TRADE: CON

The Times has been overwhelmed with letters in response to the Dodger trade that sent catcher Mike Piazza to the Florida Marlins for five players. Here are some of the reactions:

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All right! Blockbuster trade, the Dodgers win two in a row and everything’s coming up roses in Chavez Ravine.

Come on. The Dodgers take two from one of the worst teams in baseball and all of a sudden they’re back in the World Series? The facts remain that the club traded even up for an aging third baseman with bricks for hands, not unlike his predecessor; acquired a surly malcontent to dispose of arguably the best right fielder in the game; received undoubtedly a fine defensive catcher but gave up a Hall of Famer to do it; brought in a 39-year-old journeyman whom they could never get out, all the while chanting “Na-na-nah-na-nah-na.”

Let’s see this new-look Dodger team reel off five out of six or seven out of eight before we start fitting them for rings. Otherwise, what’s emanating from the Dodger clubhouse in the guise of newfound giddiness may only be the strains of “Summer Wind.”

JOHN R. GRUSH, Mission Viejo

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Before the trade, the Dodgers had no team speed, no left-handed starter, no left-handed power, poor overall team defense, no team unity and no team leader. After the trade they have little team speed, no left-handed starter, little left-handed power, poor overall team defense, worse team unity and no team leader.

Bonilla is nothing but a liability at third and bats much better right-handed than left-handed. Sheffield is an iron glove in the outfield and is a proven malcontent. Wow. Way to keep the old problems and add some new ones. Perhaps the Dodgers could be better served by trading Wilton Guerrero and Darren Dreifort to the Expos for Carlos Perez, and Ismael Valdes to the Angels for Jim Edmonds. Then, at least, four of the problems would be actually addressed.

MICHAEL BRONFENBRENNER, Seal Beach

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Why didn’t the Dodgers throw in Vin Scully to make the deal complete?

Well done, Fox! You’ve traded the best Dodger player since Sandy Koufax. I’m sure the malingering Gary Sheffield will be a nice fit in L.A.--just like Darryl Strawberry.

KEN DE MARCO, Huntington Beach

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There was another big baseball trade back on Dec. 10, 1984, that is eerily similar to the trade of Mike Piazza. It was the trade of Montreal’s Gary Carter to the Mets. Carter was an all-star catcher, a good home run hitter and was also very popular with the fans, while also being on a team that was picked to win it all, but consistently underachieved. He went on to win a World Series two years later with the Mets, while Montreal has languished near the bottom ever since.

Unfortunately, the Dodgers are heading down that same road. The Dodgers haven’t changed even with the new owners. They still never want to pay their great players, but will throw good money at lousy ones.

CATHY ROBINSON, Pomona

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The only players left from the Dodgers’ opening-day lineup of 1997 are Eric Karros, the subject of constant trade rumors, and Raul Mondesi, who was ready to be traded until he recently got a new contract.

This is not the way to build fan loyalty.

FELICIA GAYLEY, Los Angeles

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I was wondering how long it would be before the “Fox Mob” showed the existing O’Malley people who is the boss. If Jerry Buss lets this mob get its hands on the Lakers, then the Lakers will be ruined. I wonder if Jerry West knows more than we do.

JACKIE APODACA, Carson

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Fred Claire decries the Dodger trade as being a short-term gain but having future financial implications. I am afraid that the game has passed him by. Unfortunately, baseball has become only a short-term proposition with the players chasing the almighty dollar.

MORRIS ELKIND, La Crescenta

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My son cried when he heard that Mike Piazza was being traded. He and seven of his friends are going to a game for his 10th birthday on May 31. “Why did they have to do that before my birthday?” he cried.

No longer can my son and daughters learn to love a player like I did. They can’t even learn to love the game like I did, let alone a team or a player. They will never grow up with a team. Baseball is a corporation now. Kids? What are they? Just another ticket sold, another hot dog.

I want my baseball back. I love baseball. I grew up with baseball. It’s the only game in the world where the entire audience gets up in the middle of the game to sing a song. It’s an American game. It used to be America. I guess it still is. One thing’s for sure, my son now understands what a trade is.

BOB LEVITON, Chatsworth

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Organizations that reward loyalty rather than merit are doomed to end up being led by incompetent, plain-vanilla bozos like Fred Claire and Sam Fernandez, neither of whom could differentiate between a baseball and a mango. As far as Peter O’Malley is concerned, what can you say about an owner who never in 35 years emerged from his hermetically sealed box? Good riddance to you all.

LAUREN TED ZUCKERMAN, Sherman Oaks

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There have been some heartbreaking moments for me as a Dodger fan over the last 30 years: the tight pennant races with the Giants and Reds, losing to the Yankees in ’77 and ‘78, the one-game playoff in ‘80, Jack Clark’s home run in ‘85, the pennant races in ’91 and ’97.

But last week, something horrible happened--the Dodgers died. The team of fierce player/owner/ fan loyalty gave way to just another franchise that doesn’t seem to stand for any of the things that made the Dodgers the best organization in pro sports. You really broke my heart this time, Bums. Goodbye Dodgers, good luck Mike.

JOHN ROBERTSON, Laughlin, Nev.

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With my head hung low, and a sad feeling in my heart, it is as of May 16, 1998, that I regretfully announce that I am no longer a baseball fan. If this is what my favorite sport has come to, then I don’t need it. Thank you to the following people: Peter Angelos, Bud Selig, George Steinbrenner, Jerry Colangelo, Michael Eisner, Jerry Reinsdorf, Don Fehr, Richard Ravitch and, most of all, Rupert Murdoch.

JON PLEWNARZ, Diamond Bar

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All Piazza said last winter was that he wanted his contract done before the season to avoid any distractions. So what did the Dodgers do? They wait until the start of the season to offer a contract, which he rejects, turning everyone against him.

Shame on all of you for driving Mike Piazza away. I have only two final words: Go Padres.

GREGG KAUFMAN, Los Osos

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Never has anything in sports filled me with such a combination of sadness and rage as the trade of Mike Piazza.

This is not just a future Hall of Fame player we’re talking about but an all-time great. This is not a Sheffield or a Bonilla, but a player whose demeanor and work ethic were above reproach. That’s why he was the most popular Dodger since Koufax.

And, to your once-again less-than-brilliant writer Bill Plaschke, sports are not just about winning, they are about winning with class--something of which the Dodgers now have substantially less.

JIM TURNER, Granada Hills

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“But Grandpa, didn’t Mike Piazza used to play for the Dodgers?”

“Oh goodness, that was a long time ago, son. Let me see now. Oh yeah, that was before his ‘ Four Great Years.’ ”

“Are you talking about the four years where he averaged .400, 50 homers and 150 RBIs?”

“I most certainly am.”

“But I don’t understand, why’d he leave, Grandpa? Were his numbers tailing off?”

“No.”

“Did he spend a lot of time on the disabled list?”

“Well, no. Actually, if memory serves, I think it was because they didn’t want to give him big money.”

“Really? How much did he want?”

“It was something like 15 million a year.”

“Grandpa, you’re so funny. Ken Griffey IV makes 40 million a year, and he only plays half the season.”

“I know. I have no idea what those Dodgers were thinking.”

VIC GABRIEL, La Canada

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Mike Piazza asks for a raise and gets traded. Gary Sheffield, one of the players he is traded for, immediately asks for a raise and other concessions. Hey, Gary, don’t unpack.

LORI MOORE, Garden Grove

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As long as the Marlins are in the self-destruct mode and are conducting a fire sale, would somebody please give a hint to the Dodger organization that Jim Leyland will surely not opt to manage the Marlins next year. That may be the missing piece to the championship puzzle.

GEORGE DUBOSE, Palm Desert

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Two times I would never turn off the radio: during a Sinatra song or a Piazza at-bat. Sorry to see them both gone.

ERIC WEINSHEINK, Beverly Hills