L.A. Story

Los Angeles seems to be the epicenter of the baseball world in recent days. Not only are there on-field stories that we'll get into later, but there have been some ugly incidents off the field as well. Now, if you don't know the name Frank McCourt, don't be embarrassed. Most fans don't know the names of owners of any team other than the one they root for, and even then it's not a given. Which is often a good thing, because owners in the news aren't usually good. And with that stipulation, let us begin the story of the L.A. Dodgers.

It has been a rough year for the Dodgers so far. First, Opening Day was marred by an act of violence by two Dodger fan thugs, who badly beat a San Francisco fan. This incident not only scarred the baseball world, but cast an terrible light on the city of L.A. In due fairness it must be said that these types of hooligan fans, while disgraceful and disgusting, are unfortunately in every city, so this isn't something specific to L.A. The team tried to recover from the ugly incident and get back to playing baseball, and they are doing a good job of that as they sit just three games back in the NL West right now.

Then the bombshell dropped that MLB commissioner Bud Selig was going to seize control of the franchise, and appoint a representative to oversee the day-to-day operations of the club. This was due primarily to the fact that McCourt had recently taken out a loan from Fox Entertainment Group to cover the $30 million April payroll of the team. This might have appeared underhanded to Mr. Selig as the Dodgers franchise was also in talks with Fox over $3 billion worth of TV rights for the club. Whatever Bud's reasons, he has now taken a step that few commissioners have ever dreamed of taking.

What could have led to just dire consequences for the millionaire owner of one of the most storied franchises in baseball? A divorce, plain and simple. Since his purchase of the team in 2004, Frank McCourt ran the Dodgers with his wife Jamie, who was the team CEO. October 14, 2009, it was announced that the couple was separating after 30 years of marriage. On October 22 of that year, Jamie was fired as the first female CEO of a baseball team resulting from the Dodgers missing the playoffs. Official divorce proceedings followed soon after. The resulting legalities became a stalemated and cantankerous brawl. Some of the odder characteristics of the battle according to the L.A. Times include: "side-by-side homes in Holmby Hills and Malibu, the Dodgers charging themselves millions in rent each year, the payments to Russian physicist Vladimir Shpunt for channeling positive thoughts to the team" and most recently an invalid legal agreement that would have given sole control of the team to Frank McCourt. It was upon this basis that Bud Selig must have seen the fruits of the franchises' doom, and chose to step in to save the team.

Whether the commissioner was justified in his move is argumentative. There are some who believe McCourt will sue Major League Baseball, and stands a good chance of winning seeing as how not every franchise is treated the same when it comes to financial issues. Take, for instance, the New York Mets. The Mets are in a legal struggle over some $1 billion worth of funds being sought by the trustee representing the Bernie Madoff victims. While Wilpon was a victim himself, the trustee claims that Wilpon knew of the Ponzi scheme and made money off of the other victims. Even with this case entrenched, the Mets still managed to get a short-term loan from Major League Baseball for $25 million dollars, which must be paid back by the end of the year. While the Wilpon ownership could fall into question in the coming months, it's interesting to see the differences in how the two teams were handled. Fred Wilpon is a personal friend of Bud Selig. To my knowledge, Frank McCourt is not. Did that have any bearing as to how the separate teams were approached by the commissioner's office? It's hard to see how it did not.

This was not the first time that the larger baseball world had to step in and help save the Dodgers franchise. There is a fantastic free article at www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=13668 that covers the complexities of early Dodger owner Charles Ebbets and his financial ills. Will this time be different, and can the Dodgers continue to succeed on the field as the ownership is such a state of limbo? "Business as usual" is what Sports Illustrated writer Tom Verducci is hearing out at Dodger Stadium, but with stars like Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier being due for large arbitration raises after this year, the money is going to talk. If a solid, bankable owner can't be found, the beloved Bums may be in for some rough years ahead.

Mr. Ethier is trying his best to make people forget about these woes for now. He is in the midst of a 19-game hitting streak, and looks like he is capable of much more. Ethier is an extremely solid hitter, and is batting at a blistering .388 clip right now. While he is still not even in the conversation for 56, it's always nice to dream that maybe one day somebody will get close to that record. Matt Kemp, meanwhile is on fire himself. Not literally of course, but he is leading both leagues with a .403 average, (Ethier is third) and is tied for third with 8 stolen bags already. It seems as though whatever mental hang-ups Kemp had last year are gone now. This could be due to new manager Don Mattingly, who Kemp reportedly gets along with much better than he did with Joe Torre. The bottom line is with Ethier and Kemp hitting the ball like there is no tomorrow, and with the starting rotation pitching quality starts, the Dodgers are on a current three-game winning streak, and could be a serious contender in the NL West.

And in case you were wondering, no this is not a National League only story. The L.A. Angels have been making a huge splash as well, although more positively aligned than the Dodgers. This is due mainly to Jeff Weaver and Dan Haren being nearly unbeatable so far this year. I say nearly because Haren did, in fact, get beat last night. However, he was undone by two costly errors, and by a stellar pitching opponent in Jon Lester. Regardless of that loss, Haren is still 4-1 with a minuscule 1.46 ERA. On the other side, Weaver is the games first 5-0 pitcher, and has been striking out everybody and their mommas. Weaver leads the majors in strikeouts with 39 already, while the other L.A. team's phenom Clayton Kershaw is second with 36. Haren is also fifth on that list with 33 Ks. Weaver and Haren are also second and fifth respectively on the ERA list right now, too. The Angels hitters are keeping pace with the league as they are second in total bases, which means they have plenty of opportunities to score. Having only scored 85 runs so far means that some of those chances are being squandering. The Angels have the third-best record in the AL, though, and sit just a half game back of the Texas Rangers in the West.

So it looks like things aren't all gloom and doom for the Los Angeles squadrons. The Dodgers will have tough times ahead, but if this move by the commissioner's office pays out, it could make for a seamless transition of the franchise, rather than a clumsy and expensive one. The performance of the team should be and is the biggest concern right now. The Angels aren't worried about finances, which leaves more opportunity to concentrate on baseball. Can Weaver and Haren keep up the outstanding pitching pace they have set forth, and can Kemp and Ethier maintain those hot bats? Only time will tell. April still has another week left, and there are months left to play.