They’d Like to Go First Class, but It’s Still All About Coach

If you want more credit than you deserve when things go well and more blame than you deserve when they don’t, you could become president of the United States or an NFL quarterback. Or you could stay closer to home and become a coach for an L.A. professional sports franchise.

When the Dodger gang that couldn’t throw straight got knocked around by opposing batters, who got the blame? Charlie Hough, of course. It certainly couldn’t be the fault of the pitching staff, even though years of experience as professional athletes and megabuck salaries still haven’t enabled them to throw an object weighing a few ounces 60 feet 6 inches with any consistency.

And just to the south, against the advice of every rational person on the continent, Jerry Buss hired a wacko that even Sigmund Freud couldn’t understand. He then compounded the problem by trading away some key components of the team with questionable goods in return.

When all this predictably resulted in confusion and disorganization on the team and an ignominious exit from the playoffs, whose fault was it? Why, Kurt Rambis’ naturally. Or maybe it was Del Harris’. I get confused sometimes, but I know that if something’s wrong, it has to be because one of those coach guys screwed up again.

ALLEN E. KAHN

Playa del Rey