LA Dodgers: McCourt Ownership Drama WIll Have Negative Impact on Club

(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ owner Frank McCourt fired his wife, Jamie McCourt, from her position as CEO last week.

Frank cited insubordination as the reason for his soon-to-be ex-wife’s excusal.

As if the soap opera storyline weren’t enough, the Dodgers are entering a critical offseason that calls for addressing a league-high 16 free agents.

The implications for the separation on the Dodgers moving forward are yet to be seen, but it has been reported that Major League Baseball is looking into the situation.

The LA Times reported on Sunday that the league is discouraging the McCourt’s from selling the team, even though the team’s ownership could come into middle of things during divorce proceedings.

Frank contends that he is the solitary owner of the club and this is going to be an important issue to unravel, as Jamie says the she has partial ownership of the club.

She is moving towards legal proceedings this week, but MLB president Bob DuPuy feels that the team should see face no problems with player transactions during the offseason.

General manager Ned Colletti was signed to a long-term extension last week just days after the McCourt separation was announced, although the team refused to announce how many years the extension covered.

The organization is stating publicly that there won’t be any cutbacks during the offseason, but then again it doesn’t look like the club will be a huge spender either.

The Colletti signing seems to be a symbolic gesture towards proving that things are functioning normally and there will be no hiccups in building a championship team.

Manager Joe Torre is entering his final season, and hitting coach Don Mattingly is being aggressively pursued as a hot managing candidate for next season.

The Dodgers have won back-to-back division titles for the first time since 1977-78 and notched the most wins (95) in a season since 1985.

But they have fallen short of reaching the World Series for the past two seasons at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies in the league championship series.

Undoubtedly, the lack of acquiring Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee at the trading deadline looms as a big factor in the disheartening NLCS defeat.

Both Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley will return next season, and they will be battling for the title of staff ace.

Neither has shown the ability to maintain consistency throughout an entire season.

Kershaw led the league in opponents’ batting average against (.200) in 2009, but he sandwiched a torrid midseason hot streak with a slow start and end to the season.

The struggles of Billingsley began to spiral out of control down the stretch and led to his eventual demotion to the bullpen for the playoffs.

If they chose to do so, they could probably still work a deal for Halladay during the winter.

The limiting factors are that Halladay has a contract that expires after 2010, which would force the Dodgers to negotiate with the dominant right-hander after just one year of service.

They would also have to give up valuable chips, possibly including Matt Kemp, James Loney, Chad Billingsley, or one of the young bullpen arms.

It would certainly be a steep asking price, but considering the way the team has ran out of gas against the Phillies for two consecutive season, something has to change for them to break through into the World Series.

However, the McCourt separation might constrain the club’s willingness to make a blockbuster move.

While the procedures may not affect the actual ability of the organization to make deals, it seems as if the separation, paired with Torre’s final season, are going to essentially put the Dodgers in a holding pattern until next offseason.

The timing is unfortunate because the Dodgers have such a solid young core that has gained invaluable experience over the past two postseasons. If they had the flexibility to acquire an elite pitcher, it would potentially be a championship-winning deal.

In my opinion, the intentions to not take on a larger payroll during a time of uncertainly will surely have a negative effect on the Dodgers hopes to take their play to the next level. 

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