For $11.3 Million, They Can Make Him a Pitch

I’m no Alan Greenspan, but paying $11.3 million for exclusive rights to negotiate with an unproven pitcher seems ridiculous, considering the Dodger management refused to return calls from Chan Ho Park’s agent, which cost nothing.

Interestingly, this “negotiation fee” is close to what Park gets per season with the Rangers. Are you sure Tony Tavares isn’t the new Dodger “brains”?

Su Pak

Los Angeles

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Assuming the Dodgers have Kazuhisa Ishii and Hideo Nomo in the starting rotation, I can only imagine the potential changes that might take place at Dodger Stadium. Will the Dodger Dog be replaced with California rolls? Will beer be replaced with sake? Will the mini-bat promotion be replaced with twirling umbrella night?

And what about Godzilla night?

Chris Gagliano

Redondo Beach

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Because Southern California doesn’t really experience a change in seasons, like other parts of the country, we in L.A. can now tell when spring is approaching. We will know because that will be around the time Gary Sheffield starts running his mouth about his horrible situation. Maybe when Gary sticks his head out to talk, we can find out if it will be a long winter, or only six weeks until spring training.

Mitch Klingsberg

Los Angeles

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I see where the first two acts of the annual Gary Sheffield farce have gone as scheduled:

In Act I, Gary moans and complains to anyone who will listen that he is unappreciated by the Dodgers and hints that he may not be able to perform unless they show him more respect.

In Act II, Dodger fans flood the letters-to-the-editor section the following Saturday, making him sound like baseball’s version of Osama bin Laden and urging the Dodgers to trade him for anything they can get.

All that remains to be seen is whether Act III--Sheffield homers on opening day and Dodger fans rise as one to chant his name and cheer his every move--is repeated this year.

Bob Judge

Cypress