Letters: Dodgers get another step closer to the promised land

Kenley Jansen sitting on the bench cartoon.

Oct. 9, 2020 3:08 PM PT

If Dave Roberts does not win a World Series this year, he may have to move in with Doc Rivers in Philadelphia.

Richard Katz
Los Angeles

When will The Times realize that playoff Clayton Kershaw is not regular-season Kershaw? Jorge Castillo refers to Kershaw’s “strong six-inning performance” against the Padres. Did he not see the three runs Kershaw yielded, including his all-too-frequent two home runs in the playoffs? That means his earned-run average for the game was 4.50. In what baseball world is that a strong performance?

Mark Kaiserman
Santa Monica

(Editor’s note: Three earned runs in six innings is considered a “quality start” by MLB. Go figure.)

The Dodgers were the class of the series with the Padres for one simple reason: The beautiful blue and white with a touch of red uniforms of the Dodgers appear to be designed by angels in heaven. The uniforms of the Padres appear to be designed by the inmates from “The Shawshank Redemption.”

There may be a touch of partisanship in my observation.

Richard Dennison
Goleta

To the Houston Astros and particularly to their shortstop clamoring for respect: If you want the respect of knowledgeable fans across the country, turn in your rings to MLB, and donate your financial gains to causes more important than your bank accounts. Everyone knows that you didn’t earn the rings, or the money — you stole those things. You didn’t trust in your own abilities, so you cheated just to make sure.

Correa and his teammates are very talented and athletically a joy to watch. Ability and talent? 100%. Character? Not even close.

Tom Krenek
Irvine

Dylan Hernandez, get over it! The Astros outplayed and outmanaged the Dodgers in 2017. The Dodgers play in the weakest division in baseball for their lofty record; past and present. By the way, Cody Bellinger stole the MVP from Anthony Rendon last year. Clearly the better player did not get the award and yet the sun came up the next day. Check the grassy knoll.

Michael Anderson
Canyon Country

Once again, Dodgers fans are betrayed by the greedy cable TV industry and MLB. We could see the NL Division Series only on Fox Sports 1, which is not available on basic cable. Even worse, Game 3 was available only on MLB, yet another additional expense. Meanwhile the ALDS is available on TBS via basic cable. Why were NL fans and especially Dodgers fans being punished?

Gail Rock
Santa Monica

Getting defensive

In Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Lakers and Heat, I wondered why Jimmy Butler was indefensible. That changed in Game 4, and the insightful Dan Woike provided the answer. Frank Vogel is the Dr. Fauci of basketball and Anthony Davis proved it.

Richard Woo
La Cañada

Pac-men

So J. Brady McCollough thinks the Pac-12 missed the marquee by not scheduling USC and Oregon to face each other. I disagree. Because the Pac-12 plays nine conference games while some of the other Power 5 conferences play only eight, it has been cannibalizing itself for the past several years, making it harder for its teams to reach the College Football Playoff. Finally a smart move by the Pac-12, if you ask me.

Stephen Mazmanian
Redondo Beach

Passings

You look up the word perseverance in the dictionary and you’ll find former Dodgers outfielder Lou Johnson’s picture. He toiled in the minors for eight years before making his major league debut at 33, the age when some retire. His career was anything but distinguished, but he had a couple of moments in the sun during the 1965 season.

I guess we can learn from him that he can inspire us to take advantage of situations that come our way and never give up on our dreams.

RIP Sweet Lou.

Craig London
Simi Valley

In an era of 3-4 hour games, it’s almost inconceivable to remember that Bob Gibson often pitched games of 90 minutes. Watching modern hitters dither in and out of the batting box, adjusting their batting gloves, we laughed at what Gibson would do if a batter tried that baloney.

“Chin music,” it’s called.

David Wilczynski
Manhattan Beach

The Kings’ Bailey is the best mascot in sports. Having said that, the actor who portrayed him engaged in severe and pervasive sexual harassment of Kings employees who reported to him. I hope the actor’s replacement will be equally entertaining without the negative conduct.

Bailey does much good in the community. He came to my house for a Boys and Girls Club event that was huge hit with the kids from the club. And he spent several hours with the son of a police officer who had been killed in an off-duty accident. The boy said it was the best day of his life.

The actor portraying Bailey must meet high standards in all aspects of his job. Go Kings.

Jon Monat
Long Beach

L.A. wisdom

In this wild 2020 year of sports, this Los Angeles fan for over half a century has come to three realizations:

LeBron James is the greatest player of all time (sorry, Magic).

The designated hitter needs to be adopted by the National League.

There is no improving the old Rams helmets.

Michael Tzipori
Ventura

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