Reader gives needle to Indians’ recent acquisition

Mr. Stein: The Indians recently took a flyer on Carlos Gonzalez. In 2015, his 40-home run season, Gonzalez hit 25 homers in a 50-game stretch that included home runs in four consecutive at-bats.

An article in (last Sunday’s) Dispatch mentioned Gonzalez’s radical decline in all facets of his game (the three-time Gold Glove winner is now a defensive liability) despite being just 33 years old.

It seems Gonzalez is following in the footsteps of Allen Craig, Carl Crawford, Prince Fielder, et al., as a guy who reaped the rewards of PEDS and has crashed and burned.

Players like this are a main reason that teams are leery of throwing huge money at the likes of Scooter Gennett.

Richard Zaborsky, Dublin

Richard: With all due respect, this seems to be a most cynical view, considering that no one on your list has been directly linked to steroid use. Baseball as a whole deserves such cynicism, I suppose, but still …

Editor: Who is your OSU beat writer kidding by saying Ohio State’s two quarterbacks are being given equal opportunities to showcase their talents for head coach Ryan Day?

If that were the case, Tate Martell would have stayed and competed against Justin Fields.

Let’s name Fields the starter and let the wins and losses be his and Day’s.

Dennis Stapleton, Vero Beach, Fla.

Dennis: I don’t think anyone would suggest that the wins and losses would land on anyone else. But what’s to gain by naming anyone the starting QB right now?

Mr. Stein: Dwayne Haskins Jr. could not wait to be an Ohio State Buckeye. Dwayne Haskins Jr. could not wait to leave Ohio State.

Vera L. Woodard, Circleville

Vera: These days, the end game for most players is the NFL. Not saying right or wrong, but it is what it is.

Ray: With all of the attention and discussion about the NCAA basketball tournament and the Buckeyes making the dance and even spring football practice at OSU, I’ve forgotten to check: How are the Blue Jackets doing?

The last thing I remember, they were headed out west with all of their new talent, looking to nail down a spot in the playoffs. How is that working out?

James Wilson, Columbus

James: You got the verb right — nailed. But I’m guessing the Jackets would rather talk about their brackets.

Ray: Regarding Steven Spring’s letter (Mailbox, last Sunday), a number of Browns have indeed gone to a Super Bowl. They just needed a ticket to enter the stadium.

Is it too early to begin planning the 2020 celebration of the 75th anniversary of Cleveland’s first-ever NFL championship?

The 1945 Cleveland Rams finished 9-1, then moved to Los Angeles, the only NFL champion ever to play the following season in another city.

Bob Stevenson, Columbus

Bob: I can think of a handful of Browns who actually won Super Bowls, including Paul Warfield and Bernie Kosar. To say nothing of the ex-browns on the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, a title Cleveland won’t be commemorating in 2020.

rstein@dispatch.com