This just in: Bud Selig doesn't want Frank McCourt to own the Los Angeles Dodgers. This has been a well-known fact to a lot of people for a long time. Now McCourt has finally gotten the memo.
I'm sure you all know the story by now, so here's the abridged version of the McCourt saga. Frank and Jamie McCourt bought the Dodgers in 2004 and proceeded to use the team's finances as their own personal expense accounts. Instead of actually using that money for baseball-related purposes (like putting a competitive team on the field), the McCourts took out more than $100 million in "loans" from the team to support a ridiculously lavish lifestyle.
Well, now the McCourts are getting divorced, and all this dirty laundry has come out in court. The divorce trial has dragged on for two years now, and one of the points of contention is who actually owns the team. Frank claims he's the outright owner, while Jamie contends that the Dodgers are community property. If the judge agrees with Jamie, the team has to be sold, since Frank fired her from the organization and she wants nothing to do with it. They need to figure that out before they can do anything else. Meanwhile, the Dodgers don't have any money. The McCourts spent it all, either on themselves or on their divorce trial.
In April, Selig appointed former Rangers president Tom Schieffer to run the team, mainly because he was "concerned" about the team's organization and finances. There was concern that the Dodgers wouldn't meet payroll in May. Somehow they did, but now they've run into that same problem again. I don't need to tell you that not having the money to pay your employees is a bad thing. If the Dodgers don't meet their June payroll, Major League Baseball has the right to take over operation of the team, which seems inevitable.
In an effort to bring some much-needed money into the organization, Frank McCourt reached a $3 billion TV deal with FOX that would pay him $385 million upfront, enough to cover payroll and other Dodgers-related obligations (at least for a while). However, Selig rejected the deal. While on the surface, it seems like his obvious desire to get rid of McCourt was the main reason why the Commissioner vetoed the deal, his reasoning does make sense. Their current deal doesn't expire until 2013 and FOX was the only bidder for the new contract. Since Selig doesn't know who's going to own the Dodgers, he doesn't want them to get stuck with a TV contract that pays the team less than market value. Furthermore, a large portion of the $385 million WOULDN'T go to the team. Only $235 million would be used for the Dodgers, while the other $150 million would be spent on lawyer fees and other uses.
Not surprisingly, Frank McCourt is now suing Major League Baseball, claiming that there was no good-faith reason for Selig to reject the TV contract (as if that's going to earn him any brownie points with the commissioner's office). McCourt's lawyer said that he'll fight any attempt by Major League Baseball to take over the team and questioned Selig's intentions. He said that there seems to be a "predetermined result," which is to force McCourt to sell the Dodgers. While nobody can say that for certain except for Selig, most people agree that the lawyer is probably right. And like most "predetermined" results, it doesn't seem likely to change. Frank McCourt needs to come to grips with reality and sell the team of his own volition before the Commissioner makes him.
While Mets owner Fred Wilpon has had similar problems recently, the situations are completely different. For starters, Wilpon's only out of money because of Bernie Madoff. You can't blame that entirely on him. And if not for the $1 billion lawsuit by that guy who invested with Madoff, Wilpon would probably have been able to survive that hit. But he took another step in the right direction by selling a minority share of the team, which (when approved) will bring in much-needed capital.
Who knows how the Mets situation is going to pan out? Wilpon might end up having to sell the team. But that's not the point here. This is about Frank McCourt. Actually, no, scratch that. This is about the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers are one of the most storied franchises in the sport. What Frank McCourt's doing to them is sad, as well as embarrassing. Not to mention selfish. Walter O'Malley, probably one of only two owners in Dodgers history that anybody is actually going to remember (and the other guy put his name on Ebbets Field), moved the team cross-country because it was in the best interest of the franchise.
What has Frank McCourt done in the last two years that was in the best interest of the Los Angeles Dodgers? Not a thing. They play in the second-largest media market in the country and had a $103 million payroll last season, yet finished fourth in the NL West with an 80-82 record. This year they're even worse, currently 33-41. The only way things are going to change and the Dodgers are going to be the Dodgers again is for Frank McCourt to actually do something that's in the best interest of the franchise for once. He needs to accept the inevitable and sell the team.
ESPNLosAngeles.com's Tony Jackson agrees with me. Check out his blog.
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