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He should have never made her co-owner.
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[h1]Discussion: What's Next For The Dodgers?[/h1]
By Mike Axisa [October 22 at 5:53pm CST]
The Phillies pounded the Dodgers' pitching staff last night en route to a World Series berth, so now the newly signed Ned Colletti will go to work trying to improve his club for next year.
Los Angeles has a few prominent players due to become free agents, including Orlando Hudson, Jim Thome, Randy Wolf, Mark Loretta and Ronnie Belliard. They also have $42MM in options to sort out between Manny Ramirez, Vicente Padilla, and Jon Garland, although Manny's is a player option while Garland's is mutual. Let's not forget that Russell Martin, Andre Ethier, George Sherrill, Jonathan Broxton, Chad Billingsley, Matt Kemp, and Hong-Chih Kuo are all eligible for arbitration. That could get expensive very quickly.
What do MLBTR's readers think the Dodgers need to do this offseason? Acquiring a front-line starting pitcher would seem like a top priority, so they may choose to make a play for Roy Halladay or attempt to sign John Lackey. They'll also need to figure out who's playing second. Just throwing some names out there - what about a package deal for Dan Uggla and Josh Johnson?
The http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=ladLos Angeles Dodgers gave their GM a new contract this week, and Ned Colletti is already talking about what's next for his ballclub, writes the LA Times.
Colletti said he's planning on stepping up the Dodgers' international scouting efforts, and even hinted that he's open to long-term deals for a certain few of the club's young stars.
That's a good thing, too, because the Dodgers have a slew of young players that are eligible for arbitration, including most of their core talent.
Kid throws 95-96 MPH, and he's a lefty.Originally Posted by CincoSeisDos
Let's get Chapman
And that kid from Japan
Originally Posted by bright nikes
I think someone saw that ESPN or OTL report they had on him too.
I heard he doesn't have any other dominating pitches besides his fastball, and also lacks maturity.Originally Posted by P MAC ONE
This dude Chapman is going to get possibly 50 mil, but he's nowhere near ready from the majors from what I hear.
I'll pass, if that's true
- ESPN's Buster Olney wonders if the "legal wrangling" caused by the McCourts' divorce could affect the Dodgers attempt to land a No. 1 starter this offseason. Within the same piece, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus notes that the prospects traded in deals for Casey Blake and George Sherrill have thinned out LA's system, meaning they might not have the ammo to pull off a major trade.
- Meanwhile, Phil Wood of MASNsports.com writes that owner Frank McCourt believes Joe Torre will manage the Dodgers for years to come. "When push comes to shove, he won't want to leave," said McCourt
[h1]Dodgers Owner -- Cold as Ice[/h1]
Posted Oct 23rd 2009 7:02PM by TMZ Staff
There's a reason Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt bleeds Dodger blue -- judging from the way he fired his wife of 30 years ... his blood is colder than ice.
TMZ obtained the "Notice of Termination" Frank MAILED to his soon-to-be-ex wife Jamie -- who was fired from her job as co-CEO of the team the day before the Dodgers were eliminated from the playoffs. Mind you, this letter was sent just 2 weeks before the couple's 30th wedding anniversary.
The letter begins, "Dear Jamie -- This is to inform you that your employment with and positions as Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairperson of Los Angeles Dodgers LLC, as well as any and all of the positions that you hold ... are hereby terminated effective immediately."
Though hard to believe, it gets even colder:
"Because your employment is held at-will, the Organization is not required to have cause to terminate your employment and may do so for any reason or no reason at all.
However, your actions, including, but not limited to, your insubordination, non-responsiveness, failure to follow procedures, and inappropriate behavior with regard to a direct subordinate, have made this decision necessary."
And for good measure, we've also learned Frank locked Jamie out of her office today. We're told Jamie called her assistant and asked her to open the office door -- she was informed her key no longer worked.
Nice touch Frank.
Read more: http://www.tmz.com/#ixzz0Up1Xhs5t
[h1]Frank McCourt claims wife Jamie's behavior was insubordinate, inappropriate[/h1] [h2]Dodgers owner levels those charges against his estranged spouse in a letter firing her as the team's chief executive.[/h2]
[table][tr][td]
Tom Lasorda, a special advisor to the chairman of the board, is flanked by Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and his wife Jamie during the team's home opener in 2005. (Javier R. Cardona / EPA / April 13, 2005)
[/td] [/tr][/table]
- Related
Dodgers' owner Frank McCourt fires wife Jamie
World Series? For Dodgers, it's still only a dream
Over and out for Dodgers
By Bill Shaikin
October 23, 2009 | 8:20 p.m.
As Jamie McCourt vanished from the Dodgers' website, Frank McCourt charged his estranged wife with insubordination and inappropriate behavior in a letter firing her as the team's chief executive.
The letter, signed by Frank McCourt on letterhead that identifies him as the Dodgers' owner, advises Jamie McCourt to contact team human relations personnel to arrange "a time and date to gather your personal belongings." The letter is dated Wednesday, the day the Dodgers were eliminated from the National League Championship Series in Philadelphia.
Jamie McCourt, who considers herself a co-owner of the team, is expected to initiate legal proceedings next week. The grounds for dismissal, as set forth by Frank McCourt in his termination letter, could lay the groundwork for part of his defense, experts said.
The letter charges Jamie McCourt with "insubordination, non-responsiveness, failure to follow procedures, and inappropriate behavior with a direct subordinate."
"I will tell the judge what I dispute and don't dispute," said Dennis Wasser, the attorney for Jamie McCourt. "I don't want to try this in the press."
The letter was obtained and posted online Friday by tmz.com. Wasser confirmed its authenticity to The Times. Neither he nor Marshall Grossman, the attorney for Frank McCourt, would comment on its contents.
By Friday, the day after the firing became public, the Dodgers had removed Jamie McCourt's name from the staff directory posted online and taken down her biography as well.
They also had eliminated the section devoted to one of Jamie McCourt's treasured community initiatives, an outreach program that "brings women closer to the game, brings the game closer to women's lifestyles and helps inspire women to use their voices," according to her biography in the Dodgers' media guide. The web page for the so-called Women's Initiatives Network (WIN) now redirects readers to the Dodgers' community relations home page.
The Dodgers expect to launch a new women's program next year, spokesman Josh Rawitch said.
Frank McCourt's letter references the law that permits a company to fire an employee not under contract at any time, without saying why.
"If there is no contract, you don't need good cause," said Michael Waterstone, employment law professor at Loyola Law School.
Why, then, would Frank McCourt explicitly cite several causes for the dismissal in the letter?
"It could be one of two reasons," Waterstone said. "One could be emotions that have nothing to do with legal issues."
The other, he said, could be an anticipation that Jamie McCourt might argue she had an oral contract, a reasonable expectation that a husband and wife working together and presenting themselves as the top executives of the club would not have a written contract between them.
"He's moving the first chess piece to respond to that," Waterstone said.
Frank McCourt claims he is the sole owner of the Dodgers. If Jamie McCourt can establish in court that she is a co-owner of the team and not an employee, Waterstone said, then issues surrounding when and how an employer can fire an employee might not be relevant.
The McCourts announced their separation last Wednesday, one week before the termination letter. Angela Reddock, a Los Angeles employment lawyer, said that timing could raise questions if Frank McCourt cites those causes for dismissal in his defense.
"If she was having those issues, why wasn't she terminated before?" Reddock said. "What makes it interesting is the overlay of pending divorce."
[color= rgb(255, 255, 255)]Wooowwwww...[/color]
[color= rgb(255, 255, 255)]So she !+!%#@ somebody in the office.[/color]
[color= rgb(255, 255, 255)]Ironman, you gotta know something about this[/color]
Originally Posted by P MAC ONE
[h1]Dodgers Owner -- Cold as Ice[/h1]
Posted Oct 23rd 2009 7:02PM by TMZ Staff
There's a reason Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt bleeds Dodger blue -- judging from the way he fired his wife of 30 years ... his blood is colder than ice.
TMZ obtained the "Notice of Termination" Frank MAILED to his soon-to-be-ex wife Jamie -- who was fired from her job as co-CEO of the team the day before the Dodgers were eliminated from the playoffs. Mind you, this letter was sent just 2 weeks before the couple's 30th wedding anniversary.
The letter begins, "Dear Jamie -- This is to inform you that your employment with and positions as Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairperson of Los Angeles Dodgers LLC, as well as any and all of the positions that you hold ... are hereby terminated effective immediately."
Though hard to believe, it gets even colder:
"Because your employment is held at-will, the Organization is not required to have cause to terminate your employment and may do so for any reason or no reason at all.
However, your actions, including, but not limited to, your insubordination, non-responsiveness, failure to follow procedures, and inappropriate behavior with regard to a direct subordinate, have made this decision necessary."
And for good measure, we've also learned Frank locked Jamie out of her office today. We're told Jamie called her assistant and asked her to open the office door -- she was informed her key no longer worked.
Nice touch Frank.
Read more: http://www.tmz.com/#ixzz0Up1Xhs5t
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[h1]Frank McCourt claims wife Jamie's behavior was insubordinate, inappropriate[/h1] [h2]Dodgers owner levels those charges against his estranged spouse in a letter firing her as the team's chief executive.[/h2]
[table][tr][td]
Tom Lasorda, a special advisor to the chairman of the board, is flanked by Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and his wife Jamie during the team's home opener in 2005. (Javier R. Cardona / EPA / April 13, 2005)
[/td] [/tr][/table]
- Related
Dodgers' owner Frank McCourt fires wife Jamie
World Series? For Dodgers, it's still only a dream
Over and out for Dodgers
By Bill Shaikin
October 23, 2009 | 8:20 p.m.
As Jamie McCourt vanished from the Dodgers' website, Frank McCourt charged his estranged wife with insubordination and inappropriate behavior in a letter firing her as the team's chief executive.
The letter, signed by Frank McCourt on letterhead that identifies him as the Dodgers' owner, advises Jamie McCourt to contact team human relations personnel to arrange "a time and date to gather your personal belongings." The letter is dated Wednesday, the day the Dodgers were eliminated from the National League Championship Series in Philadelphia.
Jamie McCourt, who considers herself a co-owner of the team, is expected to initiate legal proceedings next week. The grounds for dismissal, as set forth by Frank McCourt in his termination letter, could lay the groundwork for part of his defense, experts said.
The letter charges Jamie McCourt with "insubordination, non-responsiveness, failure to follow procedures, and inappropriate behavior with a direct subordinate."
"I will tell the judge what I dispute and don't dispute," said Dennis Wasser, the attorney for Jamie McCourt. "I don't want to try this in the press."
The letter was obtained and posted online Friday by tmz.com. Wasser confirmed its authenticity to The Times. Neither he nor Marshall Grossman, the attorney for Frank McCourt, would comment on its contents.
By Friday, the day after the firing became public, the Dodgers had removed Jamie McCourt's name from the staff directory posted online and taken down her biography as well.
They also had eliminated the section devoted to one of Jamie McCourt's treasured community initiatives, an outreach program that "brings women closer to the game, brings the game closer to women's lifestyles and helps inspire women to use their voices," according to her biography in the Dodgers' media guide. The web page for the so-called Women's Initiatives Network (WIN) now redirects readers to the Dodgers' community relations home page.
The Dodgers expect to launch a new women's program next year, spokesman Josh Rawitch said.
Frank McCourt's letter references the law that permits a company to fire an employee not under contract at any time, without saying why.
"If there is no contract, you don't need good cause," said Michael Waterstone, employment law professor at Loyola Law School.
Why, then, would Frank McCourt explicitly cite several causes for the dismissal in the letter?
"It could be one of two reasons," Waterstone said. "One could be emotions that have nothing to do with legal issues."
The other, he said, could be an anticipation that Jamie McCourt might argue she had an oral contract, a reasonable expectation that a husband and wife working together and presenting themselves as the top executives of the club would not have a written contract between them.
"He's moving the first chess piece to respond to that," Waterstone said.
Frank McCourt claims he is the sole owner of the Dodgers. If Jamie McCourt can establish in court that she is a co-owner of the team and not an employee, Waterstone said, then issues surrounding when and how an employer can fire an employee might not be relevant.
The McCourts announced their separation last Wednesday, one week before the termination letter. Angela Reddock, a Los Angeles employment lawyer, said that timing could raise questions if Frank McCourt cites those causes for dismissal in his defense.
"If she was having those issues, why wasn't she terminated before?" Reddock said. "What makes it interesting is the overlay of pending divorce."
[h1]Dodgers Unlikely To Acquire An Ace?[/h1]
By Mike Axisa [October 23 at 7:46pm CST]
The Dodgers' need for a front-line starting pitcher was evident in the postseason, when they were forced to start Rangers' cast-off Vicente Padilla in an elimination game. Most speculated that acquiring a top of the rotation starter would be the first order of business for GM Ned Colletti, but according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick, bringing aboard a pitcher of that caliber may be unlikely.
"There's not a long list of guys where you would say, this guy would make a dramatic difference," Colletti said of the upcoming crop of free-agent starters. "It's a thin market. There are pitchers who would make us better. But tremendously better?
"Every club needs an ace and we're not unlike any club. We might have one or two in the making [referring to Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley]. But the likelihood of an ace becoming available by trade is very slim. And this [free-agent] class doesn't have that type of allure to it."
Both Colletti and manager Joe Torre agree on the clubs biggest areas of need - starting pitching depth and second base - but reiterated that they're comfortable with the young core that's in place. Who wouldn't be comfortable with a group of young players like that?
Despite what seems to be a perpetual need for starters, the Dodgers led baseball with a 3.41 ERA in 2009, and their 3.80 FIP was good for second best behind Atlanta.