The Futility Infielder

Speaking of the commissioner, I took some pretty good shots at Bud Selig myself last week over an item buried in the L.A. Times' coverage of the Vlad Guerrero signing. My interpretation of Bill Shaikin's article was that Selig had effectively blackmailed would-be Dodger owner Frank McCourt out of signing Guerrero in exchange for the commissioner's blessing regarding the Dodgers' sale. With the help of Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts, I made a big stink which generated a fair amount of discussion on a few sites, including Baseball Primer. The general consensus was not quite the outrage I had hoped for, with the most common reaction along the lines of, "Well, duh, McCourt doesn't have the money to buy the team anyway," which was right in line with Weisman's original interpretation of the Shaikin article.

My point was that Selig has the power to frame any interpretation of McCourt's financing and cue the approval process -- "I think this checks out, boys," or "I think it's a bit shaky, fellas." As such, his interest isn't in McCourt's financing, but in his fealty.

McCourt's bid is most definitely underfinanced; I've now done enough homework to see that more clearly. But taken from any angle, the conduct of all involved is problematic. A non-owner calling the shots for a team he may not be able to buy BEFORE he actually takes over is bad, a commissioner telling teams who they can and can't sign is bad, and a commissioner attaching his seal of approval for a sale based on loyalty is bad as well. I don't want any of that, whether it's a team I'm rooting for or not.

I will concede that if the speculation is true that McCourt, a Boston real estate developer, is interested in buying the Dodgers so that he can build a downtown ballpark, raze Dodger Stadium and develop the Chavez Ravine land for his own devices, then there is no action on the part of Bud Selig, the United States military, or organized criminals (even disorganized ones) that I will not condone to prevent that from happening. Smite him and his seed from the earth if he so much as lifts a finger to harm that ballpark; I promise not to say, "boo."

For all of the badness in this bidness, the scrutiny has turned back to McCourt's flawed quest to buy the Dodgers. Weisman linked this lengthy L.A. Daily News article by Rich Hammond which is pretty damning:

Frank McCourt might win Major League Baseball's approval to buy the Dodgers by the end of the month, but his limited financial resources have raised significant concern among Southern California sports executives and has led local businessman and philanthropist Eli Broad to put forth what is believed to be a more attractive backup plan.

A McCourt ownership likely would lead to a lower team payroll and increased ticket prices, according to three sources involved in top-level, day-to-day operations of professional teams in Southern California.

The sources and experts in sports finance said the Boston developer is borrowing heavily to buy the Dodgers -- a franchise insiders say is losing $40 million a year -- because he has failed to find suitable partners for a $430 million deal that taxes his own resources.

Broad's proposal wouldn't require partners, and reportedly he would ask current owner News Corp. for a small loan, which presents a stark contrast to McCourt's highly leveraged bid.

The article then goes on to several responses to the McCourt bid. An unnamed source gives McCourt three years before realizing he had to sell the team, while USC professor and sports consultant David Carter offers a disturbing analogy: "It's like a high school kid who convinces his dad to buy him a car. He gets the car, but then he realizes he can't afford to buy the gas. I think Dodger fans should be concerned that, in this case, they're going to be the ones buying the gas."

The aforementioned Broad deal is interesting. He has local ties, along with a reputation for grand ventures and grandiose schemes, and he's apparently willing to bring former owner Peter O'Malley back to run the team. While McCourt has a January 31 deadline on exclusive negotiating rights to buy the team, the knowledge that another, better-financed suitor may be waiting in the wings, prepared to offer the same amount as McCourt, perhaps the Fox Group and the other owners might be less likely to ramrod this one through.

A high-ranking baseball official told the L.A. Times that the owners are aware of Broad and "it stands to reason he could move through the approval process very quickly if it came to that." But Ross Newhan of the Times also reports that MLB president/COO Bob DuPuy thinks the McCourt deal can be done on time:

Bob DuPuy also said that despite issues that pertained to baseball's complex and important debt-service rule in McCourt's $430-million proposal, he still thought that the sale could be completed before Jan. 31, the deadline in the agreement involving McCourt, the Boston real estate developer, and News Corp., the Dodger owner.

"As to what significance the development with Eli Broad has is a question for News Corp.," DuPuy said. "As for baseball, we have no reaction in the sense that News Corp. has asked us to process the McCourt application and that's what we're attempting to do. I think both the buyer and seller want it done and that's what we're trying to do."

Newhan's piece is all over the map ("Ross Newhan Is Playing Ping-Pong With My Brain," writes Weisman):

Selig seldom puts an issue up for a vote unless he knows the outcome, which in most cases is to rubber-stamp his desires.

This case, however, is tougher to read.

Whether Selig is determined to have McCourt approved as a favor to News Corp. because of its national and regional TV contracts with baseball or whether he would let owners reject the sale, feeling that he could tell News Corp. that he had done everything he could, isn't clear.

He has insisted that the debt-service rule must be fastidiously and aggressively applied and that the Dodger situation has to be resolved quickly to restore stability to one of baseball's flagship franchises.

Although Broad's emergence has provided baseball with a viable alternative -- a person who is highly respected in the community and requires no credit check -- the timing of his letter, coming late in the process, has almost seemed to increase support for McCourt.

On Monday, a high-ranking baseball official said McCourt was being "prejudged unfairly" by Los Angeles media, which has raised questions about his leveraged proposal and operating resources if approved.

Rubber stamps, debt-service rules, and a media-induced backlash (implicating the Times) that may work in McCourt's favor? I'm not sure which is spinning more, my head or Newhan's story. But I don't think there's a Dodger fan out there who can like the way this is unfolding. Right now the best thing we can hope for is the clock running out on this sickly bid.