Letters: Readers thinking outside the batter’s box for the Dodgers

Here are my suggestions for the Dodgers’ batting order:

Leadoff: Matt Kemp. He gets on base a lot. Batting second: Gotta be Mark Ellis. He’s the ideal No. 2 hitter. Batting third: I’d have Andre Ethier because it’s good to have the lefty-righty thing. Cleanup: Kemp again. Fifth: Ethier. You need his bat there again. Sixth: Kemp. Obvious. Batting seventh: Ethier. He’d be very effective in that spot. Batting eighth: Kemp. Great when you can get unexpected production in the eight hole. Batting ninth: Kershaw. And Kershaw pitches every game.

Of course, there’s the little problem of not having a catcher and having Mark Ellis play every infield position, but all that taken into consideration, their defense wouldn’t be much worse than it is now.

Steve Freeman

Mar Vista

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Finally, the Dodgers’ brain trust has made a very significant move. They called up Barney Fife’s grandson Stephen Fife to pitch against the mighty Phillies. Now if only they would dig down in their deep pockets and sign Aunt Bee to play third, Gomer at first, and Goober in left, we could become a definite contender. They are presently in negotiations with Opie’s agent to fill in at shortstop between directing movies. These brilliant acquisitions would make us an automatic World Series champion.

Of course, with this devastating lineup if the Dodgers fail to be competitive they may need a change of venue and will be forced to move the franchise to Mayberry.

J.J. Volpe

Upland

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After Kenley Jansen gave Saturday’s game away on a mistake he should have learned to avoid in Little League, I was surprised to see Don Mattingly go over and pat him on the shoulder. “It’s OK, we just got second place locked up, son, don’t worry about it.”

This could have been a turning point (See 1988 Dodgers, Kirk Gibson-Jesse Orosco prank), but the way it was handled will be the difference between a winning and losing season again.

Patrick Drohan

Monrovia

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How is it the Padres were more mentally focused and playing harder than the Dodgers last weekend? Do the Dodgers believe they are so good they can just throw their gloves on the field and win? It’s great the manager loves to hear music in the clubhouse after a game, win or lose, but it is time to kick them in the butt and get them to focus.

And please dump Uribe immediately! He is playing as old as he looks, which is about 50.

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. As the Brooklyn fans used to scream, wait till next year!

Steve Owen

San Diego

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After being in Europe for two weeks with its plethora of boring 1-0 or 2-1 soccer scores, I could not wait to return to the USA and the national pastime for a real game with scores approaching the double-digit range.

Unfortunately, I have been watching the Dodgers.

Earl Roth

Oak Park

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Don Mattingly was a great hitter as a player. One would think that he would understand the need for hitting in baseball. Yet Mattingly continues to field a Dodgers lineup with an anemic cumulative batting average. Sunday’s starters were hitting a combined .253 by the game’s end.

Despite batting only .193, Juan Uribe continues to play. Mattingly could randomly select a fan from the stands who could hit that well. After sitting for weeks nursing a sore hamstring, Matt Kemp plays only two games before sitting out again. Could it be that Kemp embarrasses the other Dodgers since he can actually hit?

The Dodgers teams of yore lost pennants in the closing month of the season. This year’s team blew it in June and July, and with the assembly of clowns currently wearing Dodger blue, it doesn’t appear the Boys of Summer will be playing into the fall this year either.

Brian C. Gura

Redondo Beach

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Can we just thank Juan Uribe for coming, pay his salary now, and send him on his way, please? What is up with Donnie Baseball now putting him in the lineup? Isn’t he like two for his last 60? When he pinch-hit for Nathan Eovaldi I had more confidence in the pitcher getting a hit than Uribe. Result: the usual first-pitch lazy fly ball for the last out. This was a surprise to Mattingly?

Bruce Alan

Granada Hills

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Regarding T.J.’s column about Clayton Kershaw’s book: Why do we never hear a loser — or a winner — thank their lord and savior just for the ability to compete?

Kenny Halpern

Oxnard

Halo effect

I wish the Angels would quit talking about trading Peter Bourjos for some high-priced old pitcher or another one-year wonder. They have a solid young player with a bright future ahead if given the chance to play. They have to wonder why the other clubs want him involved in any trade. Keeping Bourjos and saying goodbye to Wells makes more sense. The money saved on Bourjos’ salary will help compensate the loss on Wells’ inflated salary.

Bob Masiello

Laguna Woods

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A few random thoughts largely based on Mike DiGiovanna’s continued excellent coverage of the Angels.

1. The suggestion of a Vernon Wells-for-Barry Zito trade seems fair. That could be one those trades that hurts both teams.

2. The only way the Angels should pay Torii Hunter $10 million next year is if half of it comes out of Wells’ pocket … or Zito’s.

3. It’s still not too late for Ervin Santana and Dan Haren to turn things around.

4. With the acquisition of Albert Pujols, the emergence of Mike Trout, and the continued development of Mark Trumbo, why are they not winning any more than they did last year? See No. 3 above.

Ron Reeve

Glendora

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So I’m watching the Angels-Yankees game last weekend when Raul Ibanez comes up to bat and suddenly there’s this stat telling me his lifetime batting average, home runs and RBIs versus the Angels. And I’m thinking, wow, that’s so relevant. He’s a 40-year-old who debuted in ‘96, so it’s really important to know what he did in his 20s and early 30s against pitchers who have long since retired. What’s next, his OBP during day games when he’s had a big breakfast, didn’t quite work it off but took one of those energy drinks just before the game? Actually, that’d be way more relevant.

Jim Guzzo

San Pedro

Hoop crazy

I think Kobe is the most talented player of his generation but to say that this Olympic team could beat the original Dream Team is akin to expecting a high school team to beat the Lakers. Not only was the ’92 team the best ever, they played basketball the right way. Watching today’s NBA, where high school kids and one-and-dones run the league, is very sad to watch.

Geno Apicella

Placentia

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And to think that the Knicks signed Jason Kidd to mentor their young point guards. I’m sure temporary “Ginsanity” is to blame.

Steve Ross

New York

This is science?

After watching the most recent boxing championship match last Saturday on HBO, I have a sure method of becoming a champion:

First, you hit your opponent with a couple of shots in the groin. When he lowers his guard a bit, you then throw a couple of roundhouse rights and lefts to the side of his head — be sure to make contact with his ears! When he starts reeling around the ring, you belt him in the chops while he is going down. The ref will probably stop the fight and lo and behold, you are a champion!

Your manager should also make some snide remarks about your opponent’s father prior to the match.

Doug Oatman

Aliso Viejo

Wise guys

I never read the sports section, but Bill Plaschke’s article [“NCAA Can’t Shut Pi Hole”] on July 15 got my attention. First because I’m a now-retired Caltech grad (1966). In my time, at least, there wasn’t a formal course in integrity at Caltech. It was just totally ingrained in the culture, as integrity is critical to good science. Too bad this culture isn’t also ingrained in all the universities where our business leaders and politicians are typically educated, instead of Milton Friedman’s “Greed is good” philosophy.

Ron Constable

Palmdale

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So, the NCAA puts Caltech on three-year probation because some of its athletes were not officially enrolled in classes at the beginning of a term while they were deciding which classes to take. In doing so, the NCAA failed to recognize that these athletes probably were working harder and learning more while scouting out potential classes than the majority of “student-athletes” who were enrolled at other schools in athlete-friendly classes specifically designed to meet NCAA requirements and nothing more.

This was an opportunity for the NCAA to praise Caltech for setting an example both in the classroom and via its self-reporting. Instead, the NCAA has sent a message to the athletic powerhouse schools that as long as the technical requirement of being enrolled in a “full” load of classes is met, it doesn’t matter whether students are actually learning anything.

David Barnier

San Diego

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As an aerodynamicist and a former Division I athlete I send kudos to Bill Plaschke for something I never thought possible: a sports column with the words Caltech, NCAA sanction, Markov chain, Computational Fluid Mechanics and Hypervelocity Shock Tunnel!

John Chang

Torrance

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At the center of the Caltech culture is the Honor Code, wherein ethical violations such as cheating are resolved by a student-run judicial system. More that that, the Honor Code is so effective at self-regulating student behavior that tests can be taken in the comfort of the student’s own dorm rooms and cheating is virtually unheard of.

My experience as a teaching assistant at the University of Michigan was vastly different. At that great institution, cheating was rampant and seen as a problem by undergraduates only if the cheater was caught. I have no doubt that if a similar violation of NCAA rules was self-discovered at the U of M, or for that matter Penn State, the first thought would be, “Let’s pretend it didn’t happen”.

Patrick Sutton

Pasadena

(Caltech BS ‘76, Michigan MD ‘83)

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I have long suspected that Caltech couldn’t be the sports juggernaut it was without cheating.

Mike Kvammen

South Pasadena

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I believe that the article on Caltech was placed in the wrong section. It is obviously the description of a”Big Bang Theory”episode and should have appeared in the entertainment section.

Peter L. Haaker

Westminster

Harsh

I would like to see the NCAA keep Penn State out of football one year for each child that was molested.

Caroline C. Pinola

Santa Ana

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Penn State is trying to decide what to do with the statue of Joe Paterno. They should just hide it in Sandusky’s old office and cover it up.

Sol Bialeck

Van Nuys

Penalty box

Poor T.J. Simers. His vacation has ended and the Kings are still Stanley Cup champs for at least the next 11 months.

Warren Andrews

Los Angeles

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