Letters to the Editor: Dodgers lost? Fake news. Just declare them the winners of the season. Let the season decide.
By David H. Brown:
The Dodgers lost last night. The Los Angeles Times had a small piece about it, but the headline was, “Dodgers lose Game 5 to Rangers.” There was no mention of any other teams, no mention of an inning ending blowout, or the loss ending up on the final line anyway.
The headline made me think that the Dodgers had lost, which they did, not to the Rangers, but to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. But I was wrong, and it’s easy to see why.
The Los Angeles Times wrote,
“Game 5 of the Texas Rangers’ elimination round playoff series was stopped early in the fifth inning at the Los Angeles Coliseum. With the score tied 1-1, the Rangers broke through for a crucial fifth-inning lead just as the Dodgers began to rally. And the Rangers scored to take a two-run lead.
“It wasn’t pretty from there, either as Texas piled on another five runs, sending the game to extra innings, which the Dodgers won, 3-1.”
In the final sentence of the story is the following tidbit. “The Dodgers lost Game 5, but they remain the top team in baseball.”
The story is false.
First, the story is based on a quote from Dodgers broadcaster David Bell from the field after Game 5 and on statements by the team’s public relations manager.
Secondly, the story is false because a reporter on the field was actually able to view the scoreboard during the delay.
And, third of all, the Dodgers just finished a two-game sweep of the Rangers. They took a 3-2 lead in Game 5, but Game 6 is still a few days away.
You might think that, after the Dodgers lost Game 5, they would get the last laugh and it would be a win all-around, but that’s not really the case. What is true is that the Rangers, at least in their view, won a Game 5 that they couldn’t have