What Bankruptcy Means for the Dodgers – Legal Stuff
It seems Frank McCourt didn’t read the rules again much like he did when Bud Selig originally appointed Tom Schieffer, so I did it for him.
Under Section 4 of the Major League Baseball Constitution it says
“The rights, privileges and other property rights (important) of a Major League Club hereunder and under any other Baseball-related agreement may be terminated (i) in the event of contraction, pursuant to Article V, Section 2 (b) (1), or (ii) involuntarily, with the approval of three-fourths of all Major League Clubs, if the Club in question shall do or suffer any of the following:”
(l) Make an assignment for the benefit of its creditors or file a voluntary petition in bankruptcy, or if a receiver or trustee in bankruptcy is appointed for the properties and assets of the Club, or if reorganization proceedings in bankruptcy are instituted by or against the Club
So there’s hope after all as right now Selig will “probably” try to seize the Dodgers. I feel the hold is up is mostly legal since McCourt split the assets of the club (land, parking lot, ticket sales) into as many as 30 separate entities so Selig is probably trying to get all that included with the seizing of the Dodgers so as McCourt said “your new owner will be paying me rent” won’t happen.
I’m holding out hope, I had almost given up when I heard he won in bankruptcy court but it seems to only be temporary and the judge in bankrupt court always originally rules in favor of the debtor so he can pay his bills then comes back later to hear the rest of the story. So only July 20th the judge will hear Major League Baseball’s argument and if they win, Frank will actually have to give back that money and Major League Baseball will take over the Dodgers, so again we have to wait about 3 weeks and until then the Dodgers are in limbo, can’t make a trade because he already can’t make payroll and well, this is just a lost season, thank God for Matt Kemp right?
Dodgers go Bankrupt but Offense Cashes In
Like me, I know a lot of you probably reflexively check the score now and just ignore watching the game, it’s quite tiring really. With all the chaos surrounding the team, how in the world could they play well? I know when I look at the Frank McCourt fiasco and think about the players, there’s just no way they can’t be affected right?
They say they’re not affected, that they just go out and play and hey maybe they’re right because on the day the Los Angeles Dodgers file for bankruptcy the Dodgers play like nothing happened routing the Minnesota Twins 15-0 IN Minnesota.
It was an incredible show, every Dodger starter collected a hit, a run and an RBI. Gwynn got four hitting lead off, Matt Kemp also collected four with a home-run and a couple RBI’s to keep his home-run lead in the National League. The bullpen was flawless, pitching 3 innings and striking out 6 and Chad Billingsley, not having to bat in an AL ball park went 6 innings and struck out 4.
All in all, it was a great way for the team to celebrate after a horrible morning, I wish I had cared enough to watch the game though and even after this rout, I still may not watch, my heart is just broken.
Dodgers go Bankrupt
Did you hear that? Listen again…did you hear it now? That’s the collective groan of a 100,000 Dodger fans as they heard that Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt filed chapter 11 bankruptcy.
I’m going to keep this short and get back with the repercussions of this later but if Frank really loved the Dodgers and didn’t care so much about his pride and pocketbook, then he’d just let this go, and get top dollar on the sale of the Dodgers.
In my opinion, if he just sold the Dodgers when he found out that Major League Baseball wasn’t going to approve the proposed Fox deal (aka rape) he would have come out with more cash than he came in with when he first bought the Dodgers.
Fact is Frank, all this bankruptcy does is allow you to hold onto the Dodgers for a little bit longer while you try and think of a sneaky way of keeping the Dodgers. Fox is already going to pull the media contract off the table like they said they would if you filed bankruptcy, your creditors are going to be pissed at you and you won’t get any more loans and Dodger fans will hate you more, which I didn’t believe was possible until this morning.
I can’t wait until this is over with…
McCourt’s Biggest Ally Jumps off Sinking Ship
Steve Soboroff resigned the other day citing, “The present environment is not conducive to getting the results I was brought on to achieve for the Dodger organization or for Los Angeles.”
Also it’s interesting to note that Soboroff was never paid by the Dodgers but was personally paid by Frank McCourt because Major League Baseball never approved his hire since all expenditures over $5,000 needed to be approved by Tim Schieffer.
I personally believe he saw the writing on the wall and wants to get out. Since McCourt was paying him personally and at the moment can’t even pay the payroll, I”m going to guess that McCourt hadn’t paid Soboroff yet and he figured he just needed to go.
Another interesting part of the article states that McCourt reached out to the MLB for funds for this payroll. Why is this so interesting? Because McCourt since the Fox deal died has stated that he’ll fight, that he’ll sue, he’ll make things hard for another person to buy the Dodgers but if he’s reaching out for cash from the very people who want him out, it shows he doesn’t have much to stand on, especially if it’s his lawyers that are making the inquiries.
Another reasoning for them doing that is that if they do take the MLB to court, they can show the judge that they tried to get help from the league but were rebuffed. It doesn’t matter anyway, he doesn’t have the money, no one wants to buy a minority stake in a sinking team and Fox, especially since they have a very close relationship with the MLB, won’t allow McCourt to push the deal through without Selgi’s consent.
All in all, Frankie M is done, the countdown is T-minus 4 days and counting until he can’t pay payroll, Selig seizes the team and puts them up for sale, anybody going to have a Dodger party when that happens, I know I will!
Too Little Too Late for Frank McCourt
Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports just recently wrote an article stating that Frank McCourt may be willing to sell part of the Dodgers.
I remember when this idea was first put to him at the beginning of his financial issues when he and Jamie first wanted to divorce and he said he’d never do this and now with 6 days to go and McCourt reportedly being unable to make June’s payroll, he wants to open his heart for someone to come in and save his butt.
I’m sorry McCourt but no. Tell me man, why would someone come in and save you after they’ve seen how horribly you run this team? You’re a bad business manager, no one would want any part of that, I sure wouldn’t no matter what my return. I could very easily see a scenario where someone buys a minority stake in the Dodgers only to get screwed by McCourt and then just take whatever they can get just to get out of there.Who would want a piece of a team now that’s been in the news like it’s been. They’re over $400 mil in debt, their finances are being “monitored” by Major League Baseball and there’s been many reports of Frank McCourt taking money out of the team. Why in the world would anyone want to be a part of that?
Simply enough, Frank McCourt is a damaged goods and bad for the Dodgers. Sure the Dodgers have been to 2 National League Championship series while he was owner but that was more because of the moves of the previous GM and owner (Dan Evans and Fox) more than anything Frank did.
Just give it up Frank, it’s over, you’re over. Anybody who gets in bed with you now is going to get burned.
