“Letters to Sports: Dodgers Finally Make Convincing Performances in the Playoffs.”

As Dodgers fans, our fears about the lack of hitting and flat pitching that plagued too many Dodgers in the postseason were finally put to rest by eliminating the San Diego Padres. And to our pleasant surprise, not only did the Dodgers' bats come to life when they were needed most, but who would have thought that a weak starting pitching rotation and an as-yet-unproven bullpen would produce a top-five batting line in the postseason would completely shut down for 24 consecutive innings!

Both were welcome signs that gave the Dodgers a deeper playoff run than in previous seasons. Carry on!

Rick Solomon
Balboa Lake

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Having finally gotten rid of the pesky Padres, our Dodgers can now focus on the Mets, who pulled off an upset in the playoffs. If things go as expected, the World Series will be Dodgers vs. Yankees, and who wouldn't want to see that again? Baseball has finally returned to its glorious past.

Marty Zweben
Palos Verdes Estates

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2017: Yu Darvish loses the series-clinching, winner-take-all game at Dodger Stadium after giving up multiple home runs.

2024: Yu Darvish loses the series-clinching, winner-take-all game at Dodger Stadium after giving up multiple home runs.

Amazing how the more things change, the more they stay the same!

Nick Rose
Newport coast

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Kiké Hernández brings great energy to playoff games. He is a catalyst to relieve pressure for his teammates. He has to play every playoff game. And his scoop at third base for the final out was spectacular. This ball could have easily bounced through for a double.

David Waldowski
Laguna Woods

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This Dodgers Game 5 NLDS win was brought to you by Hernandez Bros. Demolition Co. “Tearing down San Diego since 2024.”

Axel W. Kyster
Bradbury

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Against all odds, Wednesday night's combined shutout against a hot Padres team was an incredible performance by the Dodger bullpen and a masterstroke by manager Dave Roberts.

If our season ends in disappointment and anyone's head turns, it should be Andrew Friedman, who throws hundreds of millions of dollars at weak pitchers who can't go the distance and oversees a pitching program that has far too many young ones , blowing out promising arms!

David Reynolds
Marysville

Defense of Doc

I'm writing this letter before Game 5 of the NLDS between the Dodgers and the Padres because the result won't change my mind.

Dave Roberts should be named National League Manager of the Year.

I know a lot of people want him fired if the Dodgers lose to the Padres. How many of you this year experienced the adversity that Roberts endured and still kept winning? He deftly managed to overcome seemingly endless injuries to pitchers and position players, creating a culture of winning and fun among superstars and numerous new players throughout the year.

Let's all applaud the Dodgers and Dave Roberts for a great season.

Linda Salzman
Rancho Palos Verdes

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Debunking some common criticisms of Dave Roberts:

A team with the best record in baseball should, in most cases, win the World Series.

Unlike football or basketball, every team in the MLB playoffs has a legitimate chance to win the championship. In the last 30 full seasons, the team with the best regular season record has won the World Series just six times.

If the Dodgers don't win the World Series, they shouldn't be beaten, at least in the early rounds.

Of the seven teams Roberts lost to in the playoffs, five won the World Series.

Roberts doesn't cheer on his players.

If a player playing for the World Cup and earning an eight-figure salary can't motivate himself, he needs to find another career.

Bennett Beebe
Westwood

Goes too far

Bill Plaschke's column about Dodgers fans' bad behavior in Game 2 is spot on. It was an embarrassment for all the fans and LA. There is no excuse for such reckless behavior. Throwing objects from the stands poses danger to the opposing team.

Steven Mintz
Oceano

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Bill Plaschke wrote a column rightly condemning Dodgers fans for what happened in Game 2, but he went way too far. Yes, a small group of probably overserving fans embarrassed themselves at the game by throwing objects onto the field, but to suggest that all Dodgers fans should be embarrassed to wear their gear around town is pointless. And he barely addressed the root cause of the incident, which was a professional athlete openly taunting the opposing crowd. Jurickson Profar should be fined by the MLB for this inflammatory behavior given his propensity to instigate exactly what happened.

Alan Abajian
Alta Loma

Fight or flight

With USC losing five of its last seven games due to a series of mistakes and poor play, someone needs to remind coach Lincoln Riley that the cheer is “Fight On!” not “Fold On!”

Rob Raban
Huntington Beach

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After the first two games of the season, Times columnists Bill Plaschke and Dylan Hernández fell over themselves to declare USC a national championship contender. The Trojans are currently ranked 13th in the Big Ten and are no longer ranked. When are these so-called experts going to release their retractions or are they still drinking the Riley Kool-aid?

Jack Nelson
Los Angeles

Strike with the voters

Reading Bill Shaikin's interview with ex-Padres and ex-Dodgers player Steve Garvey is enough to make me a Giants fan. Almost.

Hans Laetz
Malibu

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.