2011 June « Mike Scioscia's tragic illness

The Collected Sins of the Frank & Jamie McCourt Era

The McCourts, as I hardly need to remind you, continue to take their battle against each other and Major League Baseball to new and ridiculous heights. Or lows. Every day, it seems, they or one of their cohorts are either saying something humiliating or backpedaling against new allegations of past improprieties. You don’t want to say it’s to the point that nothing else can shock you… but it’s hard to think that it’s far off. Really, does anyone have any respect whatsoever for these two any longer?

In fact, the list of moments in which they’ve embarrassed the Dodgers and/or the fans has grown so quickly that it has become very difficult to keep track of it all. Today, we rectify that, by collecting all of the events which have caused us to cover our faces in shame. It hasn’t been all bad, of course, and you can point to some positives during their tenure, but not nearly enough to compete with the horrors they’ve visited upon us.

Two caveats here. First, this is just about the activities of the McCourt family and their immediate cronies, not of the entire organization, so unless you can find concrete evidence that McCourt ordered Ned Colletti to give Juan Pierre $44m over Colletti’s objections, it doesn’t belong here. Second, I’m not including two items that many will see as glaring omissions. Vladimir Guerrero signed with the Angels before McCourt officially took over in 2004, and the Carlos Santana trade may not have been as much about money as we like to think it was. Frank McCourt has done enough awful things to this franchise, so no need to fabricate any others.

This is intended to be a living list, which I’ll link to on the sidebar and update as needed, so if you think I’ve missed anything, do let me know – but be able to back it up with proof. If I’ve misstated anything here, I’m happy to hear that feedback as well. Unless noted otherwise, all items here are Frank’s. The list is presented in rough, though not absolute, chronological order.

Purchased Dodgers almost entirely on debt. (Yes, MLB deserves a huge amount of the blame for allowing this to happen in the first place.)
Split team and related properties into a tangled web of entities which pay into themselves, the ramifications of which are only being realized now.
Charged the Dodgers rent to play in their own stadium, money which went to one of his many holding companies.
Allowed incumbent GM Dan Evans to twist in the wind, claiming he was a candidate for his own job, before firing him just prior to spring training in 2004.
Fired CMO Lon Rosen and VP of communications Gary Miereanu less than a year after McCourt had hired them, the first in what would be a long string of front-office departures.
Conducted managerial search behind GM Paul DePodesta’s back, as DePodesta was interviewing his own candidates.
Fired DePodesta a month after an injury-plagued 2005 season, after having allowed him just one offseason to make moves, most of which – Derek Lowe, Jeff Kent, J. D. Drew – worked out well.
Placed two sons on the payroll despite neither having an identifiable position with the club.
Unveiled plans for massive upgrades to Dodger Stadium, to be completed for Opening Day 2012… most of which, you may have noticed, never took place.
Paid Vladimir Shpunt, an elderly Russian self-proclaimed “faith healer” who knew little about baseball, approximately $600k to send the team ”V Energy” from his home in Boston. Yes, that’s a thing which really happened.
Allowed merchandise/advertisements to be produced which celebrated both the 1962 and 1966 World Series championship seasons and the career of former catcher Lou Campanella, who wore #42 with the Dodgers. (added 7/18/11 – thanks, Luke)
Forced out VP of communications Camille Johnston, who announced she was leaving just two weeks after Charles Steinberg was hired. At the time, in December 2007, she was the fourth communications chief to leave since the McCourts purchased the team.
Make that five, since Steinberg left when the divorce was announced, along with the firing of six employees who Steinberg had brought on. (One of whom, admittedly, was a roommate of mine in college. He made out with a friend of mine who later joined a convent. Still don’t know how to feel about that.)
Announced separation hours before the start of the 2009 NLCS, creating a public distraction at the worst possible time.
Fired CEO Jamie and changed the locks on her office hours after the 2009 NLCS ended.
Planned to reduce payroll while doubling ticket prices over the next several years.
Asked Dodger fans to choose between talented ballplayers and fields for poor children. (This one, and the next four, are just on Jamie.)
Reportedly engaged in an affair with a team employee, bodyguard/driver Jeff Fuller.
Sent said employee to Taiwan, where he claimed to represent the Dodgers on a bizarre marketing trip…
…but not before taking a European vacation with Fuller on the Dodgers’ dime.
Asked for nearly $500k per month in spousal support, including flowers, hair and makeup, free tickets to all NL games, and access to a private jet.
Reduced draft pick spending in 2008-09 to the lowest level of any team in baseball.
Allegedly fired 40 employees days before Christmas 2009, which at least one employee says was made public knowledge at the team Christmas party.
Fired team president Dennis Mannion, who had experience in all four pro sports, in addition to three of Mannion’s employees – and replaced him with Geoff Wharton, who had only a real estate background.
Paid Howard Sunkin, a Frank associate and head of the Dodgers Dream Foundation, a salary commensurate with a charity nearly 90 times as large. (The money was later repaid.)
Repaid over $100,000 to the charity that had improperly went to Jamie McCourt.
Reduced international spending on prospects to the lowest level of any team in baseball.
Took at least $100m out of the team for personal use.
Considered plans to eventually run for president. (Jamie)
Saw at least 22 front-office employees either quit or be fired between September 2009 – December 2010.
Attempted to procure a $200m loan from Fox in February 2011 to meet expenses, which was rejected by Bud Selig.
Borrowed about $55m from Fox on a personal loan to meet early 2011 expenses, circumventing Selig.
Fired security chief Ray Maytorena and left post unfilled for four months, a period in which Giants fan Bryan Stow was nearly beaten to death in the parking lot.
Waited days to respond publicly to Stow incident.
Sued by his former law firm, Bingham McCutchen.
Reportedly investigated by the IRS for not paying taxes.
Hired Steve Soboroff, who quit barely two months later after a disastrous stint that included an outright lie about security, which McCourt was forced to apologize for.
Watched as MLB appointed Tom Schieffer to monitor the team.
Went on New York media tour pathetically trying to drum up public support.
Attempted a second deal to sell future television rights to Fox for below-market value, which was also rejected by Selig.
Sued by the family of Bryan Stow.
Claimed, falsely, that not a penny of Fox deal would go to settle divorce case. (See next item).
Announced sham divorce settlement that was not only untenable because it depended entirely on Selig’s unlikely approval of Fox deal, but confirmed that $173.5m would actually go for personal use.
Stated that he lived in a one bedroom apartment, which is really a $30,000/month luxury hotel.
Met the May 30, 2011 payroll by getting sponsors to pay in advance at a heavily discounted rate.
Threatened to sue MLB, despite having signed a document agreeing that he would not when he took ownership.
Claimed that the MLB takeover was the cause of low attendance, as opposed to criminal ownership, horrendously bad PR, stadium security concerns, or an underwhelming on-field product.
Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Barred MLB-appointed overseers from Dodger Stadium. MLB responded by demanding that their people be allowed back in.
Lined up an incredibly lousy deal ($4.5m fee, 10% interest) on a loan to make June 30, 2011 payroll. (7/1/11 update – it gets worse. The $4.5m fee is upon completion of the loan, and is separate from a $5m upfront fee to make the deal.)
Included in bankruptcy argument that since the Dodgers beat the Twins 15-0 shortly after filing was announced, “I think this convincingly disproves the argument bankruptcy is bad for baseball.”
Bounced checks to Dodger Stadium security guards and ushers. (Added 6/30/11)
Reportedly attempted to take an additional $20m out of the team in April 2011, even after the concerns about making payroll had arisen. (Added 7/6/11)
Failed to convince a judge to accept McCourt-arranged financing in favor of MLB-provided loans, with the judge noting “previously undisclosed financial stake in the Highbridge financing had compromised [McCourt's] judgment.”
Cited by Vero Beach, FL, for improperly maintaining a team-owned plot of land and vacant house, with terms such as “nuisance” and “eyesore” thrown around. (Added 7/27/11)
Sued by the Dodgers own broadcasters, Fox Sports West, for attempting to sell television rights before Fox’s exclusive contract is over. (Added 9/28/11)
Countersued the two men accused of beating Stow, claiming they should be held liable for the attack rather than McCourt, which is fine – but which included comments by McCourt lawyer Jerome Jackson indicating that Stow shares liability for the jumping that ended with his head split open in the parking lot, which is much less fine. (Added 10/29/11)

So we start off with 50 items. How large will this list need to grow to before this nightmare is over?

Let’s Indulge In a Fantasy About Juan Uribe Being Gone

June 29, 2011 at 5:39 pm | Posted in Juan Uribe | 36 Comments

The alternate title for this post was going to be “Things That Are Never F***ing Going to Happen”, but I thought that was a little on the nose. I almost didn’t even want to post it, because it’s just going to get hopes up… but what the hell. Let’s have some fun. We deserve it.

Giants beat writer Andrew Baggarly:

This information comes to me secondhand, but there’s talk among industry folks that the Dodgers and Giants have discussed a trade that would bring Juan Uribe back to San Francisco.

Uribe has been a bust with the Dodgers thus far, hitting .206 with four home runs in 214 at-bats after signing a three-year, $21 million contract. It’s worth remembering that the Giants were offering very similar numbers and willing to go to a third year before Uribe accepted the Dodgers’ take-it-or-leave-it contract.

Now, of course, the Dodgers are baseball’s biggest mess and owner/charlatan Frank McCourt might not be able to make payroll.

The Giants need an experienced second baseman with Freddy Sanchez’s health situation still up in the air. Although a determination will be made after a couple more weeks of rest and rehab, the Giants have to plan as if Sanchez won’t play again this season.

Mike Fontenot, a left-handed hitter, is coming back soon. But it doesn’t look as if management has much confidence in Bill Hall to form the right-handed portion of a platoon at second base.

Would Uribe be worth the $8 million he’s owed in 2012, and the $7 million he’ll get in 2013? Would the Dodgers defray some of the cost? All good questions. But I have to imagine the Dodgers aren’t in position to demand much in the way of talent in return.

It’s lovely to think about, isn’t it? Unfortunately, it’s not going to happen, friends. It’s just not, for about 20 different reasons. Still… a man can dream. A man can dream.

Update. So, that was quick.. not that this was ever going to happen anyway, but Baggarly has updated his post:

UPDATE: GM Brian Sabean just called up to the press box to shoot down this rumor. He told PR man Jim Moorehead to relay to me that he has not talked to Dodgers GM Ned Colletti in weeks. As I wrote, the information came through an indirect channel. I suspect the Dodgers likely were calling teams to shop Uribe, but that’s obviously much different than Colletti and Sabean talking about a deal. Anyway, all those cards are on the table.

Still, there’s something interesting hidden in there. Whether it’s the Giants or not, the idea that the Dodgers *could* be calling teams trying to dump Uribe would be a massive admission that signing him really was the mistake we all knew it was.

Rubby de la Rosa Gets Initiated Into the Rotation

June 29, 2011 at 1:08 pm | Posted in Rubby de la Rosa | 47 Comments

The first batter Rubby De La Rosa faced in the bottom of the first inning of today’s matinee in Minnesota, Ben Revere, hit a triple to the right-center gap. The next batter, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, grounded out to score Revere and put the Twins up 1-0… and that was it. In what was unquestionably the most effective outing of his young career, de la Rosa pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings following Nishioka’s out (7 innings total), scattering just six hits over the day. Most impressively, de la Rosa issued just two free passes. It was both the first time in his career that he went more than six innings or walked less than three, and he did it against an American League lineup. (Yes, I know, the Twins are one of the worst offensive teams in the AL, but still.) Even better, he improved as the game went on. After escaping from danger in the second after allowing three men to reach, he set down 16 of the 20 remaining Twins he saw – one of which was an intentional walk to Revere.

Here’s the problem, though, and why I saw that de la Rosa has now been officially inducted into the Dodger starting rotation: he was completely let down by his offense, who couldn’t manage to score even a single run against Twins pitching. Scott Baker set the top in the top of the first by dispatching the Dodgers with deadly precision, requiring only fourteen pitches to strike out Tony Gwynn, Casey Blake, and Andre Ethier – who combined to go 0-10. Each of the other six starters (plus pinch-hitter Trent Oeltjen) picked up one hit apiece, and the only times the Dodgers even made it to third base were on stolen bases by Matt Kemp and Dee Gordon.

And who made the final out? Dioner Navarro, because of course he did. I’ve joked a lot lately that there’s some federal statute that requires him to hit in the 9th inning of every games… except it’s happened so often that it’s not really a joke any more. You could have put in A.J. Ellis to try to keep the inning going, or, and I can’t believe I’m really saying this, even Aaron Miles.

Still, I’ll take this as a win. The individual game was basically meaningless, right? The loss dropped the Dodgers to 11 games out and in sole possession of last place, pending the result of San Diego’s afternoon game with Kansas City, so does it really matter if they pulled this out or not? Of course it doesn’t. What matters here is that a big part of the Dodger future made a huge step forward in his progression. I’d much rather see that than for him to have been hit hard but for the game to have been pulled out in the end, even if it’s depressing to see him not get rewarded for a solid performance.

Welcome to the club, Rubby.

Believe It Or Not, Ted Lilly’s Problem Isn’t Homers

June 28, 2011 at 8:55 pm | Posted in Ted Lilly | 31 Comments

Warning: you may want to take small children and the elderly out of the room before viewing the logs of Ted Lilly‘s last three starts.

Date	Opp	Rslt	IP	H	R	BB	SO	HR	GSc	SB	2B
Jun 17	HOU	L,3-7	5.1	8	6	2	4	0	32	2	3
Jun 22	DET	L,5-7	4.2	6	6	1	8	3	35	0	1
Jun 28	MIN	L,4-6	4.2	9	6	0	0	1	35	4	2

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Wow, it’s almost like his completely unsustainable run after joining the Dodgers last year… was completely unsustainable. Here’s the thing, though; though I was against his three-year deal in the offseason and am even more so now, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that he’s not soley to blame here. (Except for the stolen bases, that is, which are getting embarrassing.) Heading into tonight, his 1.5 HR/9 was exactly the same as it was last year, and is essentially the same as his career 1.4/9 mark. Though he didn’t record a walk or a whiff tonight, the first time in his career he’s gone at least four innings without doing either, his 3.78 K/BB entering the game was identical to 2010 (3.77) and a good deal better than his career average (2.57). His velocity (a tick under 87) is the same as last year, as is his percentage of fastballs thrown (56%).

So what’s going on? Well, it appears to be two issues. First, despite the fact that I mentioned his K/BB hasn’t changed, he’s definitely missing fewer bats. He’s striking out more than a man less per nine innings, and his swinging strike percentage has sunk from 9.5% in 2009 to 8.9% in 2010 to 7.5% this year – and that last number is sure to fall further when tonight’s game is factored in. He’s walking fewer than he ever has as well, so that’s how the K/BB stays lower.

If you’re striking out fewer, you’re relying more on your defense, and that’s where we run into our second problem. According to Baseball Prospectus‘ “Defensive Efficiency”, the Dodgers currently rank 28th in MLB as far as turning balls into outs. So you’re seeing exactly what you’d expect to see when you have a pitcher who isn’t striking people out, and isn’t getting support from his defense. The problem is that I’m not sure how we see either of those items changing any time soon, particularly since Lilly is still signed up for his age-36 and age-37 seasons the next two years.

Otherwise, the offense was generally quiet outside of a brief burst in the 5th inning. It probably didn’t affect the outcome of the game, but I have to question Don Mattingly’s pinch-hitting decisions in the final inning, with Aaron Miles (who had hit his first homer since 2008 earlier), A.J. Ellis, and Jamey Carroll coming up. Ellis had a hit and as we all know, has excellent on-base skills, but Mattingly sent up Trent Oeltjen in his place. Fine, I suppose; Oeltjen is a lefty with more power and had a great game yesterday. The Aussie drew a walk, and with one out Carroll stepped to the plate… except, not.

Instead of the guy with the .372 OBP who had already gotten on base twice tonight, the guy who just this afternoon GM Ned Colletti touted as a deserving All-Star, Mattingly chose to send up Dioner Navarro, presumably because there’s some sort of federal law that requires Navarro to bat in the 9th with the game on the line. (I’m joking, but only partially.) I get that Navarro could hit lefty against Matt Capps, but you’re not going to sell me on him as a power threat (three dingers over last two years) or any kind of offensive force (he is hitting .168, remember). Navarro, predictably, topped a ball that went all of about 50 feet and was thrown out. Carroll was skipped for that. Without Carroll, Tony Gwynn walked, but Casey Blake grounded out to end the game.

I’ve generally been a big fan of Don Mattingly, but I will never understand his fascination with Dioner Navarro.

Frank McCourt Gets a Stay of Execution (Updated)

June 28, 2011 at 1:44 pm | Posted in Frank McCourt | 36 Comments

Bill Shaikin explains:

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt can use the financing he obtained this week to pay the team’s immediate bills, attorneys for the Dodgers and Major League Baseball agreed Tuesday.

The U.S. bankruptcy court scheduled a July 20 hearing at which MLB can ask to replace McCourt’s financing with money furnished by the league.

When the Dodgers filed for bankruptcy on Monday, McCourt said he had obtained a $150-million loan to cover the team’s expenses during the proceedings and remain in control of the team for now. That loan carried an interest rate of at least 10% and a $4.5-million fee.

On Tuesday, MLB proposed its own financing, with an interest rate of 7% and no fee.

The parties agreed to postpone consideration of the MLB financing until July 20. If the MLB financing is approved, the $4.5-million fee tied to McCourt’s financing would be cut to $250,000. In the meantime, McCourt can use his financing to pay the Dodgers’ bills.

The parties also agreed to permanently delete language in McCourt’s financing agreement stipulating the auction of the Dodgers’ cable television rights by a certain date. However, McCourt’s long-term plan for recapitalizing the Dodgers still depends upon the bankruptcy court approving a rights deal over MLB objections.

This may not be the analysis you’re coming here looking for, but I readily admit that I have no idea what this means in the big picture. (For the record, neither does Dan Kaplan of the SportsBusinessJournal, which makes me feel a little better.) Short term, it means that the fun speculation over whether McCourt would make payroll on June 30 is no longer an issue, now that both sides have agreed to let McCourt take the $150m loan – you know, the one that Hardball Talk’s Craig Calcaterra referred to as ”a crappy loan” with “bad terms”.

This is good news because… well, that’s the part I’m unclear about. It keeps McCourt in power for at least another several weeks or more, which is bad. It allows him to take yet another loan that trades long-term health for short-term gain (pending, of course, MLB’s July 20th application to replace it with their own loan), which is definitely bad. It buys him time to continue trying to secure long-term financing, which is extremely bad.

I suppose if there’s a benefit for MLB here, it’s that the money supposedly can only be used for Dodger finances, not personal expenses, and it avoids, for now, the further lawsuits which would certainly occur if they had to step in and actively take control due to a missed payroll. Perhaps not standing in the way of this loan allows them some leverage for the next time McCourt accuses them of having a pre-determined agenda to push him out of power, and that may come in handy when McCourt attempts to get the court to overturn MLB’s rejection and approve the Fox deal.

So the takeaway here, at least from my completely non-expert view… is that we’re all on ice for another three weeks, at the very least. McCourt will make payroll, both sides will dig in against each other, and we’ll be in the middle again, cringing daily with each veiled (or not-so-veiled) legal threat from a highly-paid attorney.

Uh, great?

I think Gary at 7thinningsketch has the right idea…

Update: Tim Brown at Yahoo, in a series of tweets, provides some more detail…

MLB will move within days to have its monitors — Schieffer and Allen — re-installed at Dodger Stadium. Also, will request a trustee…

Sources: MLB very happy with events today in Delaware. Most important thing to delete media rights auction. Figure out rest in 3 weeks.

Short term, McCourt gets $60 million to run franchise thru July 20. MLB not unhappy that’s not its money.

Now I understand this better. McCourt can’t auction off the TV rights, which was a big possibility for him, and is therefore dependent on the court to rule in his favor. Who knew that in order to be a baseball writer I’d need to forget about the OPS and focus on the JD?

Dodgers Provide Some Relief With Historic Beating of Twins

June 27, 2011 at 8:26 pm | Posted in Jonathan Broxton, Trent Oeltjen | 36 Comments

The Dodger players and staff claim that all of the off-field garbage hasn’t affected them or their play on the field. Perhaps that’s true, and perhaps it’s not. Still, in light of all that’s happened today, it’s hard to not look at tonight’s 15-0 demolition of the Twins as more than your garden-variety beating.

Oh, sure, the numbers tonight were prolific, and you could go on for hours just reciting them. Trent Oeltjen, Matt Kemp, and Tony Gwynn – aka your starting outfield, with Andre Ethier at DH – all put up four-hit nights, with Oeltjen coming up a double short of the cycle. Other than Ethier, every starter had multiple hits. (Update: following the game, the official scored changed an error to a hit for Ethier, giving him two and the team 25.) Kemp’s 22nd homer puts him into the NL lead, one behind Mark Teixeria and Jose Bautista for tops in MLB. The 15 run margin of victory is the largest since beating Arizona 19-1 back in 2002, and Eric Stephen adds that this is just the third shutout with at least 15 runs scored since 1919. The 24 hits were the most since putting up 25 against the Angels in 2006, and are tied for the 6th most in club history. ESPNLA’s Tony Jackson points out that it’s just the second Dodger win in Minnesota ever, with the first being Sandy Koufax’ 2-0 Game 7 shutout to clinch the 1965 World Series. You can’t gloss over the pitching either, because after Chad Billingsley allowed just just four hits over six scoreless, Blake Hawksworth, Hong-Chih Kuo, and Scott Elbert combined to strike out seven of the nine they retired over three innings.

And then there’s this, courtesy of the official Dodger Twitter feed:

For the first time in LA Dodgers history, every player in the lineup has at least one hit, one run and one RBI.

All of that – all of it, plus any fun stat I neglected to mention – is great. It’s fun. It’s needed. It’s also a pretty nice way to take focus away from the issues of the criminal ownership, if even for just a night. We’ll have far more than we can handle tomorrow with the initial bankruptcy hearing, so for tonight, let’s enjoy the small victories where we can.

******

Speaking of baseball news… Jonathan Broxton‘s rehab has been shut down and he’s headed for an MRI after reporting more soreness in his right elbow.

Morally Bankrupt Owner Now Has Financially Bankrupt Team

June 27, 2011 at 6:44 am | Posted in Frank McCourt | 57 Comments

So here’s a thing that happened this morning: the Dodgers have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Craig Calcaterra, former lawyer and current baseball writer, is in the perfect position to explain what this means:

Obviously the situation is fluid, and more details will stream in as the morning and day progresses, but for the time being, this could buy McCourt some time. Why? because a bankruptcy filing puts a halt on all legal action with respect to the bankruptcy estate (i.e. the Dodgers). McCourt will certainly argue that this will prevent a takeover from Major League Baseball, though the court may decide differently when it gets a chance to weigh in, likely in the next few days.

The problem for McCourt is that the kind of bankruptcy the Dodgers have certainly filed is designed to reorganize the financial house. Frank McCourt, however, does not have a plan available to him to do such a thing or else he would have already done it. The filing isn’t yet circulating, but my guess is that he’s going to ask the court to order that the Fox TV deal be executed — assuming Fox wants to still do it, which it has been reported it may not — thereby providing funding.

The problem with that, of course, is that the bankruptcy court won’t approve of anything that is not seen as in the best interests of the Dodgers, and it’s obvious that Major League Baseball and others would come in and make a strong case that the Fox deal is disastrous for the Dodgers or, at the very least, not the best deal they could make.

If McCourt can do no better, the court may very well order a sale of the team. Perhaps auctioning it off, Texas Rangers-style. Which, by the way, would also put Major League Baseball in the same position it was in with respect to the Rangers: less-able to control who owns the team than it would otherwise be. Mark Cuban bid on the Rangers, after all. If his or some other non-chosen person’s money looked green to the bankruptcy court in such a scenario, Bud Selig would be hard-pressed to stop them from participating in a team auction.

But let us not get ahead of ourselves. For now, we simply have Frank McCourt where he was inevitably headed: bankruptcy court. And some time has been bought. A little anyway. The end game for McCourt, however, doesn’t look all that better than it did before.

We’ve also got McCourt’s usual ludicrous, out-of-touch statement on the matter (emphasis mine):

“The Dodgers have delivered time and again since I became owner, and that’s been good for baseball,” McCourt said. “We turned the team around financially after years of annual losses before I purchased the team. We invested $150 million in the stadium. We’ve had excellent on-field performance, including playoff appearances four times in seven years. And we brought the Commissioner a media rights deal that would have solved the cash flow challenge I presented to him a year ago, when his leadership team called us a ‘model franchise.’ Yet he’s turned his back on the Dodgers, treated us differently, and forced us to the point we find ourselves in today. I simply cannot allow the Commissioner to knowingly and intentionally be in a position to expose the Dodgers to financial risk any longer. It is my hope that the Chapter 11 process will create a fair and constructive environment to get done what we couldn’t achieve with the Commissioner directly.”

I mean… good lord. I know this is all legal and public posturing, but it’s almost like he doesn’t realize that he’s the guy who took over $100m out of the team for his own personal use. Get a clue, Frankie.

You can read the entire bankruptcy filing here. I’m not a lawyer and don’t pretend to understand it all, but what really caught my eye is the list of creditors. It’s no surprise that they still owe Manny and friends for deferred payments, but I think there’s a few names that will jump out at you. The list goes down to 40, and even includes Vin Scully at one point, though I’m just going to show 12 for reasons you’ll soon see…

List of unsecured creditors and amount of claim

Manny Ramirez, $20.992m
Andruw Jones, $11.075m
Hiroki Kuroda, $4.483m
Rafael Furcal, $3.725m
Chicago White Sox, $3.5m
Ted Lilly, $3.423m
Zach Lee, $3.4m
Kaz Ishii, $3.3m
Juan Uribe, $3.241m
Matt Guerrier, $3.090m
Juan Pierre, $3.050m
Marquis Grissom, $2.719m

You see the same thing I do, right? Marquis Grissom hasn’t played for the Dodgers since 2002, Kaz Ishii since 2004… and yet they’re still owed about $6m between them. I can’t even put all of that on McCourt, because he didn’t own the Dodgers when Grissom played, so that’s just opening up an entirely new can of worms into the Dodger financial history. (Update: since a few people have asked me already, the White Sox and Pierre are listed separately because they owe Pierre deferred money from his years as a Dodger and also sent money to Chicago for the remaining years on his deal.)

There will be more throughout the day, no doubt, as people far more qualified to break down legal briefs than I weigh in. One thing hasn’t changed, however, and it’s what we’ve been saying for months: this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

Dodgers Wait Until Last Second to Avoid Sweep

June 26, 2011 at 5:00 pm | Posted in Clayton Kershaw, Dee Gordon, Tony Gwynn | 26 Comments

For most of the afternoon, today’s matchup between Clayton Kershaw and Jered Weaver more than lived up to the hype, matching strikeouts, zeroes, and highlights. I don’t want to gloss over that, because it’s important, but hold that thought for the moment, and let’s not pretend you’re here to talk about anything but the ninth inning.

After Kershaw had allowed a Vernon Wells dinger in the top of the ninth, putting the Angels up 2-1, bloggers like myself were no doubt working furiously on the usual “great starting pitching wasted by atrocious offense” spiel. It’s the kind of thing we’ve written so often this season that we can basically churn them out in our sleep. The Dodgers would roll over and die, particularly with Dioner Navarro and Juan Uribe, starting the bottom of the ninth. They’d be swept by the Angels, a lost season would get even sadder, and we’d all move on with our lives.

Not today, though, in large part thanks to the wildness of Angels rookie closer Jordan Walden and some favorable umpiring in the ninth. Walden led off the frame by walking Uribe, and if giving the leadoff hitter a free pass isn’t already an unforgivable sin, walking the hapless Uribe is. Dee Gordon then ran for Uribe, and as I said at the time on Twitter, “never has there been a more appropriate lineup move than running Dee Gordon for Juan Uribe down 1 in the bottom of the 9th.”

Gordon took off for second, as everyone in the stadium knew he would, and he slid in safely. Or did he? There’s no doubt that he beat the Jeff Mathis throw, but as he slid head-first over the bag, he appeared to begin to get up, so that briefly he was on his hands and knees without his midsection touching the bag, and with the tag still applied on his back. You tell me:

Still, the call was safe, and with all of the bad karma this team has had this year, I’ll happily take it. Walden still couldn’t get it together and walked Navarro, nearly hitting him with the final pitch. Jamey Carroll stepped up and sacrificed Navarro and Gordon to second and third, and let’s talk about that for a second. Yes, it worked, and yes, Sam Miller of the Orange County Register did point out to me that statistically, it was the right thing to do. It just doesn’t sit right with me, though. You’ve got Gordon, perhaps the fastest man in the sport on at second base, able to score on nearly any hit to the outfield. You’ve got Carroll, one of the few Dodgers who have shown any skill with the bat this year, at the plate. To sacrifice him and give up one of your three precious outs in exchange for a non-guaranteed chance to move Gordon up 90 feet and leave the game in the hands of Aaron Miles and Tony Gwynn… well, I know it worked, I just didn’t like it at the time.

Anyway, that put men on at second and third for Miles. He hit a fly ball to a relatively shallow center field, where Peter Bourjos collected it and threw a laser to home. Gordon and the ball arrived at the same time, and Mathis did a wonderful job of blocking Gordon from the plate. Honestly, I’ve watched this replay a dozen times and I’m still not entirely sure. Gordon, coming in feet first, clearly didn’t get through Mathis, and his first attempt at swiping with his left hand came up short. What’s less clear is whether Mathis actually got the tag down; it looks to me like he probably did tag Gordon’s backside before Dee’s second attempt with the left hand made it, but it’s hard to say for sure. Again, you tell me:

For the second time in the inning, Gordon got the favorable call, and the game was tied.

(As an aside, and this has nothing to do with the terrible injury suffered by Buster Posey, I hate the rule that allows the catcher to block the plate like this. It’s one thing to not get out of the way of a runner because you’re trying to receive the ball, and it’s another thing entirely to prevent the runner entirely from accessing the plate. As you can see, Gordon was brought to nearly a complete stop by Mathis here. That sort of thing isn’t allowed at other bases, and it shouldn’t be allowed at the plate – it’s just unfair to the runner.)

But a tie isn’t enough, and so Gwynn walked to the plate with two down. (I’ll spare you my usual “Kershaw was in the books for a loss, then to a no-decision, then got the win, despite doing absolutely nothing in the bottom of the ninth to impact any of that” business for once.) Eight pitches into the at-bat, he flicked a pitch to right field, easily scoring Trent Oeltjen, who had run for Navarro.

Tony Gwynn, hero. Baseball’s a funny game sometimes.

******

As I said before, we’d be remiss to not acknowledge the pitching performance we saw from Kershaw and Weaver. The Dodgers put men on the corners with no outs in the fifth? No problem; Weaver induced a grounder from Kershaw and flyouts from Tony Gwynn & Casey Blake. Jeff Mathis leads off the sixth with a double, followed by Weaver attempting to sacrifice him to third? Not a concern; Kershaw leaped off the mound to snag the popped bunt before turning to nail Mathis for the double play at second, in a play that must be seen to be believed (I think I’ve reached my animated GIF quota for one day, okay?)

In the seventh, each side drew blood against the other ace, though both runs could be charitably described as “lucky”. Kershaw allowing a double to Erick Aybar looks bad in the box score, but it was a bloop that landed just in between left fielder Gwynn & shortstop Jamey Carroll which Aybar aggressively turned into two bases. He was then driven in on a Howie Kendrick single to center which fell just out of the reach of a diving Matt Kemp. As a legion of Dodger fans resigned themselves to a 1-0 loss, the Angels gave the run right back in the bottom of the frame. Kershaw led off with a single, and we’re going to have to stop jokingly saying that he’s better than any pinch-hitter who might replace him, because it’s basically true. Gwynn, hitting leadoff for reasons I can’t possibly comprehend, then crushed a ball to right field, scoring Kershaw. We’ll gloss over the fact that Vernon Wells really should have come down with the ball on the warning track and enjoy the rare good fortune that comes our way when it does. Of course, Wells earned that run right back with his go-ahead homer.

This is the 12th time in Kershaw’s career he’s put up double-digit strikeout numbers, though it’s the first time he’s done it in back-to-back starts, since he also struck out 11 Tigers last week. It also put him up to 128 K’s on the season, putting him back ahead of Justin Verlander for the most in baseball. That’s impressive, but that’s not what I liked the best about today; it was the fact that he did it without a single walk. Remember when we said that the only thing holding him back from megaultrastardom was harnessing the walks? Yeah, about that: his K/BB rate from 2008-11: 1.92, 2.03, 2.62, 3.66.

Clayton Kershaw, shiny golden god.

Jamie Hoffmann or Jay Gibbons?

June 26, 2011 at 9:01 am | Posted in Jamie Hoffmann, Jay Gibbons | 12 Comments

Yesterday, I asked if you’d prefer to see Trayvon Robinson or Jerry Sands if Marcus Thames had to go on the DL. I asked that more as a way to see which of the two fans wanted to see more rather than as an explicit “it’s definitely going to be one of these two guys” statement. Good thing, because as it turns out, it’s, it’s likely to be neither:

The Dodgers have three outfielders on their 40-man roster at Triple-A Albuquerque from which they can promote a replacement: Jerry Sands, Trayvon Robinson and Jamie Hoffmann. Of the three, only Hoffmann didn’t play Saturday, a possible indication that he would be Thames’ replacement. Hoffmann is the oldest and most experienced of the trio.

Sands apparently was still struggling with some of the mechanical bad habits that led to his demotion two weeks ago. The latest word on Robinson was that he was making continued progress, but management would prefer to keep him in the Minors through August, if possible.

“Jerry’s OK, and Trayvon’s been hot lately,” said Mattingly. “We feel [Trayvon's] starting to make strides and adjustments. We have to make sure we don’t bring guys too fast. We’ve had to bring guys faster than we’ve wanted to this year. We’ve talked about a number of guys [to promote]. I hate to say at this point.”

The roster issue would seem to indicate Hoffmann, who had four hitless plate appearances with the club earlier in the season. Hoffmann is known as a plus defender at all three positions, and he’s having a decent enough season in ABQ, though he’s trending in the wrong direction: his monthly OPS over the first three months has gone from 1.003 to .854 to .746.

However, Joe Block of KABC’s DodgerTalk reminds us that there’s another familiar name in the mix…

LF Jay Gibbons is batting .300 (12-for-40) with 2 HR since rejoining Albuquerque #Dodgers

#Dodgers have 39 men counting toward 40-man roster. Could add a player to call up if Thames is DL’d.

That last part is important, because it wouldn’t require another player to be DFA’d. Hoffmann probably fits the roster better, since he’s a righty hitter (don’t forget, without Thames, the other two left field options are each lefty in Tony Gwynn and Trent Oeltjen) and a much better fielder, but he’s also been less than impressive at the plate in ABQ, while Gibbons does have that creamy veteran goodness. I imagine Ned Colletti would also like to finally get some value out of re-signing Gibbons in the winter, but having four lefty outfielders around Matt Kemp does seem like a pretty terrible idea. Thoughts?

The Welcome End of the Steve Soboroff Era

June 25, 2011 at 12:51 pm | Posted in Steve Soboroff | 11 Comments

On April 19, Frank McCourt hired Steve Soboroff as team vice chairman. Soboroff had been a mayoral candidate, real estate developer, and former senior advisor to Mayor Richard Riordan. Today, after a tenure of less than 100 days, most of which was marked by hilarity not seen since the days of “Baghdad Bob“, he resigned. Let’s look back longingly at the all-too-short tenure of Soboroff with the Dodgers.

April 19:

In a news release Tuesday, the Dodgers said Soboroff would be entrusted with “leading the efforts to improve the fan experience at the stadium, strengthening ties to the region’s community and philanthropic organizations, and expanding conservation and sustainability programs at Dodger Stadium.”

“Steve understands this city as few others do, and his contributions have made Los Angeles a better place,” McCourt said in the release. “Not only will he infuse great ideas and energy to the Dodger organization, but he will use his trademark ‘get-it-done’ approach to extend the Dodgers’ positive impact on Los Angeles. It starts with a quality fan experience in the stadium, and extends throughout the Southern California community.”

April 20:

Bud Selig: “Pursuant to my authority as Commissioner, I informed Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt today that I will appoint a representative to oversee all aspects of the business and the day-to-day operations of the Club. I have taken this action because of my deep concerns regarding the finances and operations of the Dodgers and to protect the best interests of the Club, its great fans and all of Major League Baseball. My office will continue its thorough investigation into the operations and finances of the Dodgers and related entities during the period of Mr. McCourt’s ownership. I will announce the name of my representative in the next several days.

April 21:

“This is like having money in the bank and having somebody hold your ATM card,” Soboroff said. “The money is in the bank. The Fox deal is done. These actions are not allowing him to access money. That’s a lot different than saying he’s got financial problems.”

Soboroff, a former advisor to former Mayor Richard Riordan, a mayoral candidate and the developer of Playa Vista, was hired by McCourt on Tuesday. In a meeting with reporters, Soboroff said, “Frank McCourt is financially fine.”

Selig was said to be aghast at that statement, but Soboroff did not back down. He cited the Fox deal, potential real estate development in the Dodger Stadium parking lot and unidentified “other potential new revenue sources” as untapped sources of revenue for McCourt.

April 23:

“They think, ‘My God, this guy has lost his mind,’ ” Soboroff said in a late-night phone conversation Thursday. “Am I losing my marbles? No.”

He did say, however, that he would not have accepted the job had he known Selig was about to take the team: “I’m not stupid.”

May 6:

Now McCourt has had to apologize for Soboroff’s latest verbal volley, which he repeated to several media outlets.

He told Yahoo Sports, the New York Times and KPCC-FM (89.3) that he was unable to reach MLB’s Dodgers monitor, Tom Schieffer, the night Osama bin Laden was killed to ask for additional stadium security. Soboroff said he did not know how to reach him, so he sent an email to MLB Vice President Rob Manfred, who did not respond.

“So I did it myself,” Soboroff told the New York Times’ Richard Sandomir. “If I’m fired, so be it.”

Said Manfred to Sandomir: “I’ve never received an email or phone call from Steve Soboroff on security matters.”

Turns out, club general counsel Sam Fernandez, who must have known the double-secret handshake and did know how to reach Schieffer, made the request — and, as Schieffer showed in an email, had it approved within two minutes.

Which forced McCourt to apologize in both a public statement and a phone call to Manfred.

May 27:

The Dodgers return Friday night to open a brief six-game homestand, which seems a perfect time to mention who was all but invisible during the last homestand:

“Bulldog” Steve Soboroff.

Seems Frank McCourt actually did put a leash on his wild hair vice chairman of something or another.

During the last seven games at Dodger Stadium, Soboroff was nowhere to be seen, which naturally had me wondering if he had been fired after McCourt had to apologize to Major League Baseball after Soboroff’s latest verbal attack.

But, no, I was assured he was still in the fold, if just less publicly prominent. Seems McCourt finally understood that if you’re trying to get the commissioner of baseball to approve a TV deal to save your ownership, it probably isn’t the best idea to have your latest lackey trying to take a bite out of us butt every other day.

June 25:

Soboroff: I accepted the position as Vice Chairman of the Los Angeles Dodgers because I love Los Angeles and I love the Dodgers. I felt I could use my previous experience during the past 30+ years with civic and public policy projects like Staples Center, the city’s Recreation and Parks system, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles, etc., etc. to help the Dodger organization and to help Los Angeles.

On the day my appointment was announced, last April, I received hundreds of messages of support from people throughout Los Angeles. It was a great start!

Unfortunately, the very next day, an unanticipated action by the Commissioner of Major League Baseball resulted (understandably) in elevating the resolution of ‘control and ownership’ issues to top priority, which remains to this day. As a consequence, it is not possible for me to effectively work on the very initiatives and contributions that you had hired me to implement.

My family and I have reflected on this turn of events and have determined that the present environment is not conductive to getting the results I was brought on to achieve for the Dodger organization or for Los Angeles

As a result, I am tendering my resignation as Vice Chairman of the Los Angeles Dodgers, effective immediately.

I remain a lifelong Dodger fan and will now embark on a different path to continue my longstanding efforts to make good things happen in Los Angeles.

In retrospect, you have to feel bad for him a little bit, just because of the timing of the MLB takeover; even he had admitted that he wouldn’t have taken the job if he had known that would happen. Don’t feel too bad for him, however, because it was hardly a secret that McCourt was in trouble, and it doesn’t change any of the ridiculous things he said, only serving to make McCourt look worse, which is a feat in itself. Soboroff’s departure, while almost certainly the right thing for the team, is just another in an embarrassingly long line of executives who have moved on under McCourt’s tenure.

Clock is ticking, Frankie.