Will These Moves Expose the Dodgers?

Fox has taken the first steps in rebuilding the Dodgers by hiring a new general manager [Kevin Malone] who recently worked for the Expos. He soon after added a former co-worker at Montreal [Bill Geivett] as his assistant. Now, all of L.A. is breathlessly awaiting the news that Felipe Alou, manager of the Expos, will be the new Dodger manager.

But wait a minute! Is this franchise to become the “L.A. Expos”? Isn’t Montreal famous for hockey? Shouldn’t this be involving the Kings or Ducks? Does Olympic Stadium come with the deal? What has Montreal achieved in baseball to warrant such frenzy? Why isn’t Fox raiding the Yankees, Braves, Indians, or even the Padres, for gosh sakes? And what about Malone and Alou? Did I sleep through the last World Series they led their team to?

Alou’s chief attributes are that he is a nice guy who led a team of untalented, inexperienced players to overachieve, if not win. That doesn’t qualify him to persuade a bunch of millionaire underachievers to concentrate more on winning than on next year’s contracts. The Malone deal is done. But let’s take a deep breath, derail the “Expo Express,” and go about hiring a tough manager with a proven ability to win.

JAMES HALE

Big Bear Lake

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Did any other Dodger fans notice the job Dusty Baker has done with the Giants? I bring this up because I haven’t seen Davey Lopes’ name mentioned in any stories about the new Dodger manager.

While I can understand Kevin Malone’s affinity for Felipe Alou, why do the same tired names (Kevin Kennedy, Davey Johnson, etc.) keep popping up? How on earth can Phil Garner keep his job in Milwaukee after six losing seasons? You try having six bad years in a row at your job (or marriage) and see if you get renewed.

Come on, Fox, time for a bold move.

CHARLES L. FREEMAN

Los Angeles

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It will be interesting to see what sentimental Dodger fans will be saying in a year or so. Why do you think the Dodgers haven’t done anything in a decade? It’s not because Fred Claire didn’t know what he was doing. It was because Peter O’Malley was not willing to personally lose $30 million to $40 million a year to get a trophy. Can you blame him? The Dodgers were his work and his livelihood. He wanted to operate the club profitably. Is that unreasonable? No, but in today’s world it means you have to accept losing. George Steinbrenner and Ted Turner are willing to lose money in order to win. If you want to compete with them you have to match them dollar for dollar. O’Malley wasn’t going to do that. Murdoch will. He wants a winning team to beam up to all those satellites.

So, sit back and enjoy the ride. Malone knows what he’s doing, Murdoch is opening the checkbook and next year’s playoff tickets are ready to print.

DOUG DUNLAP

Valencia