Oh Boy, Dodgers May Have to Make Best of It

It has not been easy for Dodger Boy, a.k.a. Kevin Malone, and the rest of Dodger management in handling the changing moods of Gary Sheffield. Gary’s outbursts made it impossible to get any type of reasonable trade going and would have done nothing to drastically improve the Dodgers’ chances this year. So, since Gary has recanted and gotten Scott Boras, things seem to be on the mend.

However, T.J. Simers has taken up the mantle that Malone and the Dodger brass are acting incorrectly in keeping Sheffield and maintaining that Dodger fans are being taken for a ride.

Simers and others need to realize that most major league baseball players and owners have been taking fans for a ride for a number of years.

Dodger Boy is right. Let’s not be so sanctimonious and just move on, the squeaky-clean image of the Dodgers has long since passed, but what we all want is a winner, and Gary Sheffield will help us win games this year.

LOUIS RISKY

San Francisco

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My fervent joy of rooting every game for the Dodgers for 55 years is gone. Kevin Malone, by condoning the desecration of the uniform by Sheffield, has destroyed the game’s integrity and soiled the Dodger name. There is more than hitting involved in this game, it’s called trying to win. Those two have killed my spirit. Imagine what it has done to the team.

TOM MOORE

San Clemente

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On a recent radio show, Kevin Malone was speaking about how patient Dodger management was with him and how they understood how difficult his job was.

My thoughts were, this is the same management that traded Mike Piazza for Gary Sheffield and a bunch of stiffs no longer with the team. The same management that keeps him on as general manager for a team with a $100-million payroll that is lucky to beat out San Diego.

Kevin, aren’t you glad George Steinbrenner isn’t your boss? I could just hear George saying, “$10 million for Carlos Perez or Devon White, it’s OK, I understand.” Or, “So what if we have a shortstop who can’t hit, a second baseman who can’t field and a leadoff guy who strikes out too much. Oh, and it’s OK that our catchers are either past their prime or not yet in it.”

As a father of three, don’t expect me to “understand” and invest a small fortune to attend a Dodger game this year. I could spend a day at Disneyland for the same price and maybe feel I got my money’s worth.

SANDY STOCK

Agoura Hills

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OK, Gary Sheffield made an absolute fool of himself. True, the Dodger front office has done the same by thinking that everything is now just fine.

The only thing even more embarrassing would be if the Dodger fans came out in droves as if nothing ever happened. I cannot imagine that happening . . . but then I thought to myself, “What did P.T. Barnum say?”

JACK WOLF

Westwood