It’s a brilliant idea, the eight-man starting rotation. Think about it: Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and now Blake Snell.
Talk about a battery of weapons, and no one has to play more than twenty games from May to September. At six innings per game, that’s no more than 120 innings during the regular season, leaving the top five fresh for October, a rested bullpen and Walker taking the ball when it matters most.
Peter Maradudin
Seattle
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In 1963, when the Dodgers defeated the Yankees in the World Series, every player in the starting lineup except Yankees import Bill Skowron was a homegrown Dodger. Now, 61 years later, only two players, Will Smith and Gavin Lux, fit that description. It is not that Ohtani is an agent of change, as Dylan Hernández suggests; it’s deep-pocketed ownership that has turned the sport into a tragic annual display for the haves and have-nots.
Bill Waxman
Simi Valley
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I know I’m dating myself, but I remember in 1966 the two greatest pitchers were Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. Both star pitchers held out for contracts worth $100,000 each. Both pitchers ultimately won that dispute with the Dodgers.
Fast forward to today’s news. Blake Snell’s five-year, $182 million contract works out to about $36 million per season. Assuming Snell can reach his prime of 180 innings pitched, his income would top out at $200,000 per inning. At best, Snell makes as much in just one inning as Koufax and Drysdale combined in an entire season. Oh, and by the way, in 1965 both Koufax and Drysdale threw over 300 innings.
Fred Gober
Playa Vista
A victory for letter writers
Bill Plaschke, in his typical hyperbolic prose, characterized the Trojans’ victory over the Bruins as a “huge win.” In fact, the victory was anything but grand: the lowly Bruins’ defense held the Trojans to just one touchdown, while their mediocre offense racked up more passing and rushing yards than the Trojans, while averaging more yards per carry and a higher success rate. These statistics suggest that the Trojans were simply lucky to prevail.
Noel Johnson
Glendale
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When Lincoln Riley was hired, my dream of the Trojans’ return to glory didn’t include a spot in the Maybelline Mascara Bowl against the Scottsdale Artichokes. Oh, Clay Helton, we barely knew you.
Denys Arcuri
India
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The “other school” that downgraded Bruins coach DeShaun Foster as less intelligent than UCLA somehow fooled his wise boys with a trick to help win the city championship.
Who is smarter now?
Brian Robinette
Van Nuys
Sign of the starting times
I thought if UCLA and USC joined the Big Ten it would improve scheduling because more games would be available at an earlier time. But it seems nothing has changed. Gone are the days when rival fans would gather in the afternoon and watch the match together and criticize each other and see who has the last laugh. Now we look at it ourselves and sometimes we don’t even finish the game at half past eleven at night.
Luis Cruz
La Mirada
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What’s wrong with this photo? I watch the Cal and Arizona State home games on TV at 3:30 PM EST, but have to wait until 10:30 PM to see USC vs. View UCLA.
Mitchell Cohen
East Windsor, NJ
Avid coaches
In one season, the Chargers defense has transformed from a train wreck to top 10 in the NFL under new defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, with the same personnel. With Minter’s roots firmly established in SoCal, would it be so far-fetched to see Minter become USC’s new head coach once Lincoln Riley negotiates a buyout to bail out the Dallas Cowboys? Minter also has experience coaching in the Big Ten.
Eric Weinsheink
Beverly Hills
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I read Sam Farmer’s excellent article about coaches Jim and John Harbaugh, “Brothers in Arms Keep the Rivalry on the Sidelines.” The conclusion I came to is that the Chargers have the wrong Harbaugh.
Vaughn Hardenberg
Westwood
Brakeshow
Here’s what coach JJ Reddick said about the Lakers’ loss to Denver: “We stopped playing.” Are they too tired after 15 games? Are they not paid enough? Is Reddick paid enough to explain what that means?
Both losses at home, against Orlando and Denver, were against teams that had played the night before, and Orlando’s best players were out. I don’t understand. I never just stopped working. These spoiled millionaires make more in one game than most fans make in a year.
Can someone explain to the fans what’s wrong with the Lakers?
Steven Lee Jacobs
Oxnard
Arte and the angels
Despite the optimism reflected in some articles about the Angels this past week, nothing will happen to improve their chances of making the playoffs until Arte Moreno sells the team. It doesn’t matter what Mike Trout can or can’t do, nor how the new pitcher performs yada yada yada. As long as Arte is at the helm, the angels are doomed.
Susan Stann
Temecula
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
