beat the Dodgers to seize first place in the hearts of their Los Angeles fans. Follow that up with a relief pitcher in the bottom of the 10th with a 5.04 ERA to face Andre Ethier and the prognosis for the remainder of the season looks bleak.

Steven Hagerth

Redlands

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Hey, Mike Trout, we love you. You’re the best. But dude, you know that first-pitch fastball pitchers get over for a strike nine times out of 10? It’s often the most hittable pitch you’ll see in your at-bat. Keep the pitchers honest, swing at it once in a while like you did in spring training. Every other hitter in the league gets three strikes. Why should you get only two? Even up the odds and you’ll hit .350, and the Angels will win more games.

Roger Sypek

Lakewood

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Angel interim GM Bill Stoneman may well be the only 71-year old guy on the planet with a part-time job who’s still afraid to take any kind of a risk. What’s he waiting for; his 72nd birthday? Or maybe he just can’t spell Yoenis Cespedes?

Jack Von Bulow

Temple City

What’s up in Blue?

I know Don Mattingly wears glasses, but I don’t think they’re doing any good. Last year he couldn’t see that Brandon League and Brian Wilson could not hold a drop of water in a swimming pool, and now this year he can’t see that Joel Peralta is no better. Game after game he comes in and gives up runs, then walks around the mound with an “I’m so mad at myself” look.

The Dodgers are in first place in spite of Mattingly, not because of him

Russell Morgan

Carson

Bill Shaikin correctly points out the Guggenheim Baseball Management’s commitment to the Dodgers by spending billions, starting with the bankrupt Frank McCourt four years ago and with no end in sight. Those billions supplied, of course, by Time Warner Cable.

However, while it helps to have the biggest wallet when you sit down at the poker table, if you hope to walk away a winner, you still have to know how to play the Cards.

Robin Blomquist

Torrance

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In Bill Shaikin’s article about the Dodgers spending one-third of a billion on payroll, he asked General Manager Farhan Zaidi if the Dodgers even have a financial limit. “Yeah, absolutely,” he responded. Questioned further about what the limit would be, he stated, “We don’t have set numbers. Nobody has ever mentioned a number to us.”

Has he forgotten about Time Warner Cable? I believe that number is the amount that the Dodgers need to kick back to TWC so their monthly subscription fees to the other cable outlets can be reduced to the point of being available to all Dodgers fans. I guess they feel that there’s no financial limit for players, just fans.

Jeff Hershow

Woodland Hills

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The Dodgers are clearly content to make the playoffs this year and lose to either the Giants or the Cardinals. Zack Greinke will then walk next year and Julio Urias may eventually make the big club in four or five years when Kershaw is no longer a dominant starter. Getting David Price would have made making the World Series much more likely this year. Even if they get Price or someone else in free agency next year, they will certainly lose Greinke. This was the window and they closed it. I say this as someone who has bled Dodger Blue since 1965.

Dave Kiffer

Ketchikan, Alaska

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The Giants have two secret weapons that will ensure they win the NL West: Joel Peralta and his enabler, veteran-centric Don Mattingly. If one doesn’t go immediately, the other will certainly go by November.

Bill Nuss

Brentwood

Good seats available?

The discount websites Goldstar, Groupon and Living Social all are advertising half-price tickets to the USC-Arkansas State mismatch in the season opener. Apparently there is little interest in seeing the Trojans slaughter the sheep in Red Wolves’ clothing.

Gerry Swider

Sherman Oaks

No Games, please

Los Angeles has a serious homeless problem, crumbling streets and sidewalks, horrific freeway traffic, decrepit water mains and seriously underfunded pension and retiree medical plans. I think the city should focus more on those problems and less on hosting an Olympics, which would benefit very few.

Lou Filliger

Woodland Hills

More of same

Apparently Kobe Bryant is now wavering on retiring after this season. Anyone surprised by this probably works for the Lakers. Now, lock Jim and Jeanie Buss in a room and don’t allow them to speak with him. They’ve already given him a $48-million golden parachute.

Steve Owen

San Diego

Special guy

While watching the awards ceremony for softball at the Special Olympics, it was very touching to see how excited the Olympians were to receive their medals and get a handshake from Tommy Lasorda during the medal ceremony. More important, after the ceremony, Mr. Lasorda stayed around for almost two hours to pose for hundreds of pictures with the delighted Special Olympians. To see the smiles and high fives he gave to countless ballplayers from all over the world gave a fresh perspective to what true sportsmanship is all about, and that moment suddenly became much more important than the 1,600 Dodger wins under Mr. Lasorda’s leadership.

In this era of self-centered athletes, we and the Dodgers are lucky to have such a wonderful goodwill ambassador.

Lance N. Jurich

Hermosa Beach

Fight or flight?

“Mayweather to fight Berto on Sept. 12?” Shouldn’t this have read, “Mayweather plans to back up for 12 rounds on Sept. 12”? There was more action in 34 seconds of Ronda Rousey than Mayweather’s last fight.

Paul Zimmelman

Marina del Rey

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