Category — Frank McCourt

If ever there were a group that needed a fresh start it is the Dodgers. For them, the All-Star Break is already too late.
Their season is flushed down 1 toilet while the franchise itself circles yet another. A once proud organization is now left in the rubble of an ugly divorce, a joke of an ownership and a horrible product on the field.
We have played just over half the season and it is difficult to generate any positive reviews out of the Dodger camp. The Angels? Where do we start? As expected, they are in a race with the Rangers.
For the Dodgers though, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, who is having an MVP-type season, have hit well and Clayton Kershaw has delivered on the mound, but that’s it.
The Boys of Summer are now the Boys of Blunder.
While the Dodgers are the worst story so far, the Pirates are the best.
The Pirates, a joke since a thinner Barry Bonds left and doubled his hat size in San Francisco, have been a blast. They are in a playoff race—only 1 game back of the Cardinals and Brewers in the NL Central—and 2 games above .500. This is unheard of in almost 2 decades.
Behind new manager Clint Hurdle, the Pirates have taken their low-budget brand of baseball to new heights. While they may not win a championship, or even a division, at least they are entertaining for all the right reasons, unlike the Dodgers.
Pittsburgh is young, fun and exciting. It will squeeze in a winning run 1 day and jack a game-winning 3-run shot on the next day. And they are doing it with a group of relatively no-names and even fewer big contracts.
Arizona is another feel-good story. The Diamondbacks are just 1 decade removed from greatness, but have now have a young and exciting team, giving the Giants a run in the NL West.
Where once they used big-name, high-priced veterans to win a title, this group of desert dogs is doing it much cheaper.
Both teams are showing us how to be creative and win games.
Sure, the Yankees and Red Sox are among the best in baseball with their huge budgets and the ability to pay players more than anyone, but that no longer is a guaranteed formula for winning.
The punk-ass Cubs spend big money. And what have they won? The White Sox added big contracts and still can’t beat the Twins or practically anyone else in their division. Look at Cleveland. The Indians are another great story, making a run for the AL Central title as well.
The Mets? Well at least they are playing better, but they will fade in the 2nd half. Heck, even the Nationals are looking good and the future is bright for them. Just what the game needs.
For the 1st half, baseball gave us all hope. Maybe the little guys do have a fighting chance.
There will always be the big boys winning more than their share. The Yanks, BoSox and Phillies frequently shop for big deals and primo talent and attempt to buy a title every season, but hope comes from the Pittsburgh’s, Arizona’s and 1 day maybe the Royals. OK, at least we can hope.
And let’s hope for an even better 2nd half.

We’ve seen more scoring in the men’s room.
It doesn’t get any worst than this. The Dodgers and the Padres are 2 of the most punchless offenses in Major League Baseball, so it wasn’t too surprising to see another scoreless duel reach the 9th with both clubs combining for 1 hit. The lone 1 was by the Padres, but in the final inning, a strange thing happened for the home team.
Juan Uribe, of all people, broke up a combined no-hitter by Padres’ pitching, lining a double off reliever Luke Gregerson and over the head of leftfielder Chris Denorfia with 2 out in the 9th. Then, another big-time slugger, light-hitting Dioner Navarro, followed with a single to center to score Uribe for the game-winning run.
“I’ve seen some crazy things in my 9 years in the big leagues,” Padres second baseman Orlando Hudson told the Associated Press, “but that’s the way the game goes. So what are you going to do? You just keep playing.”
For the Padres, they might consider quitting. For the 2nd straight game, they were blanked by the Dodgers and suffered a crushing loss. Friday night, they had the bases loaded with no outs in the 9th and still couldn’t score in another 1-0 Dodger win.
“We Take Our Team Back:” An estimated 75 fans took their protest to Dodger Stadium to express their disgust with shabby owner Frank McCourt.
ESPN LA

Mark Trumbo delivered a walk-off home run as the Angels slipped past the Mariners and remained hot. Though the debut of the highly-touted Mike Trout was the buzz of the day, Trumbo, another rookie, sent the fans shouting into the night.
O.C. Register
Dodgers 1, Padres 0: The 1st club to score wins.

The paychecks of some part-time security personnel and ushers of the Dodgers bounced this week.
ESPN.com

Tommy Lasorda used to proudly proclaim how he bled Dodger blue. Now this franchise is oozing red ink.
The Dodgers, 1 of the storied franchises in all of American sports, have hit rock bottom. The club filed for bankruptcy Monday. In Delaware no less.
It is a fitting next step in this once-proud franchise’s spiral to nowhere.
Thank you Frank and Jamie McCourt.
It is not only their ugly, front-page divorce that has embarrassed the Dodgers and their fans, it is a lot of other things as well.
The club is simply a mess. Has been for a long time. This is just the latest proof.
Paydays, instead of the playoffs, are bigger question marks.
This is a franchise that used to be the envy of all. They owned their own land for spring training, had a beautiful park to play in and a winning organization both on and off the field. They were the darlings of Hollywood.
They even were the 1st to break the color barrier. Then they headed west. Now they are headed into the abyss.
Known more for their owner’s personal problems and the fact a visiting fan was beaten to near death earlier this year, the days of this being a model franchise are long gone.
Former owner Walter O’Malley must be rolling over in his grave.
And let’s not blame this on anybody else but the owners, who treated this franchise not like the Christmas gift they should cherish and handle with care. No, these 2 were like little kids on Christmas morning, ripping open the boxes and throwing around their new toys until they broke.
Just like bickering siblings, both want to blame the other. Worst yet, Frank McCourt wants to blame Major League Baseball for his woes.
Now that is typical California style right there. Ruin everything and then blame everybody but yourself. In this case, the McCourts have run out of fingers to point at others. Neither 1 has pointed 1 at themselves either.
It’s hard to say just when we arrived at this rough spot. When Fox bought the team from O’Malley everything changed. The club went after free agents and quick fixes. Valued employees were thrown under the bus. Most importantly, the feel inside Dodger Stadium changed from a family affair to a Jerry Springer show.
With it, the club made a few playoffs, but never returned to the World Series.
California was changing as well, and the Dodgers completed the unthinkable when they dipped below the Angels in local interest. And the Angels did it by hiring an ex-Dodger as manager and seized the opportunity by changing their name to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Talk about kicking sand in somebody’s face.
What’s left is the wreckage that resembles the aftermath of a frat party gone bad. Garbage is everywhere and nobody has the money left to fix anything. Unable to call their parents for help, the rich McCourt kids are begging for help from the court system. Good luck with that.
The McCourts say if only Commissioner Bud Selig had allowed their super-huge TV deal with Fox to go through, none of this would be happening. Maybe not at this moment, but if there is 1 thing you learn by watching the rest of California is this: Everybody has to pay up at some time.
Now it is the Dodgers’ turn.
It is just sad to see this team, which was always considered one of the top 3 with the Cardinals and Yankees, fall so far.
Again, thank you Frank and Jamie. Nice work.

Unfortunately, the Dodgers’ owner will continue to drag the storied franchise through the mud in his fight to keep it despite yesterday’s ruling by Bud Selig.
ESPN LA

I doubt punk-ass Cub fans have to worry about any of their players attending.
With the exception of Wimbledon and the College World Series, Major League Baseball has the sports stage all to itself again. Next month, MLB celebrates its annual All-Star game in Phoenix. In a sometimes rambling piece about some of baseball’s awful history with Latin players, writer Jonathan Mahler uses his stage to hammer the hypocrisy (and silence) of Bud Selig. Mahler also wouldn’t mind seeing some of MLB’s top Latin players boycott the game because of Arizona’s anti-immigration stance. Initially, this was a hot-button issue for MLB, but the chorus of critics died down over the last few months.
Still, it will probably heat up again as we move closer to July 12, the date of the game.
N.Y. Times

McCourt was a finalist for ownership of the Red Sox before Bud Selig would approve the train wreck that would become the Dodgers years later. And Fay Vincent wants to call out Mark Cuban? Just after he’s won an NBA title? We don’t make this shit up.
Vincent has gone the Leonard Tose route, as the great Jim Healy would describe it. The former commissioner of MLB compares Cuban to the late George Steinbrenner. Come again? Maybe we missed something, but we never thought of Cuban as a thug.
The good old boys network of owners could do themselves a favor and let Cuban into their club as owner of the Dodgers. It won’t happen of course. Baseball has never been mistaken with an open mind.
Dallas Morning News

I can still see the horror in the face of my good friend Josh Jenisch, who has a serious case of Red Sox breath, when I’d casually mention how the history of baseball would have been forever changed had Bud Selig allowed Frank McCourt to buy the Red Sox. The Cards would have at least 1 more banner. Image the chants in Yankee Stadium.
He’s hijacked the team for what, 7 or so years? Think he could hold up the club with litigation for a few more?
McCourt humored us all today by going all gangster on Selig while 1 of Selig’s henchmen was setting up shop in L.A. Settle down, Frank. Missy isn’t even done with you yet.
Seriously, we’re as disgusted as Dodger fans are with McCourt, but baseball is in uncharted waters (at least to my knowledge) yanking an owner’s membership to the club. Does this stand up in court? And how long will that take?
ESPN LA

Commissioner Bud Selig stripped Dodger owner Frank McCourt of financial control of the club today in a stunning move that surely will be praised by most Dodger fans.
Now if Bud really wants to fire up the Dodger joint, he’ll allow Mark Cuban up in the club.
L.A. Times