Dodgers' owners Frank and Jamie McCourt to separate, placing ownership in doubt

Please don't let us become the Padres!!

the Midgit is reporting via Diamond's twitter:

They’ve already ‘lawyered’ up,” the source said. “They’re trashing each other terribly. It’s going to be World War III. Sources: Dodgers owner, wife heading for divorce - Ken Rosenthal News - FOX Sports on MSN

It sounds like they seperated some time ago and word just leaked out. It also sounds like it could get real nasty.

Dammit. Just what we needed.

From what I have read, it sounds like this is something that has been going on for a while now. Could this explain some of the trades Ned has made since last year, with adding more prospects instead of cash? Just throwing it out there.

beefchopper:

Maybe Rush Limbaugh wants a baseball team?

Just kidding.

LOL.

kennerbuggy:

I tend to think that "some time now" is measured more in terms of weeks than months, as this type of high-profile beak-up can't stay secret very long. As such, I doubt that team moves have been all that impacted. They team could be greatly hamstrung going forward though.

What a horrible time for this to break. The last thing the club needs is a massive distraction.

kennerbuggy:

Strange timing.

I wonder if Size 0 caught Frank in an affair with a woman with a pulse.

My guess is that all of a sudden becoming a hot shot very public figure went to old Frankie's head and also may have attracted a groupie or two...

Mike Scioscias tragic illness:

Could be an interesting offseason: Buster Olney buries this in a love note to Clayton Kershaw.

1. Heard this: There are major changes looming within the structure of the Dodgers' organization, which will be dictated by the direction that ownership takes in the months ahead. One of the first changes: Charles Steinberg, who had come to the Dodgers from the Red Sox, is out the door, and headed back to Boston.

MSTI's quote from another thread sure looks gains traction with news of the McCourt's split.

I hope the Dodgers win this year, because who knows what the future will bring.

Matthew:

Dammit. Just what we needed.

From what I have read, it sounds like this is something that has been going on for a while now. Could this explain some of the trades Ned has made since last year, with adding more prospects instead of cash? Just throwing it out there.

This is stunning news but at the same time not surprising. In the last year or so, I can't recall many times at all that I saw the two of them sitting in their seats at the same time or appearing elsewhere together. I thought it was strange but didn't make anything out of it.

So, maybe this is the change in structure that Buster Olney was alluding to earlier in MSTI's post. Weirdly timed announcement, on the eve of the NLCS. Hmmmmmmmm. Yeah, my first thought was, "Great--a potential distraction."

Like others here, I certainly hope this doesn't throw the organization off course. Just when the team has started reaping benefits from the long, slow course of player development, this comes out. Sigh. I thought the organization had finally re-established stability.

Die-Hard Dodger Fan:

Well a guy like Eli Broad who can buy the team in cash would certainly be optimal in this situation because it would extricate MLB from having to deal with their sticky divorce for a protracted amount of time.

If the divorce does get sticky, I would bet Jamie McCourt would probably just want her portion of their estate as soon as possible and I would imagine that MLB would not want to have owners of a franchise slugging it out with Frank McCourt trying to prevent the sale.

A quick and easy transfer of ownership to a new owner would probably be in MLB's best interest.

The only problem is that Bud Lite never does anything in the best interest of the MLB. His self interest comes first. The new owner has to be beholden to our Bud and remember to genuflect each and every time his name is mentioned. Then again, seeing as how the McCourt purchase was a clusterfrog of biblical proportions and with the Cub purchase looking like it will take the whole winter to complete, Bud may want to cut his loses and let the first billionaire who brings an armored car full of tens and twenties buy the Dodgers.

ItTakesFaith:

Remember what they say about "a woman scorned"...! While we obviously don't have a clue about this (& it goes without saying that everything written is pure speculation), I can't imagine this will go quietly... but will be bloodletting at the highest order...! If Jamie wants to "hurt" (OK, destroy!) Frankie, there is no better way than to go after his team. Remember, other than their multiple homes in the area, the Dodgers are their only real asset. Any scumbag divorce attorney worth their salt will use the team to get everything she wants (with respect to Torgy!). Buckle up folks, this will get nasty even by tabloid standards!

While I would welcome Eli Broad stepping up to rescue our beloved Dodgers, I'm not going to hold my breath... Especially since we don't yet know how the recession has affected his financial picture (real estate has been hit especially hard!).

Chris, do the right thing, write a check and save our team...!

Great, another off-season of uncertainty. Not the kind we envisioned, either. Sheesh, WHEN will this organization return to lasting stability? Ever?

I don't know why anyone is holding their breath for Eli Broad to come riding into town like some knight on a white horse to save the Dodgers and bring with him an injection of money. The Dodgers aren't a museum or a charitable organization so Broad's interest will merely be a means to keep his name in the public light... again.

Broad has already had his chance to buy the Dodgers and was never serious enough about it to put together an acutal bid. Sure there were rumours floated that he was interested, that Peter O'Malley would be on board with him, etc. But did anything ever materialize? No.

Broad had the same opportunity with regards to bringing an NFL team to LA, either an expansion franchise or one relocating, Multiple times in fact. Yet, as always, there were murmurs, rumblings and other whispers that had Broad's name out there as a potential owner. But nothing ever came of it.

And of course there was Broad's most egregious example of his failings in his apparent role as Los Angeles' benevolent uncle, his failure to buy the Los Angeles Times. After months of hemming and hawing and posturing Broad eventually never put together an offer that consisted of anything more than talk to keep his name in the press and Los Angeles has been saddled with a dying newspaper ever since under the "guidance" of a crumbling Tribune corporation and it's bankrupt leadership led by Sam Zell.

I'm sure that Broad's name will pop up again with regards to any potential purchase of the Dodgers. But until it's something more concrete than whispers, rumour and innuendo I won't believe it for a second. Not until I hear that he has actually finally put his money where his public relations people have put his name with regards to the Dodgers because his track record dictates as much.

Funny thing is that now would actually be the best time in the last 20 years to buy the Dodgers if you're Eli Broad or any other billionaire with an interest in owning the Dodgers. While the Dodgers are our club that we all love and cherish, the facts are that they're not as valuable as most people think.

- The Dodgers no longer own Vero Beach as they did when Fox bought the team. Dodgertown now belongs to Indian River county. That's a significant asset that won't be included in the purchase price.

- The Dodgers don't own their spring training facility in Glendale, Arizona. That belongs to Glendale proper.

- The Dodgers don't have their own dedicated media outlet in Los Angeles. This is the biggest factor that will hold down the sale price of the club. The reason most of the other big clubs are so valuable (Yankees, Mets, Red Sox) is because the clubs also own their own sports media outlet (YES Network, SNY, NESN). The Red Sox sold for, what was it, $600M because NESN was part of the deal. The reason McCourt got the Dodgers on the relative "cheap" (and why Selig really eventually went for the deal in the first place) is because McCourt was the only potential suitor for the Dodgers who was willing to buy the team without wanting Prime Ticket included in the deal. Fox didn't want to give up Prime Ticket now that it was established (and had kept ESPN from being able to open up ESPN West) and Selig didn't want to upset his major broadcasting partner, so McCourt got to be the beneficiary of that.

- The biggest asset that the Dodgers actually have is not the club or the stadium but the land where they reside. At last check we're still in the midst of an enormous real estate slump, so that's going to bring the price of the team down as well.

The Dodgers aren't going to be cheap but I would be shocked if they sold for anything over $600M. McCourt bought them on IOU's and promisory notes. He still has debts to pay off with regards to the club. I'm willing to bet that all of the money put into stadium renovations and improvements over the past few years hasn't been out of his pocket but borrowed against the club itself. He'll ask for enough to clear off the debts on the club and hopefully make a few dollars that he and Jaime can split between themselves. But I'd be shocked if the club sells for anything $600M.

I'll also be shocked if Eli Broad does anything other than have his name bandied about again. He seems to love hearing his name mentioned in such Saviour-like terms... and all of that without having to spend a single dollar.

beefchopper:

Maybe Rush Limbaugh wants a baseball team?

Just kidding.

Damn. How fast would I start wearing Angels red??

Maybe this is because I'm not from LA, but I have absolutely no idea who Eli Broad is, other than that he tried to buy the Dodgers. Why should I know him?

Mike Scioscias tragic illness:

Maybe this is because I'm not from LA, but I have absolutely no idea who Eli Broad is, other than that he tried to buy the Dodgers. Why should I know him?

Eli Broad is the "Broad" in Kaufmann & Broad, big time real estate company with a nationwide reach. They build anything from commercial structures to housing developments.

He also has a massive philanthropic reach in LA and has donated lots of money to museums and community efforts. He has a lot of influence through his charitable works.

He also is quite infamous for constantly being brought up as a person who is interested in buying the Dodgers, bringing an NFL team to LA and buying the LA Times but has never done so. It is thought that as someone to whom LA is home that he would be a responsible steward of either institution and be good to them instead of running them into the ground like Sam Zell did with the LA Times. But to date he has never come close to doing any of those things.

Eli Broad is a big mover and shaker in LA... if you happen to be in one of the circles that he cares about.