It’s not Bud Selig’s responsibility, dare I say it, to feel sorry for a man who sabotaged a storied franchise in the hillsides of Los Angeles, just so he can pocket money, then ruin his image by greediness and selfishness in a community that scorns embattled owner Frank McCourt. However, it is the commissioner’s job to remove the corruption from the landscape currently in tatters, all because of his financial quandaries of a treacherous divorce.
Amid a recession that leaves us guessing if the fragile economy will ever recover from the crisis, in a nation where unemployment rates are inflating and where folks are barely surviving, McCourt is disliked in a local town where fans have no sympathy for a battered, downhearted businessman. After all the shame, for an owner on the verge of losing the possession of his franchise, the Dodgers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday in Delaware.
It’s almost equivalent to actor Mickey Rooney, filing bankruptcy caused by his poor investment and addiction to gambling. It’s almost akin to automaker Henry Ford and rapper MC Hammer, a celebrity who was $13 million in debt and it is similar to Donald Trump as his casino wasn’t hitting jackpot or even entertainer Wayne Newton suffering through affliction of tax debt.
The worst of all is McCourt, a man worthy of being renamed as McCorrupted in a town where the general public has been critical of him for such a dreaded plights to poison a tattered ballclub. Not a fan in town feels sorry for McCourt or stands by him, finding the unreliable man liable for the ruination all of the sudden.
“The Dodgers have delivered time and again since I became owner, and that’s been good for baseball,” McCourt said in a statement.
It’s believed that he wouldn’t have made the team’s $10 million in payroll by Wednesday’s deadline and, in all honesty, the Dodgers aren’t hit with bankruptcy or broke but McCourt is deprived financially. If he had a sense of pride, he would’ve been kindhearted and generous enough to sell the franchise as billionaire owners, such as Mark Cuban or Ron Burke, 58, an investor already demonstrating an interest in bidding for a franchise in pro sports, or even Oakland A’s co-owner Lew Wolff who has expressed interest in purchasing the Dodgers as well. Pretty good, for a franchise on the verge of collapse.
At this time, as someone noticed as a sham and ultimately a strapped businessman, a replacement would be much efficient than McCourt at the helm, criticized for the destruction of a renowned franchise. Apart from a financial disaster, McCourt truly doesn’t just think blue, but also thinks he can salvage the Dodgers, despite that MLB took over operation of the ballclub. For McCourt, an enemy of the Dodgers, ever since he has swallowed financial troubles in result of his divorce with wife and co-owner Jamie, he’s been at the point of self-destruction.
The mental state of it is that the Dodgers inherited a payroll of about $110 million, including $15 million in salary deferrals from previous seasons. It’s been sketchy ever since Selig appointed a representative to oversee the “business and the day-to-day operations of the Club,” an unfortunate action for a cult of fans scourged of reckless heartaches to give the Dodgers a bad name.
The juxtaposition, among all things, is you can’t blame the commissioner for appointing the takeover when reportedly McCourt sought a $30 million loan for the club recently from the club’s television broadcasting partner to likely make the organization’s payroll. You can’t blame the MLB for seizing control when McCourt had sought a $200 million loan from the broadcaster, a deal which was never approved by Major League Baseball.
A significant part of the problem was resolved when Selig, a narrow-minded, apathetic commissioner finally took action of a crisis, not a drug scandal but a financial issue, deeply concerned with the finances and operations of the Dodgers. That’s because the Dodgers — mired in disarray – is the franchise truly unstable now and endangered with this massive debt.
The truth is, for all the heavy talk after the Texas Rangers filed for bankruptcy and the New York Mets experienced financial troubles, the Dodgers are not broke. But in all, McCourt is broke and has destroyed his reputation, not the Dodgers image. All this team needs a wealthy owner to revive the organization. It all sounds preposterous, given the conception that McCourt is hopeful bankruptcy court will overturn Major League Baseball’s constitution. If he does have his way in the end, he could keep his team, but it’s unlikely he’ll keep the team, acknowledging that he can pay a steep price to save the team.
The sad thing is, he is forced by signing a long-term television deal and almost had a reached an agreement with Fox, but McCourt was denied as MLB never approved it. While it seems that McCourt, who is under much duress as deadline looms for payroll, is out of funds to make payroll on time, his intent is to request approval for an abundance of cash to pay most bills. But more importantly, he must meet an estimate of $40 million in current and salary obligations?
The folly of his finances is laughable, just as much as his statements are filled with hilarity. Sadly enough, he’s lost his marriage, credibility and respect, particularly when he placed all the blame roughly on Selig, reluctant in taking accountability for the lack of integrity and riches.
It’s really a damn shame that McCorrupted doomed historically a storied franchise, a premiere ballclub adorned by the presence of the great voice of Vin Scully, by the presence of the legendary manager Tommy Lasorda and even the memorable era when Sandy Koufax was a pitching legend. The Chavez Ravine is suddenly falling off the hillside, and there’s much to dislike about McCourt, from providing lack of security to protect the safety of fans to the divorce scandal turning public to his failures of poorly running a franchise.
The disheartening fact is, the Dodgers were adored until McCourt brought the rights of the ballclub. For one reason, and one reason only, Dodgers fans should consider thanking McCourt after having sense enough to declare bankruptcy. It’s surely evident to assume that the Dodgers are thinking blue.
If there’s anyone blue, it’s McCourt.
