The Big Blue Wrecking Crew

Per Shaikin tweet, the fan's letters are being removed for the bankruptcy case file

More by Shaikin is here:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dodgers/2011/07/dodgers-bankruptcy-judge-orders-fan-letters-removed-from-court-file.html

I think he realized that he was opening the flood gates by acknowledging receipt. I'm sure there are already dozens (if not hundreds) of letters already en route via USPS.

I'm still sending mine.

Even if not part of the "official public record", the judge needs to CLEARLY get the point of where the Dodgers' fanbase is at. Enabling McCourt to keep the team in any capacity is a danger to the creditors because the fans will NOT hand over any more money to the team.

Still sending it in... thoughst? 

Dear Judge Gross,

I, like the authors of several letters you received this
week, am a concerned Dodger fan.  I
write to you to make a request.

Please do not approve or order an auction for the future
television rights of the Dodgers. 
Mr. McCourt has filed for bankruptcy in a last ditch effort to retain
ownership of the Dodgers, a self-sustaining profitable organization, that he
leeched dry.  His methods of
draining the Dodgers of equity range from running up large debts for personal
expenditures to discounting future corporate sponsorships for extra immediate
funds to mandating large payroll deferments, as much 20 percent a year. 

Mr. McCourt has acted unfaithfully to Los Angeles and to
Dodger fans everywhere.  As a
result, fervent fans are no longer attending games regularly.  Many die-hard fans still root for the
team in person, but they are fighting off the malaise.  It can only be so long that we tolerate
constant double speak, self-victimization, and the irresponsible behavior of
this team’s owner.  Dodger fans
make a choice to support this team, a deed we can no longer perform in good
conscience.

Unfortunately, this might be just the beginning if McCourt
continues to own this franchise. 
The ramifications of a mass exodus will largely affect McCourt’s
finances as well as destroy the Dodgers, as we know it.  Judge, we love this team and hate
what’s happening to it.

I am very aware it’s not in your power, nor in your job
description, to simply enforce any justice as you see it.  I know your obligation is to interpret
and synthesize the law and this conflict; it is not to make fans, like me,
happy.  I won’t ask that you do our
bidding.  I will ask that you
recognize that Mr. McCourt is not a victim of unfair treatment.  I hope you do see the big picture, Mr.
McCourt’s plan and intent, his many corporations to hold Dodger assets in case
of seizure.  I hope you will find
that the best interests of the creditors, Dodger organization, Major League
Baseball, and the city of Los Angeles share a common thread in not helping Mr.
McCourt.  Please consider this as
you handle this case over the next few weeks.

 

Gratefully,

 

 

 

man that doesnt format well

Vinsandlosses said:

man that doesnt format well

It does read well though. I like.

so where do I send this?  To the bankruptcy clerk or the judge's chambers

Writing letters is a good idea but what is needed to get McCourt out is a total fan boycott. Shame on the dodger fans who attended the games this week and allowed McCourt to show Dodger stadium at 100% capacity. It is time that all Dodger fan sacrificed so that we can have better years to come.

dodgerjoe said:

Writing letters is a good idea but what is needed to get McCourt out is a total fan boycott. Shame on the dodger fans who attended the games this week and allowed McCourt to show Dodger stadium at 100% capacity. It is time that all Dodger fan sacrificed so that we can have better years to come.

I was pretty shocked to see a full house last night.  Were there $1 seats or something?

BluePastorKyle said:

dodgerjoe said:

Writing letters is a good idea but what is needed to get McCourt out is a total fan boycott. Shame on the dodger fans who attended the games this week and allowed McCourt to show Dodger stadium at 100% capacity. It is time that all Dodger fan sacrificed so that we can have better years to come.

I was pretty shocked to see a full house last night.  Were there $1 seats or something?

Super discounts plus Ethier bobblehead

Vinsandlosses said:

BluePastorKyle said:

dodgerjoe said:

Writing letters is a good idea but what is needed to get McCourt out is a total fan boycott. Shame on the dodger fans who attended the games this week and allowed McCourt to show Dodger stadium at 100% capacity. It is time that all Dodger fan sacrificed so that we can have better years to come.

I was pretty shocked to see a full house last night.  Were there $1 seats or something?

Super discounts plus Ethier bobblehead

Figured.  Any word on the July 9 boycott?

You know McCourt's lawyers will tell the judge about the full houses based on the fact he mentioned the 15 - 0 win. McCourt has to go. Where are the chants in the stands yelling "Frank must Go"

BluePastorKyle said:

Vinsandlosses said:

BluePastorKyle said:

dodgerjoe said:

Figured.  Any word on the July 9 boycott?

Still pretty small I think.  It won't mean much outside of LA and San Diego area - they are the only regions that will see the game.  The other two games play in the other 49 1/2 states tomorrow

Vinsandlosses said:

BluePastorKyle said:

Vinsandlosses said:

BluePastorKyle said:

dodgerjoe said:

Figured.  Any word on the July 9 boycott?

Still pretty small I think.  It won't mean much outside of LA and San Diego area - they are the only regions that will see the game.  The other two games play in the other 49 1/2 states tomorrow

I am pretty sure Fox will cover it bigtime, during the other games.  It will be news if there are more people outside the stadium than paying McCourt for parking and concessions.  

Vinsandlosses said:

BluePastorKyle said:

dodgerjoe said:

Writing letters is a good idea but what is needed to get McCourt out is a total fan boycott. Shame on the dodger fans who attended the games this week and allowed McCourt to show Dodger stadium at 100% capacity. It is time that all Dodger fan sacrificed so that we can have better years to come.

I was pretty shocked to see a full house last night.  Were there $1 seats or something?

Super discounts plus Ethier bobblehead

Just for the heck of it I checked on ebay, and last night's Ethier bobblehead is being offered for as high as $44.99.  So tickets for $5 and even if you only get $25 for the bobblehead, you made a cool 400% profit for every man, woman, and child you brought to the game.  Even if you paid to park the minivan, you came out okay.   ;-)

I just watched the season's premier of Curb Your Enthusiasm on HBO. If you plan to watch this don't read this synopsis as I don't want to spoil it for you but it is very much related to the Dodgers.

beefchopper said:

I just watched the season's premier of Curb Your Enthusiasm on HBO. If you plan to watch this don't read this synopsis as I don't want to spoil it for you but it is very much related to the Dodgers.

In case you are not familiar with the show it is a comedy about the life of the super annoying Larry David who was the creator, writer and producer of Seinfeld.  It is sometimes tough to watch because he is such a creep and the episodes often touch subjects that make your flesh crawl.  This one started with David getting into a divorce and hiring a lawyer named Berg to represent him.    In the meantime, Larry David runs into the owner of the Dodgers (who is called O'Donnell undoubtedly to avoid a lawsuit) who is also using Berg as his divorce lawyer. O'Donnell offers to let David go to a Dodger game in the owner's box.  To reciprocate, David offers to buy Girl Scout cookies from O'Donnell's daughter who goes to David's house to sell them to him.  When at David's house, O'Donnell's daughter starts having her first period (see what I mean about cringing) and David finds himself in a position of having to explain to her how to use a tampon.  O'Donnell later finds out, gets furious, and refuses to give the tickets to David.  Meanwhile, despite the fact that Berg constantly uses Jewish expressions etc. David discovers he is actually Swedish and not Jewish, fires him and goes to warn O'Donnell.  Both switch to a Jewish lawyer that David finds.  The next scene is David wearing a Dodgers hat at Dodgers Stadium and going to the entrance to the owners' box.  There are two guards there and he says his name and they refuse to let him enter saying he is not on the list.  He says that's a mistake and that he is a friend of O'Donnell and the guards say O'Donnell no longer owns the team, his wife won it in the divorce.  David then rushes to his lawyer's office and when he get's there the elevator opens and O'Donnell is on it and says you cost me the team and punches him in the face.

Just saw the premiere.  Awesome!  I'm a huge fan of the show and have been waiting for this season since the end of the last one.  The running "Berg" joke is so good - Larry claims he was "Sweded" when leaving the office (playing off of "Jewed").

So I was wondering how Frank would deal with the all-star break and rubbing elbows with the press and other owners. How would he handle that scrutiny? He handles it by going to Spago's tonight and not the All Star game to watch Kemp choke,  which I hope Frank does on his appetizers. Just saying...

From Molly Knight : 

Chin Music said:

From Molly Knight : 

Random dude in LA: "Have you come to buy our Dodgers?" Prince William: (laughs) "No, sadly not. Maybe next time." (Actual video on KCAL).

Even the British Royal family knows what a tool McCourt is.   Nice. 

Surprise, surprise, McCourt has a side letter with Highbridge for fees the bankruptcy court doesn't know about.  I missed this yesterday...

The fund, owned by J.P. Morgan, collected a "surreptitious" $5.25
million fee that the lender and baseball team's owner have intentionally
withheld from the court, according to a court filing.

"It is our understanding that the undisclosed fee was provided for in a
side fee letter between Highbridge and the [team] that has not been
filed with the Court or made part of the record in any fashion," MLB
attorneys said in a memo filed Friday with the US Bankruptcy Court in
Wilmington, Del.

The letter was reported by Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review on Monday.

http://deadspin.com/5814967/rafael-furcal-is-worth-one-kitchen-and-a-swimming-pool-and-other-mccourt+divorce-grotesqueries

petro said:

Surprise, surprise, McCourt has a side letter with Highbridge for fees the bankruptcy court doesn't know about.  I missed this yesterday...

The fund, owned by J.P. Morgan, collected a "surreptitious" $5.25
million fee that the lender and baseball team's owner have intentionally
withheld from the court, according to a court filing.

"It is our understanding that the undisclosed fee was provided for in a
side fee letter between Highbridge and the [team] that has not been
filed with the Court or made part of the record in any fashion," MLB
attorneys said in a memo filed Friday with the US Bankruptcy Court in
Wilmington, Del.

The letter was reported by Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review on Monday.

I am sure Judge Gross will frown upon this and I have to think that the judge is going to agree that Frank cannot be trusted to run the team properly.   The only thing left is deciding if the judge puts the team up for auction (most likely because Hot Lips has not put in her two cents) or having the MLB take over.  

So another fee on top of the financing fee disclosed that J.P. Morgan will charge for financing McCourt and the Dodgers?

Based on that info, I think the judge will rule that MLB's financing is preferred, seeing how expensive the cost of financing will be with J.P. Morgan.

I also think Jamie will be the one to push the Dodgers' sale into a public auction. She will argue that the largest generation of proceeds will occur from an auction and the judge will probably agree and say that an auction will be the best way to ensure max payment to creditors.

fox announcers talking about the ownership problems and some nice views of empty seats

Does this judge have any authority on exactly WHAT gets included in an auction?

Just the team, or can he also rule that the stadium, parking lot, ticket rights, etc that used to belong to "The Dodgers" (and was essentially *stolen* from them for the purpose of becoming Frank McCourt's personal property) be included in the sale as well?

That's the part that scares me the most in all this, that Frank will still "control" the team, even if he doesn't own it anymore.

GenericFan said:

Does this judge have any authority on exactly WHAT gets included in an auction?

Just the team, or can he also rule that the stadium, parking lot, ticket rights, etc that used to belong to "The Dodgers" (and was essentially *stolen* from them for the purpose of becoming Frank McCourt's personal property) be included in the sale as well?

That's the part that scares me the most in all this, that Frank will still "control" the team, even if he doesn't own it anymore.

Yes.  The same thing happened with the Rangers.   The judge will deem which avenue pays the creditors and with Hot Lips and two banks being due close to $600+ million (rough estimate), he will push for the way that brings the most bang.    In this kind of bankruptcy, the judge is more worried about the creditors than cleaning up Frank's mistakes.  As for the splitting of the team into entities, that has been addressed by the MLB and for all practical purposes that kind of money laundering is illegal and will likely be considered verboten by this judge, also.  

Bud still trying to get in the HOF

OH BOY! Frank's Job just got a lot tougher.  Having successfully navigated a company through bankruptcy I can tell you that it is critical to get at least one other party siding with you between either your secured lenders or your unsecured creditors.  Obviously the secured creditors are not on his side so it is up to the unsecured creditors and its not a good sign when the Players Union and the Stow family are picked to head the creditors committee per the LA Times.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dodgers/2011/07/dodgers-bankruptcy-creditors.html

saeldway said:

OH BOY! Frank's Job just got a lot tougher.  Having successfully navigated a company through bankruptcy I can tell you that it is critical to get at least one other party siding with you between either your secured lenders or your unsecured creditors.  Obviously the secured creditors are not on his side so it is up to the unsecured creditors and its not a good sign when the Players Union and the Stow family are picked to head the creditors committee per the LA Times.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dodgers/2011/07/dodgers-bankruptcy-creditors.html

How do the Dodgers OWE money to KABC? How is that possible? Isn't KABC supposed to be paying THEM?

DoppelgangBang said:

saeldway said:

How do the Dodgers OWE money to KABC? How is that possible? Isn't KABC supposed to be paying THEM?

I don't quite get this either.  Possibly a loan?  

Depends on the price obtained at auction.  If the auction price is sufficient to pay all creditors in full, nothing.  If this is too convoluted a mess to obtain a fair price then it depends on the type of guarantees and contracts.

More talk of moving downtown but check out Shaikin's comment at the bottom for perspective.

Chin Music said:

More talk of moving downtown but check out Shaikin's comment at the bottom for perspective.

http://huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/13/dodgers-downtown-new-stad_n_897816.html

Amazingly enough, this would make great sense.  I think any prospective owner would rather pay AEG than Frank and a new stadium would get us an All Star Game, which seems to be a huge cash cow.  I know that moving away from Dodger Stadium would be difficult, but a brand new modern stadium could be a godsend for this team.   As for Frank and his last asset, I would think that either BofA or Citibank will be taking that over in short order.   I am sure the Dodgers, with a new owner, could play at the Coliseum or (egads) the Big A while the new stadium is being built.   It also makes more sense for AEG to build a baseball stadium because I still don't think any football team is moving in the near future.  

Vinsandlosses said:

DoppelgangBang said:

saeldway said:

How do the Dodgers OWE money to KABC? How is that possible? Isn't KABC supposed to be paying THEM?

I don't quite get this either.  Possibly a loan?  

Hypothetically: The Dodgers and other properties are auctioned off for McCourt to pay his creditors.  How much debt will the Dodgers still be on the hook for?

That is interesting.  The amount is relatively meager, so I don't think loan.  I would bet that it is payment owed for commercial production or something not covered in the broadcasting contract.  

DoppelgangBang said:

How do the Dodgers OWE money to KABC? How is that possible? Isn't KABC supposed to be paying THEM?

Quite easily.  I believe that the Dodgers are paying KABC for the airtime to present their games.  The Dodgers then get to keep all of the money from the advertising that they sell.  It's not unheard of and if it's more profitable to do things that way, why not?  However, this is Frank McCourt's Dodgers we're talking about so I'm pretty confident in thinking that it's not a profitable adventure for him at all. 

But that's more than likely the reason why they owe KABC money.

For those who didn't catch the ESPYs last night, host Seth Meyers had his fun at McCourt around 8 minutes in: 



With Cuban sitting right in front of Kemp, it made it even better. 

Tyson Chandler - "Mark Cuban, my owner, needs to buy 'em.  Yeah, he needs to go ahead and throw some of his pocket, after he pay me off."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dodgers/2011/07/mlb-frank-mccourt-would-personally-benefit-from-bankruptcy-loan.html

UCSB07 said:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dodgers/2011/07/mlb-frank-mccourt-would-personally-benefit-from-bankruptcy-loan.html

wow mccourt using the backruptcy loan for his own personal use, who wudda thought... o right everyone

More of the same...

Personal Piggy Bank.  I only wish that every person who pays to park, buys tickets, consumes high priced concessions, and buys souvenirs would just consider that their money is being used by McCourt as his personal piggy bank.   [-X

Vinsandlosses said:

Tyson Chandler - "Mark Cuban, my owner, needs to buy 'em.  Yeah, he needs to go ahead and throw some of his pocket, after he pay me off."

Go Tyson.

I am beginning to see a pattern here.   It would seem that Cuban is being set up as the Dodger saviour and I am good with that.  

Chin Music said:

UCSB07 said:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dodgers/2011/07/mlb-frank-mccourt-would-personally-benefit-from-bankruptcy-loan.html

wow mccourt using the backruptcy loan for his own personal use, who wudda thought... o right everyone

More of the same...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/15/sports/baseball/baseball-presses-case-on-dodgers-financing.html

You know it isn't real news to Frank until it appears in People or the National Enquirer.  

grabarkewitz said:

Vinsandlosses said:

Tyson Chandler - "Mark Cuban, my owner, needs to buy 'em.  Yeah, he needs to go ahead and throw some of his pocket, after he pay me off."

Go Tyson.

I am beginning to see a pattern here.   It would seem that Cuban is being set up as the Dodger saviour and I am good with that.  

Honestly, I'm not sold on Cuban, but when compared to McCourt every average owner looks like a hero.  Donald Sterling is going to be sad when McCourt is gone.  Hopefully that'll make him pay Blake, Gordon, and another high tier player.

Vinsandlosses said:

grabarkewitz said:

Vinsandlosses said:

Tyson Chandler - "Mark Cuban, my owner, needs to buy 'em.  Yeah, he needs to go ahead and throw some of his pocket, after he pay me off."

Go Tyson.

I am beginning to see a pattern here.   It would seem that Cuban is being set up as the Dodger saviour and I am good with that.  

Honestly, I'm not sold on Cuban, but when compared to McCourt every average owner looks like a hero.  Donald Sterling is going to be sad when McCourt is gone.  Hopefully that'll make him pay Blake, Gordon, and another high tier player.

clippers fan as well?

Vinsandlosses said:

grabarkewitz said:

Vinsandlosses said:

Tyson Chandler - "Mark Cuban, my owner, needs to buy 'em.  Yeah, he needs to go ahead and throw some of his pocket, after he pay me off."

Go Tyson.

I am beginning to see a pattern here.   It would seem that Cuban is being set up as the Dodger saviour and I am good with that.  

Honestly, I'm not sold on Cuban, but when compared to McCourt every average owner looks like a hero.  Donald Sterling is going to be sad when McCourt is gone.  Hopefully that'll make him pay Blake, Gordon, and another high tier player.

In all honesty, I would prefer Dennis Gilbert over Cuban, but if this thing goes to auction and it is looking very much like that is the end game, I don't think Gilbert and whoever he has in his back pocket can compete with Cuban and his bankroll when the bidding hits over a billion dollars, which I would venture is the number the judge, Frank and Hot Lips are all expecting.    

the ditchdigger said:

Vinsandlosses said:

grabarkewitz said:

Vinsandlosses said:

that makes 2 of us. Sterling and McCourt i think share a 2 bedroom apartment in Pico Rivera i think. 

despise them both, and i can't believe they are the lever pullers and button pushers for 2 of my favorite teams.

i do believe when the NBA lockout lifts, the clippers will be forced to bring in a big name FA to play alongside the Poster Child. who are you thinking?

Clippers don't have cap room (we'll see what this means after the lockout) so a trade would have to be in order.  Kaman is garnering interest from some teams and earlier this summer, before the lockout started, the Sixers and Clips were discussing a Kaman for Iguodala trade.  This would mean that DeAndre Jordan would have to be retained by the clips (probably at 7-8 mil/yr).  Iggy costs a bit more than Kaman, but would fill out a starting 5 of Williams, Gordon, Iggy, Blake, Jordan, one that could do damage on a nightly basis.  Iggy would also helps the team's defense enormously.

Vinsandlosses said:

the ditchdigger said:

Vinsandlosses said:

grabarkewitz said:

Vinsandlosses said:

that makes 2 of us. Sterling and McCourt i think share a 2 bedroom apartment in Pico Rivera i think. 

despise them both, and i can't believe they are the lever pullers and button pushers for 2 of my favorite teams.

i do believe when the NBA lockout lifts, the clippers will be forced to bring in a big name FA to play alongside the Poster Child. who are you thinking?

Clippers don't have cap room (we'll see what this means after the lockout) so a trade would have to be in order.  Kaman is garnering interest from some teams and earlier this summer, before the lockout started, the Sixers and Clips were discussing a Kaman for Iguodala trade.  This would mean that DeAndre Jordan would have to be retained by the clips (probably at 7-8 mil/yr).  Iggy costs a bit more than Kaman, but would fill out a starting 5 of Williams, Gordon, Iggy, Blake, Jordan, one that could do damage on a nightly basis.  Iggy would also helps the team's defense enormously.

If this doesn't happen, the Clips get to use the T-Wolves pick next year if it's higher than their own.  Hopefully it'll be another top 5 guy, if not top 3 in a much much better draft.  If Donald and co. spend some money and make a smart move the clips could be real contenders in two years.  I for one would love to see Clips v. Lakeshow come playoff time.

I kind of like the idea of Kaman to the Pacers for Danny Granger.  The salaries match up and Granger will score a s'load of points.    But, I would be worried with Jordan being the big empty hole on that starting five.   Hell, if the Pacers are amenable, maybe the Clips can expand the deal to include Collison for Williams and make Bird will throw Roy Hibbert into the deal if the Clips eat James Posey's contract.    

grabarkewitz said:

Vinsandlosses said:

grabarkewitz said:

Vinsandlosses said:

Tyson Chandler - "Mark Cuban, my owner, needs to buy 'em.  Yeah, he needs to go ahead and throw some of his pocket, after he pay me off."

Go Tyson.

I am beginning to see a pattern here.   It would seem that Cuban is being set up as the Dodger saviour and I am good with that.  

Honestly, I'm not sold on Cuban, but when compared to McCourt every average owner looks like a hero.  Donald Sterling is going to be sad when McCourt is gone.  Hopefully that'll make him pay Blake, Gordon, and another high tier player.

In all honesty, I would prefer Dennis Gilbert over Cuban, but if this thing goes to auction and it is looking very much like that is the end game, I don't think Gilbert and whoever he has in his back pocket can compete with Cuban and his bankroll when the bidding hits over a billion dollars, which I would venture is the number the judge, Frank and Hot Lips are all expecting.    

Truth though on Sterling.   He is going to miss McCourt something fierce, but he has hope.  Snidely Whiplash is starting to cry poverty and the Angels are taking some serious baths on Wells, Mathews, Morales and Weaver is going to need to be paid right soon or he takes his show up the road to the Dodgers with the caveat that the Dodgers get a new owner who doesn't roll pennies or stands at an off-ramp selling knock-off Matt Kemp jerseys.  

Its nice that they are all expecting a billion dollars.  I am positive this will go to auction within 120 days but just like myself, every prospective buyer the question as to exactly what is being bought in the auction needs to be clearly defined.  The judge will ultimately define it.  Frank will say it excludes the stadium and ticket revenue.  MLB will cry fraudulent conveyance and say Dodgers mean everything related to Dodgers.  I believe the judge with the help of the US Trustee will have the right to claim all things Dodgers.  But if he finds tix revenue but no stadium or neither, a bid may garner more in the $600 Million range.  This team will not fetch $1 Billion without the stadium or ticket revenue.

Frank can claim parking lot and ticket revenue all he wants but Cuban, Gilbert, etc are smart enough to give bid a price where they don't mind to be paying Frank for 20 years.  They just take the PV of that cash stream out of the auction price.