Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Notes of Caution

From "Dodgers' would-be saviors need to talk" by Ramona Shelburne at ESPNLA.com:

Bidding against each other serves only Frank McCourt and his creditors. Worse, it could leave whichever group wins the auction with a sales bill that would hinder their efforts to quickly rejuvenate the franchise with upgrades to Dodger Stadium or investments in payroll.

"If this thing gets out of hand, the costs eventually get passed back to the fans," one source connected with a potential ownership group said. "That's the last thing that should happen."

It is for this reason Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has kept a cautious distance so far. He's interested in the team, but only if the price makes sense.

And from "McCourt could ignore Kemp before selling Dodgers" by Tim Brown at Yahoo! Sports:

Let’s consider this: Every dollar McCourt spends between now and the time he hands the keys to the next guy could come out of his pocket, taken right off the top of the sale price. This is why teams up for sale are so routinely stripped down first. New owners generally don’t like big debt, or a future of big debt. If someone’s going to hamstring the club for years, they’d rather it be them. Something like that.

So, while Dodgers fans delight over McCourt’s departure and their hand in it, they also might consider McCourt’s absence of motivation to grant them a competitive team in the short term.

Thank you, Mr. & Mrs. Buzzkill. Yeah, I suppose it's time to get over the initial thrill of McCourt's cold, dead hands loosening their grip on the Dodgers and face the reality of everything that could go wrong when a $1.2-billion franchise changes hands. But can't I bury my head in the sand for another couple of weeks?

11 comments:

Nostradamus said...

The counterpoint to this is that it's ALREADY being passed back to us, if that's what Frank needs to break even.

Also, hooray collusion!

Fernie V said...

Anyone of you guys ever been on a game show. My wife claims one of the lady's husband couldn't stop blogging. That it sounded like the one I blog.

Nostradamus said...

In fact, yes!

I do not, however, have a wife, so it ain't me.

Fernie V said...

Cool MrC what show.

Nostradamus said...

Well, since I'm a giant nerd, and also an old man trapped in a young man's body. Y'all got 3 guesses and the first two don't count. (hint: it's the one with the smug Canadian)

Josh S. said...

My mom was also on the one with the smug Canadian.

No, not Pitfall.

Josh S. said...

Whoa...whoa...whoa...

You were just on last year?

Did we talk about this and my mind got wiped?

Nostradamus said...

Nope. It was prior to the Great Unveiling, however.

Fernie V said...

What is the Wheel of Fortune. You weren't that nerd that couldn't be beat, that Jennings fellow?

I missed the great unveiling, what did I miss.

Fernie V said...

Mr C just got a crush for Josh S's mom, like Dusty's got for Neeb's mom.

Fernie V said...

@dusty, I guess the sons don't want to bring up the Penn St. scandal. Maybe just brings back bad memories.

Did you guys know that STP front man had the same thing done to him in high school.