Letters to Sports: Mixed reactions to Dodgers’ latest signings

With the Dodgers handing out money like it’s a board game, with well more than a billion dollars in contracts to Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, I guess you could say that the Dodgers had a monopoly on the free-agent market, not to mention their signing of pitcher Tyler Glasgow. One thing that fans can definitely expect is that there will be no free parking.

The Dodgers have gone to great lengths to put together a Rolls-Royce lineup. This doesn’t bode well for the future of a Subaru manager like Dave Roberts.

Steve Kaye
Oro Valley, Ariz.

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What a Christmas for Dodgers fans. Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and now Yoshinobu Yamamoto! And it’s not even Christmas. Visions of World Series dance in my head!

John Tsutsui
Hurricane, Utah

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Having not won a championship for 35 years and counting (sorry, the 60-game COVID season was a farce), the Dodgers are understandably highly motivated to finally win a title. Spending $1 billion on two Japanese stars, it is more likely they will win the World Baseball Classic than a World Series title.

Mark S. Roth
Playa Vista

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Dodgers sign Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto for insane money. Wow, I thought my cable was only going up $10 per month. What is next? Are you going to charge me $100 to park in my garage to watch the game from home?

John Broecker
Upland

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As we Dodgers fans have sadly learned from the past, merely signing big-name players does not guarantee a trip to the World Series. What the signings of Ohtani and Yamamoto do guarantee are: 1) Higher ticket prices; 2) Hot sales of Ohtani’s and Yamamoto’s jerseys and T-shirts; and 3) Incessant media hype about these two, regardless of how they perform.

I, for one, will wait and see what actually happens on the field.

Alan Perry
Ventura

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I have to wonder. Does Yoshinobu Yamamoto know he’ll never be allowed to pitch a no-hitter or perfect game?

George Pisano
Rancho Palos Verdes

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I have read multiple articles in The Times listing a projected Dodgers rotation without even a mention of Clayton Kershaw. Why?

Larry Macedo
West Hills

Reporters, announcers and analysts across the country are so enamored with UCLA basketball coach Mick Cronin that they appear incapable of being objective in their analysis of his coaching. All too often when speaking of Cronin the emphasis is on how his teams play defense; rarely is a word mentioned about the inattention paid to the offense. Cronin turns highly recruited thoroughbreds into Clydesdales. His sideline antics, the constant public berating of his players, recruiting top talent then micromanaging them to the point of absurdity have, worn thin.

Arlando Smith
San José

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I hope most UCLA men’s hoops fans realize that Cronin is a great screamer but a horrible coach. On the other hand, Cori Close is undefeated with the women.

Since the men remain the bigger draw I have the answer — simply switch coaches. This really is a win-win because Cronin won’t scream as loudly toward the women, while the men get a real coach.

Fred Wallin
Westlake Village

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Mick Cronin had better start getting one of his $1,000 designer suits pressed pretty quickly. Reason being if he doesn’t get his team turned around, he may be entering the “interview portal” sooner than his UCLA football counterpart.

Richard Whorton
Studio City

It is about time the Chargers ownership woke up and fired Brandon Staley, et al. However, if they were really concerned about the fans, as they stated, they would have worked it out in San Diego. Good luck going forward, but maybe it won’t matter if they can keep filling SoFi Stadium with the visiting team’s fans.

Dennis Parks
Dana Point

UCLA coach Chip Kelly’s biggest mistake was recruiting quarterback Dante Moore. Since he was able to recruit this “five-star” high school player, I believe that Kelly felt an obligation to start him. Moore was a passer and not a runner — the problem was that he frequently passed the ball to the opposing team.

Had Kelly instead started and kept using Ethan Garbers, the Bruins might have had a championship season.

Martin A. Brower
Corona del Mar

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Chip Kelly should learn from USC’s Lincoln Riley and hire the best defensive coach he can find. That coach is Brandon Staley. And the guy needs a job.

Sanford Holst
Sherman Oaks

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The college football transfer portal is busier than the 405 and 101 interchange during rush hour.

Barry Smith
Thousand Oaks

I’m planning on bringing my boa constrictor to the Lakers game next week. Apparently it’s now acceptable to bring your pets to the games.

Scott Zimbler
Lakewood

So sad to see that Chris Foster passed away last week at the age of 65. In this holiday season, we think about all the other Times sportswriters that have passed away far too early in life — Chris Dufresne at 62, Mike Penner at 52 and Allan Malamud at 54.

Although most of us sports fans never knew them personally, when we read their sports stories and columns multiple times a weeks for so many years, they became part of our family. They are all sorely missed.

Don Geller
Irvine

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