Can Dodgers’ fans expect pinstripes next season?

Maybe it would be easier if L.A. Yankees’ ownership offered Bud Selig a sackful of cash and he can just declare them honorary champions.

Vernon Martinazzi

Huntington Beach

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Don Mattingly had a dream of managing the New York Yankees. Who would have guessed it would come true in Los Angeles?

Paul Zimmelman

Marina del Rey

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I take exception to Bill Shaikin’s depiction of the Dodgers as the West Coast version of the Yankees [Aug. 26]. The Yankees got their reputation by outbidding every other MLB team for free agents, signing them to ridiculous contracts, and essentially buying an All-Star team. The Dodgers built their team through the farm system (Kemp, Ethier, Billingsley and Kershaw) and through trades (Ramirez, Beckett, Gonzalez and Crawford). If other NL teams hate the Dodgers it’s not because they’re the new Yankees, it’s because the Dodgers are smarter than they are.

R.J. Robinson

Hollywood

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To Magic Johnson:

All of us in New England are forever grateful for your taking Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto off our hands. Those few years of angst when you beat our beloved Celtics have been forever wiped away by this deal. If there’s ever anything else we can do for you, like dealing John Lackey your way, please do not hesitate to call.

Tod Jarvis

Kennebunk, Maine

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It’s about time the Dodgers are being run like a large-market team. Like George Steinbrenner used to say in New York, “If people don’t like what I’m doing, change the rules.”

By the way, I didn’t hear anyone complaining when the Phillies were spending money like it was water the last couple of years.

Charles Kyriacou

Tarrytown, N.Y.

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If the new Dodgers owners were truly as wealthy and powerful as everyone makes out, T.J. Simers would be spellbinding readers in a small Chinese village with his biting humor and bitter commentary.

Konrad Moore

Bakersfield

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Bill Dwyre is right. Peggy Lee’s “Hey, Big Spender” is an apt song to describe the Dodgers’ buying binge. The big question remains: Is that all there is?

Bob Ginn

Arcadia

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Bruins win!

Yes, UCLA had a few slip-ups while dispatching the clearly outmanned Rice Owls, but placing Dr. Killjoy’s (a.k.a. T.J. Simers’) typically hackneyed hatchet job anywhere but on the unfriendly confines of Page 2, is going too far. As you’ve no doubt already discovered, your strategy of driving down The Times’ readership by becoming the print equivalent of talk radio is succeeding brilliantly.

Marty Veselich

Playa del Rey

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In response to Martin Brower’s letter last week, claiming the “win-win” situation if USC doesn’t finish No. 1 and the Bruins finish in the top 25: Wow! Please tell me there isn’t a gap in thought process. Two sets of numbers for you, Mr. Brower: 50-0 and 11 of 12. Dare to aspire.

Albert Pena Jr.

Pico Rivera

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Statuesque

Kareem is getting a statue and he deserves one. However, why doesn’t the greatest Laker of all time have one at Staples Center. I’m talking No. 22, Elgin Baylor, the reason many of us became Lakers fans in the first place. It might have been 50 years ago, but Elgin deserves his due and his statue.

Fred Wallin

Westlake Village

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The unveiling of a cold and lifeless statue of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in front of Staples Center is unnecessary. Abdul-Jabbar has been able to project his surly and aloof personality all by himself for many years now.

Charles Reilly

Manhattan Beach

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The Code

If we’re going to have a Fan Code of Conduct [Aug. 27], why not a Venue Code of Conduct?

1. Ease of entry and exit

2. Parking convenience

3. Ease of ticket purchasing

4. Safety and security

5. Sufficient concessions with minimal wait

6. Sufficient and clean bathrooms

7. Employee politeness

8. Comfortable seating

9. Fan-player interaction

10. No violation of state or local laws

Dan Anzel

Los Angeles

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If the local teams were really serious about having fans adhere to the Code of Conduct, then they could drastically reduce most of those bad behaviors by simply refusing to sell alcohol at their games.

Ben Browdy

Los Angeles

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Vicious cycle

Before we let Lance Armstrong and his story fade away, I just want to make sure I’ve got it right. Armstrong, who has never failed a drug test, and has defeated many riders who have, is being stripped of his seven Tour de France victories because some of those riders who did fail drug tests are ready to testify that Armstrong must have been taking drugs too. That about cover it?

P.J. Gendell

Beverly Hills

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Bill Plaschke’s hard-hitting article about Lance Armstrong [Aug. 31] reaches the rarefied atmosphere of Jim Murray. Many will say that Armstrong never failed a drug test, but neither did Marion Jones before her crying jag in which she threw herself on the mercy of the court.

Lance could have done the right thing, and maybe all those yellow wrist bands would stay on. He raised nearly a half a billion dollars for cancer research, but in the process he is reportedly worth $125 million and makes $20 million a year. So don’t feel sorry for poor Lance, feel sorry for the young cyclist who was determined to play it straight and got neither the fame nor the fortune.

Lawrence Booth

Santa Monica

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I would like to know what planet Bill Plaschke lives on. In this day and age, most of what athletes do to prepare would be considered cheating. Armstrong won seven long bicycle races. He actually had to do it. All Plaschke has done is write about it. I wonder if he used spell check. In some cases, that would be considered cheating. Should we not acknowledge his 20 years of sports reporting? Should we take away his plush office at The Times? I think so. Make him share an office with Simers. Now that would be punishment.

Chuck Rinaldi

Huntington Beach

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Grid locks

The NFL will return to L.A. just as soon as:

* All the statuary in front of Staples Center is taken down and a life-sized replica of Andrew Bynum is installed -- of 24-karat gold, natch.

* The Lord and all his Disciples reunite Kobe, Shaq, Phil and Chick for one last hurrah, with the Lakers going 82-zip/16-zip.

* Jim Mora leads the Bruins on an 89-game unbeaten, untied and unscored-upon record with a dozen straight BCS titles.

* Sam Farmer replaces Roger Goodell as commish!

Bill Bell

Mar Vista