Letters: Can’t see what they can’t hit

I understand from reading the L.A. Times sports page that Josh Beckett threw a no-hitter followed by Hyun-Jin Ryu’s seven innings of a perfect game, but I don’t believe it because “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to see it....”

Richard Dennison

Goleta

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Wow, what a gem of a game Josh Beckett tossed into Dodgers folklore over the weekend! I can just see myself years from now bouncing my grandkids on my knee and telling them about that special moment that Grampa never got to see.

Roger Sypek

Lakewood

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My daughter asked me to remind her why we couldn’t watch Josh Beckett’s no-hitter on television the other day. She says the Dodgers have vanished almost like magic this year. I said yes, Magic and a cable company have a lot to do with it. Abracadabra Dodgers, you just made an 8-year-old fan disappear.

Rich Lang

Los Angeles

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Congratulations to the Dodgers’ Josh Beckett for pitching Time Warner Cable’s version of a perfect game:

No runs. No hits. One air-er.

Paul Feinsinger

Agoura Hills

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Times columnist Chris Erskine really doesn’t get business negotiations (“Amid Dodgers TV standoff, fans channel frustration”).

The only leverage Dodgers fans have in this dispute is to do nothing. No protest, no angry calls, emails or letters. Any show that fans are angry about this only strengthens TWC’s hand and weakens the other carriers’ position that the fees being asked by TWC are too high.

What this situation calls for is apathy. Do nothing. Say nothing. Care even less.

Just listen to the games on the radio and then watch game highlights on local news, ESPN or in a delicious bit of irony, on the Dodgers’ own website.

Charles L. Freeman Jr.

Baldwin Hills

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Just how stupid are major league ballplayers, anyhow? Another key player, A.J. Ellis, injured during a home plate “celebration.” Even a 10-year-old Little Leaguer knows enough not to injure his own teammate by jumping on him. Do Major League teams need a “Mommy” and “Daddy” to keep their players safe and under control?

Charles Jenner

Los Alamitos

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I’ll bet the No. 1 text message subject Tuesday night around 7:30 p.m. was, “The Dodger game is live on ESPN!!!”

Doug Beaver

Arcadia

No Landon

What could possibly be the reason why Juergen Klinsmann elected to not include Landon Donovan on the team? Top soccer players and knowledgeable critics around the world are dumbfounded. Here are three possibilities to ponder:

1. Klinsmann’s teenage son gave his dad a hard time about how much press Donovan was receiving over the past several months compared to his old pops. Said pops elected to show his kid what power can do…. Presto! Donovan is gone, kid laughs derisively on Twitter knowing Dad did this solely to prove who is omnipotent.

2. Klinsmann’s countrymen know that there is one possible weapon — Donovan — in the U.S. arsenal with the potential of stopping Germany (however remote that may be) from making it out of pool play. So Klinsmann, in tribute to his birthplace, simply stows the U.S. weapon in the armory stateside.

3. Klinsmann made too many promises, i.e., “You, neophyte player with yet-to-be-proven talent, will go to the World Cup,” to youngsters contemplating their national allegiance. To shoehorn in said youngsters and to show his omnipotence, he jettisons the most intelligent and still talented American player ever, and in the process raises the ire of an entire nation.

Karen Thompson

Pasadena

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The distraction created by Klinsmann’s decision will put additional pressure on the many young, inexperienced players to prove themselves worthy of having replaced Donovan and the few experienced players left will feel the pressure of filling the leadership role of one of, if not the best, soccer player in American history. Additional pressure is the last thing this team needs to confront the “Group of Death.”

Patrick Healy

Los Angeles

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Donovan’s complaint that he “deserves” to be on the U.S. World Cup roster misses the point. Or perhaps it points us to one reason he wasn’t included. Coaches don’t fill spots according to what players “deserve,” but according to what the team needs. For better or worse, Coach Klinsmann has decided the team right now has a greater need for players other than Landon. In addition to the purely technical considerations, Klinsmann may have been concerned about Donovan’s sense of entitlement.

Robert Newsom

Irvine

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Klinsmann leaves Landon Donovan off the USA World Cup team, explaining that he’s a step behind the younger players. Yep, just like at the last World Cup versus Algeria, when he was a step behind the play and tapped in the dramatic winning goal during stoppage time.

Brad Kearns

Auburn, Calif.

Tough choice

Wanted: Head coach for a team coming off a season in which it failed to win even one-third of its games but wants to contend for a championship right away. Must be able to deal with an arrogant owner who thinks he knows what he is doing, even though he doesn’t, get the approval of the star player without alienating the other players, and pacify the spoiled fans and media. It would also be beneficial if he can walk on water.

Gregg Scott

Los Angeles

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Re: “Buss heirs committee to pick a new coach”:

And a camel is a horse designed by a committee!

Ben Eisner

Westlake Village

Unlimited

The Kings know that not every playoff series has to go the full seven games, right?

Siena Murray

Northridge

Bid bid business

Donald Sterling has the last 2 billion laughs.

Robert Ostrove

Ventura

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Does this mean the Clippers games will be available only on Xbox?

Jeff Black

Beverly Hills

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