Yes, Clark Won It--and Lasorda Lost It

The whole sports section seems devoted to the one pitch that beat the Dodgers. Did it ever occur to anyone that Tom Niedenfuer shouldn’t have ever been pitching to Jack Clark? Lasorda let Niedenfuer hit for himself with two outs, but a man on, in the bottom of the eighth! Sure, we had a one-run lead, but as we all found out, it wasn’t enough.

With a bench full of hitters and a slew of left-handed relievers (or starters for that matter), why in the hell did Lasorda pull that move?

Then, in the ninth, the second McGee singled he should have yanked Niedenfuer and put in any left-hander. Yes, Jack Clark won the game, but Tommy Lasorda lost it.

ROBERT C. LAMBERT

Burbank