Johnson’s Bridges Burning Down

Davey Johnson may not like the sacrifice bunt or the hit and run, but it looks as if he has finally found a strategy: scorched earth.

I fail to understand what would compel him to criticize his players to this extent in the newspaper [T.J. Simers’ column, Aug. 23]. The only logical reason I could come up with is that he intends to leave this organization in ruin. Singling out our first-year shortstop and 21-year old third baseman for criticism was especially cruel. It looks like the writing is already on the wall for Johnson. However, in whatever time he has remaining as the Dodger manager, he needs to keep his mouth shut and act like a Dodger. There’s no disgrace in losing baseball games, but trying to drag down the youngest players with him reveals a disturbing lack of character that can only be described as disgraceful.

He has proven he doesn’t deserve to wear the uniform. The sooner he’s gone, the better.

DWAYNE TAKEDA

Fountain Valley

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Can someone explain to me why the Dodger announcers insist on updating the Giants’ and Diamondbacks’ play by play? The only drama left for the Dodgers is will they avoid the division cellar? Give me the important updates. What’s happening with the Padres and Rockies?

P.S. Please don’t ask me why I continue to listen to the broadcasts.

ANDY COVNER

Ventura

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You might want to drop the Dodgers from the daily “Wild-Card Race” table. They’re 10 games out with less than 40 to play. If it was a fight the ref would have stopped it a few weeks ago.

ROB OSBORNE

Redondo Beach

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As the Dodgers slowly fade in the West, I am reminded of the Boston Red Sox and the Curse of Babe Ruth.

The Fox Group let Mike Piazza get away when they could have signed him for seven more years for a measly $10 million more (seven years, $91 million, $13 million a year). Instead, they signed a maverick gunslinger (Kevin Brown), who pitches every five days, for $105 million. It all makes perfect sense.

Will the Piazza Curse become as famous as the Ruth Curse? Will the 1988 Series victory be the Dodgers’ last for more than 80 years? I hope not, but right now, they’re not even close, and it has already been 12 years.

DUANE MITCHELL

Escondido

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You know, as an underachieving, barely above-.500-ballclub (using the word team in this case would be giving the Dodgers too much credit) this late into the season, the Dodgers would be in great shape to make the playoffs . . . if they were the eighth seed in the NBA.

MIKE ROSENTHAL

West Hills

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Last Sunday, before the TV and radio broadcasts of the Dodger game, my wife observed that I was clipping the “Major League Averages” column, which appears weekly in The Times sports section.

“Why are you cutting that out?” she asked.

“I want to get all the stats on all the players in the major leagues,” I answered.

“Why don’t you just wait for Ross Porter?” she responded.

I don’t think she listens to Dodger broadcasts very much, but she’s very observant.

JAY BERGER

Northridge

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Top five things I’m sick of hearing about involving the Dodgers:

5. The Piazza Trade:

Quit whining about it. It happened three years ago, Mike is a Met, will always be a Met and will end his career as a Met. Gary is a Dodger, will always be a Dodger and will end his career as a Dodger, so deal with it!

4. The Times Writing About the New Manager:

Honestly, who right now wants to manage this team? I’m sure Dusty Baker and Bobby Valentine can’t wait to leave their postseason-bound teams for a team in turmoil and in dire need of a slap in the face. Valentine, “Coming back to his Roots.” I’m sure that means that Johnny Oates, Mike Scioscia, Phil Garner and Davey Lopes all are going to leave to come here. Dusty Baker, “Davey Will Face his Replacement.” Does Dusty know this?

3. Kevin Malone:

The interview with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver has just about proven he’s an idiot. Fire him! He was quick to deny everything about some of his dumb moves. I loved how he tied in trading that double-A pitcher and said he wasn’t all that good and ranked about fifth or sixth among left-handers in the farm system. Question, Kevin. Do you even have five or six lefties in the farm system?

2. Everyone Blaming Davey Johnson:

Davey doesn’t hit, run, field, pitch, nothing. So quit blaming him for something as stupid as a Darren Dreifort wild pitch! He looked like he almost wanted to cry in the dugout today. And I don’t blame him. He has no confidence from the fans, Malone or Daly, the press, nothing! He had an irregular heartbeat because of it, and what’s surprising is the players actually like playing for him. Davey is not the root of the problem. Everyone is using him as a scapegoat.

1. Fox Running the Franchise:

Disney looks better day by day. Murdoch and his bunch lack knowledge for anything. I’m waiting for the day he changes the Dodger Stadium address to 90210 Melrose Place and comes out with the hit TV show, “When Animals Attack Bat Boys.”

Sell the f#$@*% team! You’re ruining this franchise and you know nothing about baseball, so how are we supposed to win? Go spend $200 million on A-Rod and watch the team finish with a worse record than this year because you’ll let everyone else go (Dreifort, Hundley, etc.). And you’ll say, “We’ve got the best player in baseball, we should win it all!” Just be happy Donald Sterling’s in town or you would be the biggest laughingstock of all organizations in L.A.

TRAVIS BURNS

Laguna Niguel

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After watching the Dodgers single-handedly defeated by Henry Rodriguez, Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile last week, I came up with an idea for a new show that should be a hit here in the City of Angels. We have the X-Games, The X-Files and X-Men. How about X-Dodgers? Each weekly episode will feature a segment on an ex-Dodger player with up-to-the-minute stats on all active ex-Dodgers: How many strikeouts did Pedro get today? Did Eric Young steal another base? How many game-winning hits does Zeile have this year? Is John Wetteland leading the American League in saves?

Dodger management should be forced to watch the show “Clockwork Orange”-style until they figure it out.

R.C. VINCELLI

Tujunga

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Kevin Brown must have some amazing reflexes. Twice now he has managed to move his hand just enough to save that one special finger from breaking so he can continue to wave “hello” to his pal, T.J. Simers.

ERIC MONSON

Temecula