Letters: The Dodgers have blown it

I just watched the Dodgers blow a 9-2 lead going into the eighth inning and lose to a crippled Phillies team 10-2. This team is now officially as big an embarrassment to the city of Los Angeles as their ownership. And that’s a pretty big embarrassment!

Alan Abajian

Alta Loma

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It’s not the McCourts’ divorce, it’s not Ned Colletti, it’s Joe Torre. He should be called the “Amazing Joe Torre” for the way he continues to mismanage the Dodgers in general and the pitching staff in particular. Not many managers can snatch defeat from victory with a seven-run lead in the bottom of the eighth. But the “Amazing Joe Torre” can.

Ezra D. Rappaport

Valley Village

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When Jonathan Broxton doesn’t have his stuff, it’s obvious to everyone except Joe Torre. Hall of Fame manager? I don’t think so.

Don Leverence

Claremont

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I find it difficult to fathom Dave Stewart’s criticism of the Dodgers’ treatment of Matt Kemp.

Dave, this is the big leagues. When a player with Matt Kemp’s upside disappoints or underachieves, he will be scrutinized, particularly by those whose job it is to maximize that player’s potential.

Stewart’s wonders if Kemp is asking himself, “How can I play for these guys if they don’t like me?” Why isn’t Kemp asking himself: “Why do I allow myself to take mental naps during games? Why am I drawing the salary of an All-Star while still performing like a rookie with a lot of potential?”

Ron Goodman

Santa Barbara

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A future letters headline should be “Where did Dodger fans go”

When McCourt’s divorce lawyers called the Dodgers a “cash cow,” I became tired of being “milked.”

Paul Lorentzen

Pacific Palisades

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Juxtapose the story of greed and bitterness in Sunday’s Times concerning the Dodgers owners, Frank and Jamie, with the love and tenderness of the sisters, Esther and Sylvia, in Bill Plaschke’s column. I wonder who actually loves the Dodgers more.

R.M. Boucher

Laguna Niguel

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It must please Dodgers fans to no end that the McCourts want to plop down an NFL stadium in the Dodger Stadium parking lot.

Have Frank or Jamie actually tried to get into the Ravine 60 minutes prior to first pitch?

Of course, in 10 years none of this will matter, when the Dodgers will be playing in front of announced crowds of 3,500, Vin will be long gone, and parking will be a moot point.

Jeff Prescott

La Jolla

Down in Anaheim

Look, I’m not an Angels fan, so I think I can be fairly objective when I say that T.J. Simers should cut Mike Scioscia a little slack [“Angels are in a big hole, and he isn’t digging them,’ Aug. 10].

Walt Alston, one of the most controlling managers in baseball history, didn’t exactly “tear it up” during the period 1967-1973, yet he was elected to the Hall of Fame after a 23-year-career with the Dodgers.

I think the current Angels woes have less to do with Scioscia’s management style, and more to do with the fact that they lost Chone Figgins, Vladimir Guerrero and John Lackey to free agency. Let Scioscia manage the Angels another nine seasons and I’ll bet he wins another seven AL West titles and another World Series.

David H. Crocker

Placentia

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T.J. Simers’ column on Mike Scioscia and the Angels was tiresome, even for T.J. His “shtick” of just insulting people and calling them names is what children, not writers, do — any 9-year-old could come up with those insipid tags like Control Freak, Choking Dogs, Orange County Duds.

Mike Scioscia, Tony Reagins and the Angels are proven winners, year after year. Some insight, wit and style about their challenges this year could have been an interesting read.

Rob Owens

Pacific Palisades

Tiger bites

Watching Tiger Woods reminds me of a lot of watching Mike Tyson and his demise. There is not much to like about either of their personalities, but it was truly awe inspiring to see them at their respective sports.

Like Tyson’s boxing matches, I tune in to see Tiger play golf and catch a glimpse of the dominance they were both so capable of and I walk away feeling nothing but pity.

Robert Langdon

Bishop, Calif.

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So, Tiger Woods has sought the assistance of a swing coach in order to restore order to his game.

The root of the problem is likely not with his stroke, with how he reads the greens, or with the make of clubs he uses. The root of his problem lies in his brain and in his heart. Until he has sufficient grace to deal honestly with those issues his game is unlikely to improve substantially.

Welcome to the human race, Tiger.

Lewis Redding

Arcadia

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You guys have gotta take it easier on Tiger Woods. True, he hasn’t won an event this year, and his chances overtaking Jack Nicklaus have diminished. But, you should be more positive: There must be another sport that Tiger can take up!

Jack Wolf

Los Angeles

Crime and punishment

Let me see if I have this right. Stanley Havili breaks T.J. Bryant’s cheekbone and is suspended from one practice. Dillon Baxter is busted for smoking pot and is suspended for the opener in Hawaii. Oh, that’s right — USC has a surfeit of running backs and will not miss a beat without Baxter, but Havili is the only scholarship fullback.

Lane Kiffin’s institutional control is apparently dependent upon the team’s depth chart, not the severity of the transgression.

Mark S. Roth

Los Angeles

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Whatever happens during practice should stay at practice unless a teammate leaves with facial fractures and the need for surgery. Havili should be off the football field until Bryant is ready to take the field, period. How can one possibly learn the lesson of “accountability for their actions” with full punishment as simply a single missed practice?

Shame on Lane Kiffin and Pat Haden for being such matadors to this act of violence.

Larry Yells

Hermosa Beach

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So a USC player was suspended for an “incident” that happened at his dorm. Was it studying?

Ron Reeve

Glendora

Prime ribbing

Way to go Prime Sports. We get to watch 162 Dodgers games a year, yet you make the decision to break away from another epic Zenyatta performance immediately after the race so we can watch Dodgers pregame. Couldn’t you give us 10 more minutes to watch one of the most exciting athletes in history go to the winner’s circle? We may never be lucky enough to see another Zenyatta.

Steve Lass

Santa Barbara

A tear-down

Now that Jerry Buss is in the NBA Hall of Fame as a builder, there is talk that Phil Anschutz will finally get recognized by the NHL for all of his accomplishments with the Kings. Is there a destroyer category?

Fred Nastri

Santa Barbara

For whom it tolls

NFL players aren’t holding out for more money. They’re waiting to see if any positions open up in the City of Bell.

Jack Saltzberg

Sherman Oaks

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