Lakers facing a Lonzo quandary
Careful what you wish for, Bill Plaschke. If Lonzo Ball does indeed have NBAready skill sets (probably wishful thinking) and if he is coachable and possesses necessary leadership ability (at best unproven) and if a neophyte coach with one disastrous season under his belt can actually coach him, he’ll still be a rookie sent in to lead few unproven “rising stars” and a pack of underachieving journeymen. Realistically, the chances of a 30-win season remain remote.
If Jerry Buss were doing this, the draft choice would be packaged with one of the current kids and as much flostsam as possible, and flipped for a pair of solid veterans to create a stable core. Of course, if Dr. Buss were still alive, the Lakers wouldn’t be the pathetic wreck they currently are. And the status of a player’s father wouldn’t be any part of the conversation. Stephen Mattson
Los Osos, Calif. ::
I am one of those concerned about Lonzo Ball’s father, but Lonzo would be coming to a Lakers team with a coach who has had to deal with a very vocal, opinionated and strong-minded father.
My major concern is how Lonzo was pushed around by Kentucky in the NCAA Sweet 16. To be fair, the Bruins were sloppy and showed poor defense, which unfortunately sounds familiar to Lakers fans. The real question is, can he pull this type of team together and can he rise to the occasion? The caliber of play Ball faced in the NCAA tournament will be on display in every game he plays in the NBA. Michael Solomon
Canoga Park ::
It seems that the only ones bothered by LaVar Ball are fans and the media. The ones who really matter, namely Lonzo, his teammates and his coaches, have all indicated that they have no problem with him. As for Lonzo’s future employers, if any NBA coach or GM is sensitive to second-guessing or criticism, he’s in the wrong profession.
Yes, LaVar seeks publicity, but he gets it only because the media is using him to gain more viewers, listeners and readers. Blame them. Otherwise, he is no different from countless other overenthusiastic and outspoken sports parents. Bennett Beebe
Westwood
So Bill Plaschke thinks the Lakers should pick Lonzo Ball. That is reason enough not to select him. Axel Hubert
Los Angeles
He’ll manage
Dave Roberts has done a great job managing the Dodgers, with one exception: his handling of Clayton Kershaw. I won’t call Kershaw a bulldog — there is already one of those in Orel Hershiser. But he is a warhorse. There is no reason for Roberts to remove him after only 95 pitches in such a game. Kershaw may not need to finish every game, but there have been a couple of incidents this year when he deserved to stay in the game, and Wednesday was one of those times.
Saving pitchers for the late season is great. However, taking out your workhorse to be replaced by a trotter only annoys the best player in all of baseball. Mr Roberts, don’t poke the Clydesdale. No one knows Kershaw better than he knows himself. Bob Sands
La Habra
Dave Roberts must love to go home after a game to watch himself on TV. I can’t think of another reason for his often perplexing pitcher moves game after game. Chuck Mozena
Paso Robles
Tuesday night. Bottom of the ninth. Dodgers down 2-1. Two out. Man on base. Puig at the plate. Two strikes. Everyone in the world knows the next pitch. Slider, down and away. Result: a swing and a miss. Just like every other time. Nothing changes. David Weber
West Hollywood
No Angels buzz
I agree with Dylan Hernandez that there istn`much interest in Albert Pujols’ quest for 600 home runs in Anaheim. Yes, the excitement would be palpable in St. Louis in front of adoring fans. The other side of the coin is that the decision to sign for 10 years and about $250 million has been very good for him and not so good for the Angels. Vincent Carollo
Upland
In fairness to Mike Trout, the Angels should trade him. He is the best player in baseball today and may become the best in the history of baseball. He deserves to be on a competitive team that has a chance to play in the World Series. The Angels need young talent and could receive several top prospects in exchange. Meantime, the Angels are committed to Albert Pujols. Albert is reaching individual milestones, but baseball is a team sport, and fans want to see their team win, not an ex-Cardinal set records. George Ekins ::
Valencia
As a longtime Angels fan, I have watched sometimes in pain, and I have always thought they were doing the best with what they have, But Mike Scioscia has gone off the rails. He has consistently degraded the team and the organization. Arte Moreno had an opportunity, but he chose Scioscia over Jerry Dipoto. We are now watching as he sends C.J. Cron to the minors because he’s slumping at .232 and replaces him with a couple of slugs hitting 60 to 70 points lower.
We have watched this before, when Scioscia couldn’t wait to dump Mark Trumbo, and can you even remember who has played left since? Let me help: They all combine for about the same as Luis Valbuena and Jefry Marte.
:: Carl Teoli
Harbor City
One correction on your list of 600 home runs.
Put an asterisk next to Bonds, Sosa and Rodriguez. Anthony Filosa
Los Angeles
Super teams
Could you ever imagine, after losing numerous times to the hated Celtics, Jerry West saying if you can’t beat them, join them? That’s what Kevin Durant did this year. No matter how good Durant played this series, to me he’d rather get a token ring than try to be competitive. Richard Katz ::
Los Angeles
Everyone please stop this discussion that LeBron’s move to Miami is different from Durant’s move to Golden State. The bottom line is that they were both free agents. Free agent means you are free to sign with another team. Sometimes free agents elect to stay with their team, some don’t. The fact that Miami won a title after LeBron joined them and Durant is poised to win a title with Golden State is not their fault. It’s the fault of the teams that didn’t sign them. Deal with it. Steve Shaevel
Woodland Hills ::
The Cleveland Cavaliers needed to play well in Game 4 to give them confidence going into next year’s finals against Golden State. Yawn. Gary H. Miller
Encino
Thank you Golden State Warriors for officially ruining pro basketball. Ryan Madden
Huntington Beach ::
As my nominee for understatement of the year, Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue was quoted as saying of the Warriors, after they had decimated his team by 19 points, to go up two games to none: “They play well at home.” Jim B. Parsons
Carpinteria
Clean Dirtbags?
I would like to personally apologize to the Texas Longhorn fans, their players and coaches, and especially to Kody and Kacy Clemens for the rude and embarrassing chants of a group of young people who were at the Monday night baseball game at Blair Field in Long Beach. Ben Bolch was kind when he said the chants were “a bit cheeky.” I assure you, that those people are not the typical and loyal Dirtbags fans, but a small cluster of obnoxious, attention-seeking people. Cindy Frye
Long Beach
Horsing around
Great article Tuesday, where John Cherwa asked several questions of Tim Ritvo, who has been assigned the difficult task of revitalizing Santa Anita. The questions showed real understanding of the task, as did the answers.
I think maybe one additional question could have been asked by Mr. Cherwa: “Mr. Ritvo, do you think it would be helpful to your ‘mission’ for the L.A. Times to resume printing racetrack entries and results in the sports section”? Ralph Martinez
Arcadia
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