Letters to Sports: Dave Roberts and the Dodgers’ insanity on full display

Had Tommy Lasorda been alive, I bet his answer to “what did you think of Chris Taylor’s performance?” would have been vastly different to the answer he gave when asked about Dave Kingman’s performance.

Ken Feldman
Tarzana

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Bullpen games in the postseason. Are you kidding me? Starters going five innings. Are you for real?

Dodgers have three legitimate Cy Young candidates yet each only starts one time in the first five games. Whatever happened to your ace pitching games 1-4-7 and your two other starters going games 2–5 and 3-6 respectively?

Ross Goldberg
Westlake Village

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Julio Urías throwing his arms out, palms up, in Game 4, as if to say, “What is that?” as Gavin Lux pulled up on a sinking line drive, is the epitome of bush league. You don’t show up your teammate in front of 50,000 paid, and another few million watching on TV. That’s the first rule of sports. Can you imagine Koufax or Kershaw doing that? Did anyone throw up their arms when Urías gave up home runs number two and three?

I hope whoever has clubhouse cred — someone like Pujols or Kershaw — took Urías aside and explained the unwritten rules of the game.

Mitch Paradise
Los Angeles

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The picture of Julio Urías unhappily gesturing at Gavin Lux for not risking extra bases to try to catch a bloop single was a textbook display of chutzpah, given his own poor performance.

Mario Valvo
Ventura

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The Dodgers go into this postseason with a deep and talented bullpen and a three-man starting rotation, yet they opt to use two of the starting pitchers in relief. Nothing new here. Dave Roberts has been mismanaging his pitching staff in the playoffs for nearly a decade now, and one has to wonder how many World Series the Dodgers would have won if they’d had a remotely competent dugout tactician.

Brad Wright
Irvine

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The old version of insanity, doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results, now has company. Dave Roberts statement, “A decision that doesn’t work out doesn’t mean it was the wrong decision“ is now baseball’s definition of insanity.

Bruce Fischer
Huntington Beach

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If the Braves go on to the World Series, I’m pretty certain that they’ll be giving Dave Roberts a full share.

Dave Eng
Thousand Oaks

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How great would it be at the end of this life if we all get greeted into heaven by Albert Pujols? I would love that, because that’ll mean I’ve hit a home run.

Dan Johnson
Salem, Va.

The odds on that?

While watching the major league playoffs I am inundated with commercial gambling sites and ads urging me to use their “product.” Announcers constantly comment on the odds of any possible situation that occurs during the game. Wasn’t gambling the reason that Pete Rose was banned from baseball and the Hall of Fame? Major League Baseball is being hypocritical by endorsing and condoning gambling while still punishing Rose. I am no fan of his but let him in the Hall or drop gambling ads from broadcasts.

Ephraim A. Moxson
Los Angeles

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Let me get this straight. Pete Rose is banned from baseball and the Hall of Fame for life for gambling on baseball games. But Draft Kings gets to run TV commercials WHILE THE GAME IS STILL BEING PLAYED quoting bets and their potential payoffs.

And that’s OK?

How hypocritical can major league baseball get?

Bob Rufer
Joshua Tree

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The TBS base cam proves that just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

Marc Gerber
Encino

Of age and ills

After Russell Westbrook put up a triple-single in the Lakers’ inauspicious opener, LeBron James suggested he go home, watch a comedy and have a few laughs. Westbrook could have simply watched a replay of the game.

Mark S. Roth
Los Angeles

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Westbrook obviously appears not to be the player he was of yore. As James was quoted in your article, “I understand the competitor you were.” Past tense. I took that not to mean Westbrook isn’t trying just as hard; rather that he isn’t as competitive as he once was.

Is this an elephant in the room? That is, how seriously depleted are his skills? Not that he can’t play or even be the third option, but how far behind has he fallen?

John Snyder
Newbury Park

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The one thing not addressed in any of the recent Lakers articles is missed free throws. We lost our season opener by a handful of points after a rough game. Add back half of the missed free throws and we win the game. What’s wrong with Lakers coaches that they don’t seriously address this ridiculous, treatable weakness in our game?

Barry Davis
Agoura Hills

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How charitable of you to give the Phoenix Suns a mention in your annual NBA forecast, despite the snarky disclaimer that, of course, they reached the Finals last year, dispatching both L.A. franchises in the process, because “they were the healthiest team.” Boo hoo. Perhaps the Lakers and their aging legs are better built for a mini-season like the one that enabled them to win a “title” two seasons ago.

R.C. Price
San Clemente

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Early season reviews indicate the 2021-22 Lakers are a circus in search of a tent.

Ron Yukelson
San Luis Obispo

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I can’t imagine that the Lakers 0-2 start is surprising anybody, as it’s common knowledge that old people start slower, tire out faster, and in general their bodies don’t work like they did when they were young.

Marty Foster
Honolulu

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Ben Simmons should play a non-team sport, like solitaire or singles tennis, because he is truly not a team player.

Russell Morgan
Carson

Goff’s goofs

Regarding Jared Goff, when you give a player $110 million and four of seven losses can be traced to turnovers that player made, the player shouldn’t be surprised to get dumped.

Mike Schaller
Temple City

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