Letters to Sports: What's going on with the Dodgers' broadcasters?
The letter last week is spot on. The constant banter between the occupants of the Dodgers broadcast booth has required me to mute the audio and watch the game in silence. Sometimes the subject is not even the game in progress, and they have been known to miss a play or two. I understand that each commentator has their own style. Having been raised on Vin Scully, who spoke to each of us like he was sitting beside us in our living room, we are pained by being ignored while the commentators talk to each other.
Richard Rorex
Apple Valley
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I am in complete agreement with the Joe Davis-Orel Hershiser talk show antics that fall way short of the incredibly high bar set by Vin Scully. However, fans with a similar opinion will not find the Dodgers brass, either individually or collectively, responsive to their calls for change. Over the years I’ve written to everyone ranging from each Guggenheim group member to Stan Kasten, and never once had so much as an acknowledgment. Fans only receive attention when the Dodgers press takes a negative turn, as with the recent [Shohei] Ohtani home run fiasco.
Bill Waxman
Simi Valley
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Maybe it’s hopelessly Old School to say it but … Vin Scully never giggled. Don Drysdale and Ross Porter never giggled. Joe Davis and Orel Hershiser clown around a bit but maintain a balance with the game at hand. Watching the Dodgers-Nationals games this week, Stephen Nelson and Jessica Mendoza, good as they may be, giggled throughout the game to the point of distraction. Perhaps they’re going for a sports bar party vibe, but it isn’t necessary. The show is on the field, not in the press box.
Marc Gerber
Encino
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To celebrate a friend's birthday I splurged for Dodgers tickets Wednesday. Between parking, tickets and concessions it cost me about $500 for average seats and a 2-0 loss to the Nationals. It seems expensive but considering the alternative is to stay home and watch the Dodgers telecast which comprises of slow-motion replays of the "Freddie Dance" and three hours of Jessica Mendoza giggling, I feel it was a bargain at twice the price.
Craig Poletti
San Dimas
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The letter last week complaining about Joe and Orel? How'd you like the guys on Sunday's game from ESPN? I couldn't bear it and turned them off. You need to be careful what you wish for.
Les Cannon
Camarillo
What's up, Doc?
The Dodgers win despite Dave Roberts. Michael Grove pitches a gem but the Dodgers do a bullpen game and start a rookie vs. Washington. James Outman has a slow start and then appears to start hitting. Roberts puts him in a platoon role and pinch-hits for him but not for Andy Pages or Gavin Lux. He burns through the bullpen and is obsessed with righty-lefty matchups. Let the players play!
Lance Oedekerk
Palm Desert
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Once again, Dodgers fans go crazy with unreal expectations, only to be let down when the team doesn’t win all of its first 21 games. A 12-9 record isn’t so bad considering we’re in first place with such an injury-plagued pitching staff. So relax Dodgers fans, and watch a few more weeks of Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and gang slugging the ball while the pitching staff rebounds. A 100-win season is still well within our grasp!
Marty Zweben
Palos Verdes Estates
Farewell, Carl
I have been fortunate enough to go to the Dodgers' Adult Fantasy Camp a few times. At every camp I was in the presence of baseball royalty, and one of the most beautiful people that I have ever met was Carl Erskine.
Yes he was a baseball legend, one of the almost-mythical “Boys of Summer.” But he was such a sincere and genuine person, who seemed to revel in the joy of others. I was a weekend warrior who pitched in a senior baseball league. Carl spent time with me teaching me about finger pressure and hand angle, how to put more spin on the ball, and when I achieved some success with his methods he seemed more excited about it than I was (and I was pretty excited). Thank you, Carl … I have a lump in my throat writing this, he was a very special man and he will be terribly missed.
Gary Turner
Santa Ana
Sweep the Nuggets!
Hey Lakers, here's your chance to shock the world! Don't just beat the Nuggets, sweep them back!
Go to the tapes for your best games against them, and everyone else. Then just play like that with nothing to lose.
You've done it, we've seen it, let's show everybody how it's done, one game at a time.
Gary Linquist
Morro Bay
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Now that the Lakers have made the playoffs via their victory in the exciting play-in round, it’s high time they move the in-season tournament banner to their training facility in El Segundo.
Ken Feldman
Tarzana
Hot Rod
I am no Arte Moreno apologist and know, like everyone else, the Angels would be much better off if he were to sell, but it sounds like Rod Carew thinks awfully highly of himself and that the Angels should put his interests above all else. Carew doesn't even have the Angels on his Hall of Fame plaque. Maybe they are holding that over his head just as he seems to be holding every single perceived slight over theirs.
Greg Wagner
Huntington Beach
Predictable reaction
Congratulations to Bill Plaschke on winning the Red Smith Award. Bill is a great sportswriter and a not-so-great prognosticator.
Vaughn Hardenberg
Westwood
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It’s a good thing Bill Plaschke didn’t PREDICT winning the Red Smith Award.
Jim Fredrick
Manhattan Beach
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.