Frank McCourt Reportedly Planning to Sue MLB to Retain Control of L.A. Dodgers

Following commissioner Bud Selig’s decision on Wednesday to take over the Los Angeles Dodgers from embattled owner Frank McCourt, the Associated Press is reporting that a baseball executive familiar with the situation says that McCourt plans to sue Major League Baseball in hopes of retaining control of the club.

"Major League Baseball sets strict financial guidelines which all 30 teams must follow,” McCourt said in a statement late Wednesday night. “The Dodgers are in compliance with these guidelines. On this basis, it is hard to understand the Commissioner's action."

The presumption is that Selig and the powers that be within Major League Baseball will force McCourt to sell the club, a person familiar with Selig's thinking told the AP.

But McCourt, who has been in the spotlight since longtime wife Jamie filed for divorce in October 2009, seems primed for a fight to stay in control of the Dodgers.

"It's sad," Tommy Lasorda, who managed the Dodgers to their last World Series title in 1988 and remains a special adviser to McCourt, told the AP.

"I've spent 62 years in this organization and I've never seen anything like this happen. Frank loved the Dodgers. A lot of people may not realize that, but he really loved the Dodgers."

Selig's move to take over the club came after it was reported this week that McCourt had borrowed $30 million from Fox, the team's television partner, to make payroll.