Backtalk: Seattle Times sports letters to the editor for the week.
Mariners
Why he’ll ‘never give another dime’
Thank you for Geoff Baker’s excellent article on the Mariners (“When it comes to loyalty, Mariners fans sorely lacking,” Monday). You describe perfectly why this 65-year-old lifelong baseball fan loathes the organization and will never give another dime of my money.
Bronson Swanson, Seattle
Some things never change
The season just started and the Mariners have reached into their old bag of tricks, scoring the fewest runs, and my personal favorite, hitting home runs with absolutely no one on base. Some things never change.
Tony Snorteland, Suquamish
New everything, same old M’s
Most Read Sports Stories
News Item: Mariners lose in ninth. Unable to score runners in scoring position.
New coach. New players. Same ol’ Mariners!
Martin Bernstein, Seattle
New manager makes difference
Once again, the Mariners start sluggish, but I’m still interested in this Seattle team. A new manager will make a big difference.
Gary Sutherland, Seattle
This offense is Class AAA-caliber
Through an admittedly small sample of games, a familiar old bugaboo is making its presence known: a dearth of hitting. Forget about clutch hitting. I’m talking hitting, period.
With sweeping regime change, maybe this is about to change. But for now, we continue to suffer from the most haunting stamp of the Jack Zduriencik years — the apparent inability of anybody in the organization to spot young hitters with major-league potential. It seems our scouts were more focused on impressive college stats (see Zunino, Mike) than on swings tailored to make contact with big-league pitching.
If not for Cano and Cruz, we would be fielding a Class AAA-caliber offense.
Lew Witham, Seattle
And this is what you get
When you have an ownership group that does not seem to care if the team wins or loses, a front office that rarely seems to fire anyone, a manager who has never managed a team before, and wealthy players who seem to show no real camaraderie, this is what you get.
Denny Birk, Seattle
Women’s hoops
Awe, appreciation for UConn’s genius
UConn’s era should end when another program reaches its level. Until then, all should be encouraged to watch in awe and appreciation of what it’s doing.
Genius should never be underrated and is never bad for the game.
Bruce Fine, Seattle
Kobe Bryant
Won’t miss him for even a second
Maybe it’s just me, but I found it more than fitting that Kobe Bryant’s last game fell on the same night the Golden State Warriors broke the Chicago Bulls’ all-time NBA victory total.
Will I miss him playing? Not for a second. But a part of me will miss his bravado, which fell along the lines of Michael Jordan or Reggie Miller. The league seems to lack that these days.
Creig Hamstad, Kenmore
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Letters bearing real names, addresses and telephone numbers for verification are considered for publication. Please limit letters to 125 words or less.They are subject to editing and become the property of The Times. Mail to: Backtalk, Seattle Times Sports, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111. Or email to: sports@seattletimes.com