OFFICIAL 2009 DODGERS OFFSEASON THREAD: (95-57) NL West Champs --- NLCS Chumps

[p mac one]

Consider that Fox still gets the money from TV revenue.

With the Dodgers being in the largest market outside of New York, what are the chances they create a regional sports network like YES, NESN, and SportsNet New York?
-- Eddie Y., Cerritos, Calif.
Anything is possible, but it doesn't appear that will happen anytime soon. The Dodgers' current television deals with Fox Sports and KCAL run through 2013. Remember, when the McCourts bought the club in 2004, they bought it from Fox's parent News Corp. The only reason News Corp. bought the club from the O'Malley family was for the programming. So, even though they sold the team, News Corp. still valued the programming and insisted on a long-term TV rights deal. Without that, the team wouldn't have been sold to the McCourts for the $430 million sales price.



That's approximately $15-20 million of revenue that he doesn't get, which would double his revenue.

He gets the rights to the TV in 4 years, so if he doesn't start spending more $ then (if he still owns the team) then it's more fair to get upset.

And come on IYN, mad because we have ads in the stadium? Every team has ads everywhere.

As for Moreno, he's from the U of A, what more could you expect than him being one of the best owners in the sport. Comparing him to other non Cats issimply unfair.

 

[p mac one]

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt accuses wife of affair

By GREG RISLING (AP) - 4 hours ago

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt on Wednesday filed papers opposing his wife's demand to be reinstated as the team's chief executive, citing insubordination and an affair she allegedly had with her bodyguard.

The documents were submitted one day after Jamie McCourt filed divorce papers seeking to regain her $2 million-a-year job.

In a filing submitted by the Dodgers that opposes her return to the team, Dodgers attorneys allege that Jamie McCourt took a trip with her bodyguard, Jeff Fuller, in early July to Israel on team business, but then headed to France for 2 1/2 weeks and billed the Dodgers for the trip. Jamie McCourt is also accused of not giving her husband any information about her assignments as chief executive and not providing the team with her schedule of public appearances.

In a declaration filed by Frank McCourt, he references Fuller as well, saying before his wife went on the trip she asked him for three things - one of which was to have Fuller be her driver.

Dodgers attorney Debra Fischer told The Associated Press that Fuller and Jamie McCourt told the team they had an affair. Fuller and Jamie McCourt were fired earlier this month.

Jamie McCourt's attorney, Dennis Wasser, declined to comment.

Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon postponed the divorce hearing until Nov. 5, saying he needed to review all the documents. Neither Jamie nor Frank McCourt were in court on Wednesday.

In a declaration filed Tuesday, Jamie McCourt claims her husband plotted to boot her from the team's front office as a way to "humiliate and ostracize" her. She said she was excluded from management decisions and had lodged a workplace harassment complaint with team attorneys.

"Frank has no right to purport to terminate me. We are co-owners of the Dodgers," she said. "Not only has Frank publicly held us out as co-owners of the franchise, he has also admitted this fact in front of our estate planning counsel."

Frank McCourt fired his wife last week after the Dodgers were eliminated from the playoffs by the Philadelphia Phillies.

He said the couple entered into a marital agreement in March 2004 that gave him ownership of the Dodgers. That decision was made by Jamie McCourt to insulate herself from any debts or creditor's claims that might result from purchasing the Dodgers, documents filed by Frank McCourt's attorneys state.

The team was losing more than $75 million a year when Frank McCourt purchased the team, and Jamie McCourt, who is an attorney, wanted to protect her real estate and other investments, the filing states.

Frank McCourt wrote that he allowed his wife to identify herself as "co-owner" for the "interests of family harmony" but her claim has damaged the Dodgers organization.

"Reports of these statements have been detrimental to the Dodgers, my other business ventures, and me personally," Frank McCourt wrote. Her claim has "thrown an unjustified cloud over the ownership of the Dodgers."

Jamie McCourt's filing states she is seeking reinstatement as well as access to perks including travel by private jet, stays at five-star resorts and use of the Dodgers owners' suite. She wants $321,000 a month in spousal support if reinstated to her former position. If not, she believes she should be paid nearly $488,000 per month.

The dispute comes as the Dodgers enter a busy offseason and could be a distraction when spring training arrives in February.

The team has the most potential players eligible for free agency with 16, including Manny Ramirez, who must decide if he will exercise his $20 million option for next season and return. Manager Joe Torre is headed into the final season of his three-year contract and Ned Colletti was recently given a long-term contract extension as general manager.

 

[frenchblue23]

Anyone know the deadline for Manny to pick up his option?

I think he might has over welcomed his stay

I don't see Matt Holliday commanding as much money as Manny gets paid yearly.

 

[in yo nostril]

Originally Posted by P MAC ONE

Consider that Fox still gets the money from TV revenue.

With the Dodgers being in the largest market outside of New York, what are the chances they create a regional sports network like YES, NESN, and SportsNet New York?
-- Eddie Y., Cerritos, Calif.
Anything is possible, but it doesn't appear that will happen anytime soon. The Dodgers' current television deals with Fox Sports and KCAL run through 2013. Remember, when the McCourts bought the club in 2004, they bought it from Fox's parent News Corp. The only reason News Corp. bought the club from the O'Malley family was for the programming. So, even though they sold the team, News Corp. still valued the programming and insisted on a long-term TV rights deal. Without that, the team wouldn't have been sold to the McCourts for the $430 million sales price.

That's approximately $15-20 million of revenue that he doesn't get, which would double his revenue.

He gets the rights to the TV in 4 years, so if he doesn't start spending more $ then (if he still owns the team) then it's more fair to get upset.

And come on IYN, mad because we have ads in the stadium? Every team has ads everywhere.

As for Moreno, he's from the U of A, what more could you expect than him being one of the best owners in the sport. Comparing him to other non Cats is simply unfair.

not mad solely because of the ads, mad because he puts ads everywhere then still hits fans for as much as he can. he has no respect for the common fan likemoreno does.

and the tv programming isnt an excuse for him. he doesnt get that revenue but it probably saved him a couple hundred million when he bought the team. actuallyhe probably wouldnt have been able to afford to buy the team without it.

 

[div1lbc]

Manny is not dumb, he will be back next year even though I'm not really too excited about it. Both him and his agent knows no team will come close topaying him $20 mil a season.

Also, it sounds like Jamie McCourt is a gold digger.

 

[p mac one]

Jon Heyman of SI tweeted today that Manny would exercise his option, but nothing from the team to confirm that yet. Heyman is supposedly close with Borasthough.

So McCourt got a discount on the team and he wouldn't have been able to afford it without conceding TV rights. That doesn't change the fact that hisprofits aren't great. Say what you want about him, I don't think he's the greatest owner around, and if given a choice I would pick another owner.I just don't feel as if calling him cheap is fair. He's possibly a little poor to own a baseball team, but he's not like Pohlad family which hasTONS of money but doesn't spend it on the Twins like they could.

 

[frenchblue23]

Originally Posted by P MAC ONE

Jon Heyman of SI tweeted today that Manny would exercise his option, but nothing from the team to confirm that yet. Heyman is supposedly close with Boras though.

So McCourt got a discount on the team and he wouldn't have been able to afford it without conceding TV rights. That doesn't change the fact that his profits aren't great. Say what you want about him, I don't think he's the greatest owner around, and if given a choice I would pick another owner. I just don't feel as if calling him cheap is fair. He's possibly a little poor to own a baseball team, but he's not like Pohlad family which has TONS of money but doesn't spend it on the Twins like they could.

I wonder how those monthly payments are working for him

Dude just wanted to own a baseball franchise, he hit and missed with the Red Sox, and Angels.

Looks like Newscorp was the smart investor here.

But then again, we would not be talking about this if the divorce didn't go public.

He's not gonna be able to afford handing over half to his wife, their going to have to figure something out, otherwise, Jamie McCourt will be introduced asthe sole owner. Frank is in a lose lose.

 

[in yo nostril]

Originally Posted by P MAC ONE

Jon Heyman of SI tweeted today that Manny would exercise his option, but nothing from the team to confirm that yet. Heyman is supposedly close with Boras though.

So McCourt got a discount on the team and he wouldn't have been able to afford it without conceding TV rights. That doesn't change the fact that his profits aren't great. Say what you want about him, I don't think he's the greatest owner around, and if given a choice I would pick another owner. I just don't feel as if calling him cheap is fair. He's possibly a little poor to own a baseball team, but he's not like Pohlad family which has TONS of money but doesn't spend it on the Twins like they could.

no one knows how much money he really makes from this team. im guessing its a decent amount.

 

[p mac one]

Special Report
The Business Of Baseball
04.16.08, 6:00 PM ET [table][tr][td]
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][td]
[table][tr][td]Rank[/td] [td]Team[/td] [td]Current Value [sup]1[/sup] ($mil)[/td] [td]1-Yr Value Change (%)[/td] [td]Debt/Value [sup]2[/sup] (%)[/td] [td]Revenues ($mil)[/td] [td]Operating Income [sup]3[/sup] ($mil)[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1[/td] [td]New York Yankees[/td] [td]1,306[/td] [td]9[/td] [td]77[/td] [td]327[/td] [td]-47.3[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2[/td] [td]New York Mets[/td] [td]824[/td] [td]12[/td] [td]97[/td] [td]235[/td] [td]32.9[/td] [/tr][tr][td]3[/td] [td]Boston Red Sox[/td] [td]816[/td] [td]13[/td] [td]29[/td] [td]263[/td] [td]-19.1[/td] [/tr][tr][td]4[/td] [td]Los Angeles Dodgers[/td] [td]694[/td] [td]10[/td] [td]61[/td] [td]224[/td] [td]20.0[/td] [/tr][tr][td]5[/td] [td]Chicago Cubs[/td] [td]642[/td] [td]8[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]214[/td] [td]21.4[/td] [/tr][tr][td]6[/td] [td]Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim[/td] [td]500[/td] [td]16[/td] [td]7[/td] [td]200[/td] [td]15.2[/td] [/tr][tr][td]7[/td] [td]Atlanta Braves[/td] [td]497[/td] [td]9[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]199[/td] [td]28.1[/td] [/tr][tr][td]8[/td] [td]San Francisco Giants[/td] [td]494[/td] [td]8[/td] [td]28[/td] [td]197[/td] [td]19.9[/td] [/tr][tr][td]9[/td] [td]St Louis Cardinals[/td] [td]484[/td] [td]5[/td] [td]51[/td] [td]194[/td] [td]21.5[/td] [/tr][tr][td]10[/td] [td]Philadelphia Phillies[/td] [td]481[/td] [td]5[/td] [td]36[/td] [td]192[/td] [td]14.3[/td] [/tr][tr][td]11[/td] [td]Seattle Mariners[/td] [td]466[/td] [td]7[/td] [td]21[/td] [td]194[/td] [td]10.1[/td] [/tr][tr][td]12[/td] [td]Houston Astros[/td] [td]463[/td] [td]5[/td] [td]12[/td] [td]193[/td] [td]20.4[/td] [/tr][tr][td]13[/td] [td]Washington Nationals[/td] [td]460[/td] [td]3[/td] [td]54[/td] [td]153[/td] [td]43.7[/td] [/tr][tr][td]14[/td] [td]Chicago White Sox[/td] [td]443[/td] [td]16[/td] [td]9[/td] [td]193[/td] [td]30.6[/td] [/tr][tr][td]15[/td] [td]Cleveland Indians[/td] [td]417[/td] [td]14[/td] [td]24[/td] [td]181[/td] [td]29.2[/td] [/tr][tr][td]16[/td] [td]Texas Rangers[/td] [td]412[/td] [td]13[/td] [td]65[/td] [td]172[/td] [td]17.2[/td] [/tr][tr][td]17[/td] [td]Detroit Tigers[/td] [td]407[/td] [td]14[/td] [td]52[/td] [td]173[/td] [td]4.6[/td] [/tr][tr][td]18[/td] [td]Baltimore Orioles[/td] [td]398[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]38[/td] [td]166[/td] [td]7.7[/td] [/tr][tr][td]19[/td] [td]San Diego Padres[/td] [td]385[/td] [td]5[/td] [td]45[/td] [td]167[/td] [td]23.6[/td] [/tr][tr][td]20[/td] [td]Arizona Diamondbacks[/td] [td]379[/td] [td]12[/td] [td]54[/td] [td]165[/td] [td]5.9[/td] [/tr][tr][td]21[/td] [td]Colorado Rockies[/td] [td]371[/td] [td]17[/td] [td]22[/td] [td]169[/td] [td]26.2[/td] [/tr][tr][td]22[/td] [td]Toronto Blue Jays[/td] [td]352[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]160[/td] [td]-1.8[/td] [/tr][tr][td]23[/td] [td]Cincinnati Reds[/td] [td]337[/td] [td]10[/td] [td]12[/td] [td]161[/td] [td]19.3[/td] [/tr][tr][td]24[/td] [td]Milwaukee Brewers[/td] [td]331[/td] [td]15[/td] [td]36[/td] [td]158[/td] [td]19.2[/td] [/tr][tr][td]25[/td] [td]Minnesota Twins[/td] [td]328[/td] [td]14[/td] [td]27[/td] [td]149[/td] [td]23.8[/td] [/tr][tr][td]26[/td] [td]Oakland Athletics[/td] [td]323[/td] [td]11[/td] [td]28[/td] [td]154[/td] [td]15.4[/td] [/tr][tr][td]27[/td] [td]Kansas City Royals[/td] [td]301[/td] [td]7[/td] [td]13[/td] [td]131[/td] [td]7.4[/td] [/tr][tr][td]28[/td] [td]Pittsburgh Pirates[/td] [td]292[/td] [td]7[/td] [td]34[/td] [td]139[/td] [td]17.6[/td] [/tr][tr][td]29[/td] [td]Tampa Bay Rays[/td] [td]290[/td] [td]8[/td] [td]14[/td] [td]138[/td] [td]29.7[/td] [/tr][tr][td]30[/td] [td]Florida Marlins[/td] [td]256[/td] [td]5[/td] [td]34[/td] [td]128[/td] [td]35.6[/td] [/tr][/table]

[table][tr][td] [/td] [td]Revenues and operating income are for 2007 season.
[sup]1[/sup]Value of team based on current stadium deal (unless new stadium is pending) without deduction for debt (other than stadium debt).
[sup]2[/sup]Includes stadium debt.
[sup]3[/sup]Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
NA: Not applicable.
Team Logos Courtesy MLB.[/td] [/tr][/table][/td] [/tr][/table]
Based on those figures, I'd say it's unfair to say McCourt should be spending any more than he should. Especially considering the payrollwas at $118 Million going into 2008

 

[cincoseisdos]

Any news on Mattinglys meetings with the FO this week?

 

[p mac one]

Originally Posted by CincoSeisDos

Any news on Mattinglys meetings with the FO this week?

None that I've seen. That said, with all the mudslinging between owners, I don't know what Donnie would want to lock himself into acontract especially when everyone seems skeptical that Joe would actually retire.

Speaking of mudslinging.

[h1]Harsh words fly in McCourt divorce filings[/h1] [h2]Jamie wants to buy the Dodgers; Frank says the team's not for sale.[/h2]
[table][tr][td]

Frank and Jamie McCourt are shown during happier times in this Sept. 2008 photo. (Carlos Delgado, Associated Press / September 25, 200
[/td] [/tr][/table]

• Related
• 
  Simers: In this divorce, it will be Dodgers' fans that get hurt the most
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  Dodgers' ownership at stake in McCourt fight
• 
  Highlights from the Jamie McCourt divorce papers
• Stories
• 
  Frank McCourt answers Jamie with papers alleging she had an affair

By Bill Shaikin
October 29, 2009

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The dramatic tale of the Dodgers ownership battle took another turn Wednesday when Jamie McCourt's attorney said that she had lined up financing for a possible bid to buy out her estranged husband.

"Whatever it takes to buy Frank McCourt out, she's got," attorney Bert Fields said.

Yet Frank McCourt has no intention of selling the Dodgers, to her or anyone else, his attorney said Wednesday.

"Congratulations to her for being a prospective buyer," attorney Marshall Grossman said. "There is no seller. Perhaps she could explore some other sport."

The day started with a new and salacious twist, with Frank McCourt claiming in a 664-page court filing that he fired Jamie McCourt as the club's chief executive in part for having an affair with her driver, who was employed by the Dodgers. His attorneys also allege the two spent 2 1/2 weeks in France this summer and billed the team for the trip.

Frank McCourt, who says he is the sole owner of the team, fired his wife last week after the team was eliminated from the National League playoffs. She filed for divorce Tuesday and asked the court to reinstate her as chief executive. She also says that she is a co-owner of the team.

Frank McCourt's attorneys claimed in Wednesday's court documents that her reinstatement would be "akin to throwing a bomb into a crowded room."

The court scheduled a Nov. 5 hearing on her bid for immediate reinstatement and a Dec. 1 hearing to discuss spousal support and other issues pending trial.

If the court does not recognize Jamie McCourt as a co-owner, Fields said, she believes the court would declare the team community property and she would attempt to buy it. She has asked the court to invalidate a 2004 agreement she signed that gives her sole ownership of the couple's residential properties and gives him sole ownership of the team.

Fields would not say how much money a buyout might require or identify any of the investors that might support her, but he said she already had been offered sufficient financing, including one person who contacted her Wednesday and offered to finance the purchase himself.

Frank McCourt has asked the court for an expedited ruling validating that he is the sole owner, calling her claims of co-ownership "false and baseless" and damaging to the team.

"It is time to end this nonsense," the filing states.

Dodgers President Dennis Mannion said in the court documents that Jamie McCourt did not show up for work more than half the time, put her own image ahead of the team's and "exhibited an almost disdainful disregard for the fundamental requirements of her job and workplace etiquette."

Lawyers for Frank McCourt not only alleged that Jamie McCourt had an affair with her driver -- his grounds for firing her included "an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate employee" -- but also that she charged the Dodgers for the cost of a European trip with him, in the middle of baseball season.

Fields admitted that Jamie McCourt is in a romantic relationship with Jeff Fuller, her driver, but said the relationship started after she separated from Frank McCourt on July 6. Fields said she did not bill the team for the trip.

"What does that have to do with ownership of the Dodgers? Nothing," he said. "It's a vicious smear campaign."

Mannion denied Jamie McCourt's claims that he had instructed team employees not to work with her and excluded her from management discussions and decisions. He said he would have welcomed her involvement had she shown up for work more often.

Mannion further alleged that Jamie McCourt focused on initiatives "designed to cultivate and promote her image as the highest ranking woman in Major League Baseball," even when those activities "were not financially successful ventures and did not fit the strategic needs of the organization."

The filing in particular cited DodgersWIN, described in her biography as a program that "brings women closer to the game, brings the game closer to women's lifestyles, and helps inspire women to use their voices."

Upon his promotion to team president in March, the same day Jamie McCourt was promoted to chief executive, Mannion reported directly to Frank McCourt. In Jamie McCourt's court papers, she alleged that Mannion and Frank McCourt worked together to ensure she was "systematically excluded from business or management decisions."

Mannion told the court he opposes her reinstatement and said her animosity toward him and his colleagues makes clear "she will never again be able to work with the executives in a collaborative environment."

Fields denied those charges and said the court proceeding would show Jamie McCourt to be a more qualified executive than Frank McCourt.

"When people find out what she did as opposed to what he did, they're all going to want her to run the team," Fields said.

The Major League Baseball commissioner had no comment on the divorce proceedings or the unusually harsh words that have accompanied them, spokesman Pat Courtney said Wednesday. MLB President Bob DuPuy said last week that the league was monitoring the situation.

But one sports executive put the chances of the team eventually being sold to a third party as high as 50-50, saying the financial partners that might be required to sustain either of the McCourts as the Dodgers' owner could be turned off by the harsh public spectacle of this divorce.

"This obviously doesn't help your image if you're going into business with them," said the executive, who declined to be identified because he knows the McCourts. "This type of battling and all this personal slander doesn't make partners feel comfortable coming in."

 

[frenchblue23]

Of course she's not going to show up to work, she doesn't own the team.

She's funny, trying to buy the team off Frank, but then claims that she owns them as well.

 

[in yo nostril]

Originally Posted by FrenchBlue23

Of course she's not going to show up to work, she doesn't own the team.

She's funny, trying to buy the team off Frank, but then claims that she owns them as well.

she wants to buy "his half"

 

[frenchblue23]

Originally Posted by In Yo Nostril

Originally Posted by FrenchBlue23

Of course she's not going to show up to work, she doesn't own the team.

She's funny, trying to buy the team off Frank, but then claims that she owns them as well.

she wants to buy "his half"

She ******ed.
Just take the money (female dog), so that we no longer have to see you and your varicose vein legs anymore.

 

[p mac one]

She's blowin' smoke

There's nobody smart enough to get rich enough to buy out Frank, yet also be dumb enough to invest all that money into working with this crazy !%%%%.

She's been married to Frank for 29 years, then starts !$%+!++ the security guard, THEN goes on a 2 1/2 week vacation to France with this dude AND chargesFrank for it.

 

[Los Angeles]

30 years of marriage down the drain

Ain't nothing safe anymore.

 

[frenchblue23]

Originally Posted by bright nikes

30 years of marriage down the drain

Ain't nothing safe anymore.

That's the new age.
I try not to think about it because then I would be scared of marriage, and the possible demise of it.

 

[Los Angeles]

When's the wedding bro?

 

[in yo nostril]

Originally Posted by bright nikes

When's the wedding bachelor party bro?

 

[frenchblue23]

Originally Posted by In Yo Nostril

Originally Posted by bright nikes

When's the wedding bachelor party bro?

The only reason to get married.

NO wedding plans yet Bright.

 

[jbug88]

Originally Posted by EastCoastPapi

manny opition by oct 31

could've sworn he has until Nov. 10th. after the WS.

-J-

 

[pdouly33]

Ramirez must decide whether to opt out of final year of deal before fifth day after 2009 World Series or Nov. 10, whichever is later


It will be November 10.

 

[what up]

If any of you Dodgers fans are still looking for a Halloween costume, here's an option.

Ya'll can be the kid...

 

[eyegiantjackpot]

is that you in the middle tryin to dress up as your avy?

 

[pdoggy85]

=