The Saga of the Dodgers

Picture, if you will, a team with an enduring legacy. A team whose rich and vibrant history spans both coasts of the United States, and who can trace their beginnings back to the time of the Chester A. Arthur presidency. A team who many legends have called home. A team who has been indelibly etched into some of the most historic moments not only in their sport, but in all sports. A team of legends, of icons.

Now, picture this team being driven into the ground by an unscrupulous owner who regards it as his personal ATM. A husband and wife ownership that are too busy trying to determine whether or not to purchase a seventh mansion than to pay attention to their own franchise. Picture bathrooms covered in graffiti, concession stands that are criminally understaffed, and a stadium that is less than half full every night. Picture a place and team where a fan of the opposition was beaten bad enough that he remains in the hospital almost three months later. A team that is being declared bankrupt, and the commissioner of the league has to step in to keep the team functional.

The teams in the preceding paragraphs? The Los Angeles Dodgers.

What Frank McCourt and his wife Jamie have done to the Dodgers is criminal. They have taken a once proud franchise, a team that is not only royalty in their own sport but in all sports, and turned it into a laughing stock. They have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, due to their inability to meet their upcoming payroll. This was after McCourt attempted to negotiate a television deal that would permit him to pay his divorce settlement, but would severely handicap the Dodgers over the next seventeen years.

Naturally, none of this is the fault of Frank McCourt. Just ask him. He blames Bud Selig for blocking the proposed television deal and for stepping in to take over the team, even though he still does not realize that the Dodgers are not his personal ATM. In response to McCourt's accusations, Selig issues a statement saying that "The Commissioner's Office has spent the better part of one year working with Mr. McCourt and his representatives on the financial situation of the Los Angeles Dodgers, which was caused by Mr. McCourt's excessive debt and his diversion of club assets for his own personal needs. We have consistently communicated to Mr. McCourt that any potential solution to his problems that contemplates mortgaging the future of the Dodgers franchise to the long-term detriment of the club, its loyal fans and the game of Baseball would not be acceptable. My goal from the outset has been to ensure that the Dodgers are being operated properly now and will be guided appropriately in the future for their millions of fans. To date, the ideas and proposals that I have been asked to consider have not been consistent with the best interests of Baseball. The action taken today by Mr. McCourt does nothing but inflict further harm to this historic franchise."

The Los Angeles Dodgers deserved better than Frank McCourt. They deserved better than to be facing the spectre of bankruptcy, and to be in such a terrible financial state where it may take up to a decade to recover. Above all, their fans deserved better than this.

It is always rough watching a team with such history go through a rough stretch. It is worse when the problems are entirely self-inflicted by an uncaring ownership that did not understand what owning a professional franchise entailed.