Letters: Are Dodgers trying to distance themselves from their fans?
Think of it. Fully vaccinated, negative tests for the kids, bring documents to prove it — all for the privilege of a family of four spending more than $600 including parking and food to watch the Dodgers from away down by the bullpen. Imagine how many groceries that buys, how many tanks of gas that fills, how many utility bills that pays! Or even a two-day outing to Santa Barbara for the family!
Last time Springsteen came through, his tickets cost $100 by comparison. And if you say there is no comparison between a Dodgers game and a Springsteen concert, you’d be right. As someone whose earliest memories include watching the Dodgers in the Coliseum, I’ll wait for Springsteen before I spend that much money to see a Dodgers game. Think of it! $121 and up for one faraway seat for one game!
Mark Henry
Redlands
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The Dodgers plan to reward those who have been vaccinated by setting aside a seating section in the furthest recesses of the ballpark.
The Guggenheim mob must have spent a good five minutes in making the decision to isolate those good citizens who made the commitment to flatten the pandemic curve while charging them premium prices for a close-up view of bullpen.
Bill Waxman
Simi Valley
The San Diego Padres turned past perceptions upside down in Friday night’s victory over the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
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Please tell it’s not true that the Dodgers are charging $154 for seats in the non-social distancing section.
Please tell me that scientists have ever written the the vaccinations are 100% effective.
Pure greed.
Fred Wallin
Westlake Village
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For those of you complaining about going to Opening Day at Dodger Stadium and fans not wearing masks, here’s some advice: Do not go to the games! You know what you’re getting into.
Jared Dichter
DeForest, Wis,
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Less than 20 games into the season and Dylan Hernández is hitting the panic button. The Dodgers took two of the three games and punched a huge hole into the gas bag known as the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers never take any team lightly as they know full well, “On any given day” they can lose to even the cellar dwellers. It just occurred to me, Hernández is the same guy that insisted the former San Diego Chargers were going to be the most popular NFL team in LA. Maybe he should be writing for a San Diego newspaper.
Richard M. Meyers
Granada Hills
It’s fair to wonder whether the Dodgers will break out of their slump anytime soon. While the Padres are still in town would be a good time to do it.
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Last Saturday, the Dodgers defeated the Padres 2-0, upping their record to 13-2, their best start since 1955, when they won the World Series. The winning pitcher in Game 7 was Johnny Podres. The final score? 2-0.
Bob Levine
Mission Hills
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Dodgers commentator Orel Hershiser, on the Dodgers winning due to their pitching against the Padres, said, “(that’s) 1955 Dodger baseball, pitching and defense!” Hershiser has been a capable commentator, but he should not venture into things about which he obviously knows nothing. The 1955 Dodgers fielded a lineup that included an exceptionally potent team of hitters — Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, Carl Furillo, Gil Hodges, Jim Gilliam, and Pee Wee Reese — and led the league in batting at .271 as a team, so they were a lot more than “pitching and defense.”
Tony Medley
Los Angeles
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Thanks for reminding us that Darvish can’t throw strikes during crunch time, Kershaw still is the Boss, and Mookie can catch most anything he puts his mind to. Oh, and get that Padres-loving trash article off of Page 1; I didn’t need to be reminded that Garvey followed the fast food money to the padres.
Mike Blois
Hawthorne
Fernando Tatis Jr. homered twice — 22 years after his dad hit two grand slams in an inning against the Dodgers — as San Diego beat L.A. 6-1 on Friday.
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Who would critique a baseball manager who over five seasons holds a .619 winning percentage, a Major League Baseball record? But, even with the Houston scandal, you have to ask: Did Dave Roberts and the front office leave too many rings at third base?
Mario Valvo
Ventura
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I am perfectly happy to have the San Diego Padres be more competitive, and am eagerly awaiting the rest of the games they will play with the Dodgers this year.
But it will be long, long time before Dodger fans of a certain age (mine!) are ever comfortable again hearing the words “Fernando Tatis” along with “bases loaded.”
Axel W. Kyster
Bradbury
The Dodgers and Padres have played 39 innings of riveting baseball this season and have been separated by two runs or fewer in 36 of those innings.
Listening in
Is it just me or does anyone else feel that watching TV coverage of an Angels game is tantamount to watching a concurrent doubleheader?
First there’s the Mark Gubiciza, Jose Mota, Daron Sutton version: what pitch is coming, what the batter could possibly do with it, accompanied by a myriad of stats involving potential ball spin, angle off the bat, maximum loft, ultimate distance, exit velocity, number of times this batter has swung at such a delivery, opposing pitcher’s lifetime repertoire, and on and on — followed by the actual happenings on the field (demonstrably less “exciting” to be sure.) Then there’s the inexorable analysis of could, would, should, and might-have-beens involving players, coaches, team, owner, opponents, ad nauseam.
Pat Barrett
Newport Beach
Angels general manager Perry Minasian says it’s too early to make clear judgments on his team’s split record 18 games in, but he sees bright spots.
Super greedy
Not that it received much coverage in Los Angeles, but this was an important week in world sport as fans of European football (soccer) stood up in protest and defiance to the attempt by greedy team owners to Americanize European football to create more profits by moving Europe’s top clubs into a closed league where coming in last had no penalties and a team can only join by invitation.
One of the leaders of this attempt to force some of the worst aspects of American professional sports on loyal European sports fans was our very own Stan Kroenke, but the Fenway Group, led by John Henry and with LeBron James as one of the investors, was also involved. We already knew that Stan Kroenke is a carpetbagger who only brought the Rams back to Los Angeles to make money off of gullible NFL fans, but LeBron James? LeBron, where does your greed end?
Brandon Martin
La Verne
A big key in the Rams offseason was to re-sign linebacker Leonard Floyd, who had his best season in 2020. Now the Rams will be examining linebacker depth in the draft.
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Years ago when he was being questioned in great detail about the medical condition of one of his players, Doc Rivers responded, “You know this Doc thing is just a nickname.” I think it is time some one told LeBron James that this King thing is just a nickname.
Bert Bergen
La Cañada
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The ESL must be using the same PR firm Coca-Cola used 35 years ago.
Philip Ross
Santa Monica
Ten former USC Song Girls described to The Times a toxic culture within the famed collegiate dance team that included longtime former coach Lori Nelson rebuking women publicly for their eating habits, personal appearance and sex lives.
Plenty of room
Why are no public spectators permitted at the LPGA’s tournament this week at Wilshire Country Club? More than 15,000 fans are allowed back at Dodger Stadium. A fraction of that number would be attending each day at Wilshire — and spread throughout the golf course. These incredible golfers deserve a “live” gallery. What’s the story?
Vic Pallos
Glendale
Ben there, done that
If I hear another person say Ben Howland went to three Final Fours in a row, then was fired, as an example of UCLA fans never being satisfied, I will puke. Yes, Howland deserves credit for doing it but the writers never mention he did it with players his predecessor recruited. An asterisk please.
He never had any such success with players he recruited. Plus, he was hired because he was a very good defensive coach. But after a few years his teams played terrible defense.
So he was a bad recruiter whose teams played porous defense. That’s why he deserved to be let go.
Gary Kazanjian
Hermosa Beach
Gary Cunningham, a senior captain of the 1961-62 UCLA team, noted the similarities between this season’s Bruins and his edition nearly 60 years ago.
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