Oh, They Thought Dodgers Were Run by John Daly

In Bill Plaschke’s article on July 18, Dodger Chairman Bob Daly said about General Manager Kevin Malone: “I think Kevin has shown tremendous strength in evaluating people.”

Specifically, was he talking about trading Dave Mlicki for Robinson Checo? Or was it Malone giving Greg Cadaret a $375,000 guaranteed contract last year even though he was cut before the season? Maybe it was signing 36-year-old Devon White to a three-year deal? Or perhaps it was bringing the always-injured Gregg Olson into the fold. Sorry, Daly, that statement doesn’t pass the laugh test.

MARK BERNSTEIN

Los Angeles

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Heard Bob Daly on the radio today and he mentioned that the Dodgers lost $22 million last year and are projected to lose only $18 million this year. Now am I supposed to not feel so cheated for spending $5 for a beer or $6 to park my car?

MATTHEW KERSTER

Redondo Beach

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Perhaps Davey Johnson is not the strategist that we hoped for, or maybe not quite the motivator, but to lay another dismal Dodger season at his doorstep is ridiculous. In the off-season, new Chairman Bob Daly did nothing about addressing the Dodgers’ starting pitching woes. Instead, he decided the mediocre, inconsistent Chan Ho Park and Darren Dreifort would suddenly become great pitchers and Eric Gagne would become the next Greg Maddux and the Dodgers would have a solid pitching staff.

Well, guess what, Bob? They still stink. How can you expect more out of a team that has one decent starter? What team have you been watching the last few years?

So far, Bob, I give you a “C-minus.” But, if you read my script about a naive fan who gets to run a major league team, I’ll raise it to a “C-plus.”

STEVE FREEMAN

Los Angeles

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With the trade deadline nearing, I thought it would be interesting to read the transcripts of past and future Dodger negotiations.

From a conversation in 1997, Fred Claire and Tom Lasorda talking to the Expos: “No, we can’t give you Beltre for Pedro Martinez. Beltre’s going to be great and Martinez is too small to continue to pitch that well. And we won’t have to pay Beltre very much for a long time because he’s so young.”

From a conversation to take place sometime in the next few days, Kevin Malone talking to the Reds: “We’ll gladly give you Dreifort, Gagne, Hollandsworth, and throw in Beltre for Barry Larkin. True, we don’t have any intention of re-signing Larkin after the season but we’re going to try to lure Alfredo Griffin out of retirement.”

DARREN POLLOCK

Los Angeles

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After reading Bill Plaschke’s column on Bob Daly, I saw another little guy in my mind’s eye. This one lived in France a few hundred years ago and his trademark was a three-cornered hat.

SID LEVEY

West Hollywood