Maybe its me, but with yesterdays story regarding the potential insolvency of the Dodgers- i.e. their inability to meet payroll and other obligations over the next couple of months- does not strike me as revelatory. I saw it as nothing more than what we should be expecting to find from MLB's investigation of the Dodgers.
Look at it this way, if McCourt needed to take out a $30Mil loan from Fox to cover payroll for that month, then it stands to reason that the same will need to be done for subsequent months. This is one of the reasons why McCourt has been pushing so hard for MLB's approval of the new cable TV deal. After all, that deal would provide significant cash up front for the purpose of meeting immediate payroll obligations. I see this as being no different that what I saw one afternoon while watching the show "Pawn Stars." A guy came in wanting to sell a tricked out motorcycle and stated to the proprietors that he needed to cover payroll for his employees. It's a certain act of desperation that, unless there is an immediate influx of cash at the ready, always leads to the insolvency of that business. It's par for the course, and unfortunately our Dodgers are right in the middle of it.
Right now, McCourt is between a rock and a hard place. He is trying to put on a straight face with the ever diminishing hope that he can gather up the cash to remain in business. I believe this will not be the case.
At this point I would expect the league to take over the Dodgers, expend league funds to meet immediate obligations, bill those funds plus interest to the Dodgers, and sell the team to a owner more desirable to MLB. And as I stated before, it will sell not at the highest price, but at a level that allows the new ownership group to operate the team at a efficient and effective manner.
Sure, McCourt and his ex-wife will ultimately get less than if they sold the team themselves, but at least they'll still come out economically better off then when they first came into town. And we Dodger fans can finally (hopefully) get an owner we can be proud of. Hopefully, being the operative term here.
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
2011 Topps Attax Dodgers
Topps just released their 3rd annual Attax Baseball game card set. Here are the Dodger players from the set. What I found interesting are some of the "facts" found on the cards. Other than that, I have no idea what the numbers refer to. Anyone know how to play this game?
13 Andre Ethier
56 Clayton Kershaw
103 James Loney
128 Juan Uribe
173 Rafael Furcal
239 Dodger Stadium
13 Andre Ethier
56 Clayton Kershaw
Here's something interesting. According to this card Kershaw is the grand nephew of the guy who discovered Pluto- Clyde Tombaugh.
103 James Loney
128 Juan Uribe
173 Rafael Furcal
239 Dodger Stadium
Who could have figured that after nearly 50 years of its existence Dodger Stadium still hold more fans than any other Baseball stadium.
