Dodger Changes Give New Meaning to Think-Blue Week

Thanks, Fox. In 2 1/2 months you have managed to destroy what was one of the last classy organizations in sports. The last time I checked, you couldn’t even win a ratings war, so what makes you think you know how to win a World Series? Stick to your “Melrose Place” and “90210” and leave the Dodgers alone.

JASON TONLEY, Los Angeles

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My heart no longer bleeds Dodger Blue. It bleeds red with embarrassment for what Murdoch’s Dodger franchise has so quickly become.

MELODIE SASICH KEIL, Santa Monica

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You want teams that win? Look no further than Edison Field or Qualcomm Stadium. The Braves win all the time. The Yankees too. Any fool team can win games.

We’ve got drama, excitement, daily firings and hirings, comings and goings, mix-and-match lineup cards on a daily basis and even a drunk-driving arrest. We’ve got the Dodgers! Winning games at this point might be more than the fans can take.

KRISTIN HORNBURG, Los Angeles

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Dear Peter O’Malley:

It’s high time Bill Russell was held accountable for:

* Selling the team to Fox.

* Not acquiring a closer.

* Trading Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile.

* Releasing a washed-up Hideo Nomo in exchange for even more mediocrity.

* The injuries to Todd Hollandsworth and Ramon Martinez.

* Eric Young and Jose Vizcaino combining for the injury double play.

* The ineffectiveness of the bullpen.

* Raul Mondesi’s DUI.

I’m sure your daddy would have felt and acted the same way. If you believe that, I’ve got some lots on Flatbush Avenue for sale.

JOHN R. GRUSH, Mission Viejo

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The Murdoch Dodgers replacing Fred Claire with Tommy Lasorda and Bill Russell with what’s-his-name is replacing mediocrity with greater mediocrity. Lasorda, a superb motivator who rarely showed any smarts as a field manager, rose and fell with Al Campanis, as did the Dodgers. Lasorda doesn’t realize that with free agency, Dodger players’ favorite color is green, not blue, and that hot air doesn’t win many ballgames any more.

JACK ALLEN, Pacific Palisades

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Oh, Tommy. How could you back-stab Fred, Bill and Mike?

JIM ROBERTSON, Santa Maria

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Thank God! Now that Bill Russell and Fred Claire have been fired (and not a moment too soon), all the players on the disabled list can stop pretending to be injured and get back to work, the pitchers can start throwing like major leaguers again and the Dodger bats can awaken.

Now what to do about those pesky Padres and Giants?

MATTHEW KLIPPER, Hollywood

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As a native of Atlanta and a current resident of San Diego, I have never had any love lost for the Dodgers. But as a baseball fan, I always respected “Dodger Blue” and everything that it stood for. Now they are just another team, and a sorry one at that. Despite what Peter O’Malley says, the old Dodgers would have never fired Bill Russell or Fred Claire in mid-season, or traded their star player for a motley crew of underachievers.

Glenn Hoffman? What’s up with that? Tommy Lasorda? The guy would dress in drag for a bachelor party if it got him back in the spotlight.

ROBY EGAN, San Diego

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Murdoch’s ownership of the Dodgers will forever be remembered for the devastating scars left by this butcher who has trampled tradition and muddied a first-class organization.

The O’Malleys are gone. Piazza, Nomo, Russell and Claire have been sent packing. What remains is an unrecognizable team and a directionless organization. I can only hope that when all the pieces of this bizarre puzzle finally settle down we will not find the Dodgers back upon the soil of Brooklyn.

ADAM PLATTS, Northridge

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The Dodgers are dead. All that’s left is the name. To make the purge total, Graziano should rename the team. Go ahead, Bob, call them the L.A. Foxes. We don’t care any more. At least then all of our great memories of the Dodgers can rest in peace.

ROB SCHUPP, Carlsbad

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Bill Russell managed like he played--with class and without complaint. He kept his poise, even when the front office gave him the least talented group of ballplayers to wear Dodger uniforms in over 40 years.

It would be easy to blame Fox for this fiasco, but the real culprits are Peter O’Malley and Tommy Lasorda. O’Malley sold out to an organization he knew had no respect for Dodger tradition, and Lasorda did everything he could to sabotage Russell’s standing as manager.

Save for Vin Scully, Billy Russell was the last of the real Dodgers. He doesn’t belong in Foxworld, where baseball is a game of flashing lights, loud music and relentless hype. But people who know and love Dodger baseball will miss him.

DEL DICKSON, San Diego

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To fire Russell before the end of the season was a mistake. To fire him before the all-star break was an embarrassment. To replace him with a minor league manager whose record is 27-42 is insulting.

TRI FRITZ, Los Angeles

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After recent events and continued loss of faith in the Dodger organization, the topper came Thursday night when, upon turning on the television, I was greeted by some kind of blue softball jerseys.

DIANA JARRETT, Fullerton

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As a Dodger fan since 1959, I have seen two classic uniforms that have not changed until this week. Thanks to Murdoch, Fox, whatever, the Yankees win.

BILL McGEE, Chino

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Well, here we are a month or so down the line. Where are all you Piazza bashers who loved this trade so much? Let’s see; Bonilla is batting less than .230, Eisenreich is right around .230, Charles Johnson is right around that .200 mark. Oh, I forgot it doesn’t matter what CJ hits, because he is the greatest catcher to ever put on the gear.

Oh, but I forgot, he will make the pitching staff so much better. Let’s see, in the years that Piazza was here I believe the staff was always just behind the Braves as the best in the NL. Where are they now? Let’s forget all the individual stats because these guys will make the Dodgers a better team, right? How far out are they now?

HAL MURRAY, Agoura Hills

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All the talk about a manager change for the Dodgers, why isn’t Davey Lopes’ name brought up?

SAMUEL T. CIMO, Baldwin Park

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What shocks me most about all the recent maneuvering is that The Times is now touting the Angels as the model baseball organization. You’re kidding, right? At least the Dodgers are showing no tolerance for mediocrity. The Angels, on the other hand, have been mediocre since ’61. Hey, guys, this is the forest, these are the trees.

MIKAEL ROMANO, Valley Village

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This is an open letter to the new ownership group of the Dodgers. Please do not tamper with the Dodger uniform. Trade all the players you want, including future Hall of Famers. Go through managers like George Steinbrenner; so what if the Dodgers only needed two during a 43-year span? But please do not change the uniform. It’s fine, it’s perfect. I shudder to imagine Dodger teal or any other obnoxious color. Don’t give us Dodger black and blue. Let us, the fans, and baseball retain the classic style that epitomizes the history of this team because it is the only thing now that even resembles the Dodgers at all.

EDWARD REIS, San Francisco

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Judging by recent moves made by the Dodger front office, Vin Scully will be let go because he doesn’t work every game.

CRAIG CLIFTON, Simi Valley