An Open Letter to the McCourts
October 23, 2009 at 11:21 am | Posted in Frank McCourt, Jamie McCourt | 20 CommentsFrank & Jamie;
Hi. How’re things? Oh, right. That. Yes, we were all very sorry to hear about the impending end of your marriage. I think we all know more than a few people at this point who’ve been through that (it took me until 28 to date a girl whose parents weren’t divorced), and there’s no question it can be a terrible and traumatic experience. So, our utmost condolences to the both of you and your family, and we hope that if reconciliation is no longer an option, then at least this trying issue can be worked out as painlessly as possible.
Unfortunately, there’s more to it than that. See, what should be happening here is that your personal issues are no different from the 8 billion other divorces that happen every year. And of course, if you weren’t who you are, that’s exactly what would be happening. Your marital issues would be none of our business, just like every other person’s.
The difference here, of course, is that you (both of you? one of you? who even knows at this point?) are the owners of the Dodgers, and it is only in that capacity that you really matter to us. Don’t get me wrong, because I know how callous that sounds, and I’m sure you’re lovely people. It’s just that we’re in this because we’re baseball fans, and if you didn’t run the Dodgers your lives would be no more or less important to me than any other person’s who I have not and will not ever meet.
So when the news of your divorce came out on the day of Game 1 of the NLCS, that was troubling enough. In the days since, rather than celebrate the end of the Dodger season and plans for the offseason, we’ve had to listen to quotes like “they’re trashing each other terribly. It’s going to be World War III” and now see the news that Jamie’s been fired from her position as CEO, while promising a lawsuit.
I’ve yet to read an account that doesn’t characterize this as being an extremely ugly situation. And yet again, I don’t really care about the “winner” of this situation insomuch as who gets the two (at least!) mansions you own. Remember, we only really care about how this is going to impact the Dodgers. We’re workaday slobs, you know, so watching our favorite team succeed is the only respite from our otherwise crushing lives. Or something like that.
We all saw what happened in San Diego, when John Moores got divorced and was forced to drastically slash the payroll and sell the club, right? Well, as crushing as this NLCS loss was, the fact remains that the Dodgers have won a playoff series in each of the last two years and still have a nice young core of talent. The future should be bright. So if this team goes downhill because of your petty bitching, well, that’s just unforgivable.
Even worse, this is hardly your first misstep. First, we had to watch as you bought a team, financed by debt, that you really couldn’t afford. That led to such atrocities as having to include catcher Carlos Santana (who’s only won the MVP of his league in each of the last two seasons) in the Casey Blake deal just to save $2m, rather than use a lesser prospect. He’s probably going to be the Indians’ starting catcher next year, and with how badly Russell Martin’s fallen off the cliff, don’t you think he would have been a nice player to have right now?
Or how about firing Dan Evans – sort of, by not relieving him of his duties but by telling him that they were looking for his replacement, and that he could interview for his own job - just three weeks before camp started in 2004? Or the sloppy way in which Paul DePodesta was canned? Say what you will about DePodesta (not to start that war again), but what’s more egregious – giving a GM just one offseason to remake the team, or not firing him until a month after the season ended, with him interviewing managerial candidates while you – unbeknownst to him – conducted your own search?
Then there was the absolute horror of the comments that Jamie made about Dodger fans having to choose between signing Manny or building parks for kids, which – in addition to coming right before buying that second mansion - infuriated us all so much that I have to reprint part of how we felt about it last winter:
Do you ever read something and you want to say three sentences at once in reply, but you have to force your brain to relax and just do one at a time so it’ll make sense? Because right now I’m not sure which thought is trying to push it’s way out of my head first: the idea that paying for 50 baseball fields is somehow costing enough that a top free agent is no longer affordable (seriously, how much did these fields cost? Is the grass made out of emeralds? Do the kids get Hall of Famers to coach every position) or the idea that Jamie McCourt basically just said “if you want the Dodgers to get good, though expensive, players, then you’re a monster who hates children.” Because, you know, when the Dodgers went out and got Manny and sold about ten billion $300 replica jerseys and fake dreadlocks and playoff tickets, all of you were bad people for supporting that expensive player and giving all that money to the McCourts.
All of which is a long way of saying that, despite the recent success on the field, you’ve done plenty to enrage Dodger fans – and remember, if we’re not “Dodger fans”, then you are two completely nameless, faceless people to us.
Don’t let your personal issues get in the way of the enjoyment of millions of Dodger fans around the world, because if – as seems likely – this devolves into a path of scorched earth and courtroom rhetoric that leads to the selling off of assets on the field and a string of losing seasons like in San Diego, you might still own the team, and you might have won in the eyes of the law, but you’ll still be a pariah in the eyes of Dodger fans everywhere.
Fix this quickly and privately, or sell the team. Now. You may be striving for the spotlight, but you’re not bigger than the Dodgers, and it’s your association with them that’s brought you fame – not vice versa.
Yours,
MSTI
(We now return you to your regularly-scheduled Plaschke-bashing and ace-wrangling.)
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nice open letter…it’ll be more of a interesting off-season to say the least.
im worried…for our dodgers.
Comment by MNalu — October 23, 2009 #
I agree. Hopefully they realize how you ended, which is they aren’t bigger than the dodgers. I have a question that maybe can’t be awnsered. Ou tof the two of them who would be a better owner. Which would really do what it takes and make the better moves to get this team where it needs to be?
Comment by gillbert — October 23, 2009 #
I don’t know that either would be great, but from what I’m read Frank’s been more on the operations side and Jamie’s been more on the PR side. He hasn’t been great, but she’s been worse.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness — October 23, 2009 #
And we thought last winter was “interesting.” Really enjoy your blog and look forward to sittin’ around the Hot Stove with everyone.
Comment by Karlo — October 23, 2009 #
s/divorce/separation/.
The papers haven’t printed anything about an actual divorce filing.
Comment by Rob McMillin — October 23, 2009 #
fine, fine. still, they’re headed down that road.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness — October 23, 2009 #
Also, the McCourts have not two but a mind-boggling four mansions according to the most recent piece in the Times.
Comment by Rob McMillin — October 23, 2009 #
dude made a run at several teams before succeeding in purchasing the dodgers. never trusted the mccourts, especially after the 2004 marlins trade holocaust (which, obviously, they didn’t personally engineer, but still).
Comment by bretbutlerbuntsagain — October 23, 2009 #
however, in the mccourts’ defense, i LOVE that they’ve chosen/been forced to invest in dodger’s stadium rather than build some bullshit HK disney park in irwindale or something.
Comment by bretbutlerbuntsagain — October 23, 2009 #
er, HOK
Comment by bretbutlerbuntsagain — October 23, 2009 #
The Penny/LoDuca deal? I loved that trade.
Comment by Mike Scioscias tragic illness — October 24, 2009 #
Can somebody please get Mark Cuban on speed dial????
Comment by ritzpolo22 — October 23, 2009 #
Fuck I’m depressed.
Nice try, but were fucked.
Get a Cub fan as a sponsor, you’re going to need it.
Comment by Dodger Dude — October 24, 2009 #
Mike, optimistically speaking, this team is screwed! First off, they will never sell. Like you said, the Dodgers are the only reason anyone cares about them, they are too in love with seeing their faces in the media to do what is right. They could take on a partner but that mean agreeing on something and at this point, that is a non-starter.
So, we have an underfunded ownership, split in two and not speaking – look for the payroll to drop again and also look to see the Dodgers acting like the Pirates or Indians and trading players because they are going to get paid at arbitration. Best hope Ned, Ng and White can long term Kemp, Broxton and Ethier this year, because if they don’t one or more of them could be gone by December of 2010.
Gotta remember to send a hearty thank you letter to Bud Selig for sticking a great franchise like the Dodgers with the McCourts. What, couldn’t talk Donald Sterling or Kevin McClatchy into buying the Dodgers? Obviously money was not a concern.
Comment by grabarkewitz — October 24, 2009 #
From mlb.com…
“As of Friday, members of the coaching staff had not heard anything about their future. One in high demand is hitting coach Don Mattingly, the presumed heir-apparent to Torre, and Colletti didn’t rule out the possibility of making a pre-emptive move to keep Mattingly from taking the Cleveland or Washington jobs by formalizing his succession of Torre with a contract, although that would be unprecedented for the Dodgers.”
What do you think of this? I don’t know much about Mattingly’s managerial talent, and I’m skeptical that managers (at least in baseball) make too much of a difference. All I know is that the dude needs to cut him damn sideburns if he’s going to be the leader of this team.
Comment by John Clevenger — October 24, 2009 #
managers make a shit ton of a difference. if you don’t know pitching, you can’t manage. that’s why everyone was so pissed at torre when he let kershaw meltdown and give up 5 runs in an inning in game 1 of the LCS.
Comment by bretbutlerbuntsagain — October 24, 2009 #
Eh, color me not convinced. Torre knows Kershaw’s resiliency a lot better than we do, and I’m sure he’s seen him refocus in situations like that a hundred times. If Kershaw calms himself there and gets Howard out, then we all praise Joe for having patience and not putting an undue burden on our bullpen. Of course, if Torre brought in a reliever and Howard had still knocked in a few, then everyone would’ve been pissed that our best pitcher wasn’t out there in a crucial situation. In other words, shit happens. And it’s damn hard to predict what shit will happen when. Having said that, I probably wouldn’t have left Kershaw out there, but I also wouldn’t have started Padilla in game 2. Some moves work out and others don’t. A good portion of the time, I think, this is due to chance and not some managerial insight into how the future will unfold.
Comment by John Clevenger — October 24, 2009 #
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