Letters to Sports: For starters, no relief in sight for the Dodgers

I agree with Bill Plaschke that the Dodgers need pitching help in the bullpen and starting rotation. That’s only half of the story. The other half is the misuse of the bullpen by manager Dave Roberts. He seems to think relievers are interchangeable. That’s wrong. They need to know when and how they will be used. Roberts seems to think anyone can close. It’s Alex Vesia, no it’s Caleb Ferguson, no it’s Evan Phillips. Settle on one and bring stability to the bullpen.

Steven Mintz
Oceano

::

Somebody tell Dave Roberts that baseball games are nine innings, not six.

Kent Bullard
Glendale

::

Every Dodgers game there’s a repeated TV ad where Vin Scully calls Sandy Koufax’s perfect game. Were Roberts managing back then, that iconic historical moment likely would have never happened. Is the five-to-six inning replacement philosophy saving tired arms of starters? How many of them are on the injured list anyway?

Frederick Abrams
Los Angeles

::

The Dodgers go from first place to third place in just a few weeks with no sign of things improving any time soon and Dave Roberts says he’s “not concerned.” We want a manager who is concerned. Tom Lasorda would be more than just concerned. When will Roberts be concerned? When we’re 10 games out of first? 15 out?

R.D. McCall
Fallbrook

::

There may be no curse attached to the visit by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to Dodger Stadium, but last weekend’s pummeling of the Dodgers by the Giants got me thinking about the Curse of Billy the Goat and the Cubs’ 71-year wait.

Stephen Scheff
Woodland Hills

::

Kudos to Dodgers front office for bringing up Emmet Sheehan directly from double A. That took guts and so far is paying off big time.

Jack Wishard
Los Angeles

It’s entertaining to read how often Bill Plaschke’s on the wrong side of a prediction, but in the case of the Astros, he is spot on.

Despite only two players still active from that 2017 group of cheaters and manager Dusty Baker’s hope that Dodger fans “forget the past,” I hope every fan in attendance lets the Astros (and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred) know fans have long memories when justice is denied to them.

Ken Blake
Brea

::

Who goofed? I’ve got to know! Not that Dodger fans were ever in doubt, but now that Commissioner Rob Manfred has finally admitted he was wrong in his handling of the Astros’ cheating scandal, MLB should do the right thing and vacate the results of the 2017 World Series. Short of that, I’m pretty sure someone in the league office knows how to type an asterisk.

Brian Lipson
Beverly Hills

::

Bill Plaschke’s obsessive hatred of the Astros does little more than reveal how small-minded he is.

The Dodgers lost Game 7 in their own ballpark sans Astros trash cans. But that was only one of many crucial postseason failures of his cherished Dodgers over many years — the only exception being a season played under bizarre circumstances — arguably one that didn’t “really” count. Whining excuse after excuse and blame it on the Astros.

Kip Dellinger
Santa Monica

The best baseball player in the world today will be considering stratospheric contract offers from teams this coming winter. The Angels can simply put a definite stop to this upcoming bidding circus by signing Shohei Ohtani to a new contract deserving of his performance and skills at the end of this season. Owner Arte Moreno has a history of signing players to undeserving exorbitant contracts, such as Albert Pujols recently. The Angels will not be making this same mistake with Ohtani for sure. Just give the modern day Babe Ruth what he deserves and keep him playing for the Angels.

Wayne Muramatsu
Cerritos

::

In pinning a loss on the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani to sweep the Freeway Series, the Dodgers also sent a message: If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.

Steve Ross
Carmel

I’m not a Lakers scout, but what on earth could have prompted them to use their first-round pick on some 20-year-old freshman out of Indiana with just one year of college ball behind him, instead of UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr., a proven commodity with an amazing work ethic who propelled his Bruins and himself to national prominence over the past four years?

The fact that Miami, drafting next, didn’t hesitate to take Jaime speaks for itself. Seems to me that Pat Riley and his Miami cohorts can’t be thanking the Lakers enough, while Jaime will have to vanquish his dreams of a relatively easy commute from his Camarillo home to Crypto.com Arena.

Marty Zweben
Palos Verdes Estates

What a breath of fresh air to read the article on LACC golf director Tom Gardner. In an age where everything, including sports, has morphed into Big Business, Sam Farmer’s piece was truly a joy. I use the word “joy” with intention because it imbues the entire article.

From start to finish, Gardner’s appreciation of the entire tournament experience was beautifully chronicled. True, nothing he did mattered in the outcome — he was a “non-competitive marker,” essentially a placeholder. True the tournament winner collected $3.6 million, but Tom Gardner collected a priceless lifetime memory.

Ralph Martinez
Arcadia

::

After reading the article titled “After no Black golfers qualify for the U.S. Open, USGA president pushes to improve access,” I wonder why the USGA only made available 9,000+ U.S. Open daily public tickets that limited access and caused escalating pricing. Their exclusive U.S. Open strategy strangely is the exact opposite to opening the sport of golf to more diverse populations and social classes. Shame on the USGA.

Joe Marando
Burbank

::

If the PGA decides to have the U.S. Open in LACC in another 75 years, it’ll be 75 years too soon. Uninspired action, LIV players, worst announcers ever. What a shame!

Jesse Guevara
Pico Rivera

I am shocked to read that Memphis guard Ja Morant has been suspended for the first 25 games for flashing a gun in a social media video. With all due respect to NBA officials, who do not deserve any respect, unless Ja Morant flashes a gun while making a dunk shot on the court during an official NBA game, keep the name Ja Morant out of your mouth. What he does off the court is none of the NBA’s business. I hope the players on his team show some support and refuse to play in any games that Mr. Morant is not allowed to play in.

Michael Gabriel
Los Angeles

::

Adam Silver probably wanted to give Ja Morant a year but he couldn’t because Morant is a star and the NBA is built around stars. The commissioner knows what side his bread is buttered on.

Jack Spiegelman
Los Angeles

::

The Los Angeles Times welcomes expressions of all views. Letters should be brief and become the property of The Times. They may be edited and republished in any format. Each must include a valid mailing address and telephone number. Pseudonyms will not be used.

Email: sports@latimes.com