Frank McCourt haunting Fox in Padres deal

Once upon a time, Frank McCourt and Fox Sports were the best of friends. McCourt needed money to retain ownership of the Dodgers, and Fox was more than happy to give it to him so the company could lock up the Dodgers through 2030.

That was last spring, before Commissioner Bud Selig rejected the deal. When the Dodgers filed for bankruptcy, Fox turned its back on McCourt and aligned with Selig. Fox sued the Dodgers, and in return the Dodgers sued Fox, with fighting extending into two courts before McCourt agreed to sell the team and keep the current Fox contract intact.

McCourt still haunts Fox, however. Fox is weeks away from launching a San Diego cable channel centered on the Padres, but the deal remains in limbo in part because of McCourt.

Fox and the Padres were "close to announcing a new TV deal" last May, according to the North County Times. However, Selig has yet to approve the deal. And, at last month's owners meetings, a decision to approve Jeff Moorad as the Padres' new majority owner was unexpectedly tabled.

The two issues are related. One of the MLB concerns in approving Moorad involved the Fox deal -- in particular, whether the Fox contract provided an up-front payment that Moorad could use to complete his purchase from outgoing owner John Moores.

The proposed contract included an up-front payment of more than $150 million, a person familiar with the deal told The Times. 

No one on the Dodgers has more at stake in 2012 than Ned Colletti

Ned Colletti is all in this season. His career as the Dodgers general manager is on the line. It is every season, of course, but more so in 2012, with the Dodgers about to undergo new ownership.

It’s also true for Don Mattingly as the manager, but more so for Colletti. New owners typically don’t come in and announce everything will operate just as before. They want their people in charge, making decisions, reformatting the team in some new image.

When Frank and Jamie McCourt purchased the team in 2004, the first thing they did was start searching for a new general manager. In what should have been a complete indication of things to come, they actually made existing general manager Dan Evans apply and interview for his own job. They hired Paul DePodesta, about as miscast to lead an operation as Barney Fife. He was gone after two quick years.

Someone is going to be named the next Dodgers owner by April Fools' Day. They are going to want to place their stamp on the team. It’s hard to imagine Colletti survives — unless the Dodgers win this season.

So you can criticize his off-season moves, but no individual has more at stake on the outcome of this season than Colletti.

Dodgers web musings: Clayton Kershaw is looking serious

Good news: Clayton Kershaw is apparently feeling challenged by his own success.

In a video, Buster Olney takes a look at Clayton Kershaw’s off-season regimen for the “Baseball Tonight” crew.

The reigning National League Cy Young winner told Olney:

“I feel like I have to go more over the top than ever because people are having these expectations that I’m going to come in and not be ready to go, so more so than ever I’m motivated to be ready to go.”

Also on the web:

-- Dodgers.com’s Ken Gurnick previews the Dodgers heading into spring, saying they “look to improve upon last year's 82-79 record by loading up on pitching, improved defense and hope.”

-- Jon Garland lives. He’s signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians.

-- Kevin Goldstein has his annual list of the top 101 prospects for Baseball Prospectus. Sadly, only one Dodger makes the list: Zach Lee at No. 70.

-- Mike Petriello at Mike Scoioscia's Tragic Illness thinks the rest of the National League’s first basemen may have dumbed down to James Loney territory.

-- Roberto Baly at Vin Scully Is My Homeboy looks at how the Dodgers roster was built.

-- Scott Andes at Lasorda’s Lair is worried what new ownership might mean for Dodger Stadium.

-- Eric Stephen, this time at SB Nation Los Angeles, on Tommy Lasorda being honored with a statue in the Dominican Republic.

-- In a video, Dodger Thoughts’ Jon Weisman reveals his own strigent off-season conditioning regimen.

-- The Seattle Times’ Geoff Baker looks at the comeback attempt of Hong-Chin Kuo, who says: "It has to come from inside me.''

-- Tip to Weisman: Alex Bleth at Bronx Bomber takes a long look at new Yankee right-hander Hiroki Kuroda.

-- Bryan Painter at The Oklahoman profiles new Dodgers assistant trainer Greg Harrel (includes video interview).

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Why I owe Vin Scully cookies, and you owe me

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-- By Steve Dilbeck

Photo: Clayton Kershaw delivers a pitch against the Angels during an interleague game at Anaheim Stadium last season. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times / July 2, 2011

Why I owe Vin Scully cookies (and you owe me)

Vin Scully called me at home the other night.

This is the part where I sit back and gloat. Ha, ha, ha. I don’t care if you forgive me or not. I need to write it again.

Vin Scully called me at home the other night.

I witnessed the Lakers finally beat the Celtics in the NBA Finals at the old Boston Garden, Kirk Gibson’s home run and Muhammad Ali light the torch, but this rated right up there on my personal list of greatest sports moments.

“Hello, Steve, this is Vin Scully …”

My first reaction was, “Who do I know who can do such a great Scully impersonation?”

But as he went on, and began to explain his call, I realized this was the one and only. Now I’ve had the great pleasure of knowing Scully for more than 30 years and spoken to him hundreds of times, but never before had he found cause to give me an unexpected phone call.

The impetus was a post I’d written that day on the Dodgers releasing their 2012 spring training broadcast schedule. In it I had one paragraph that read:

“The only sigh-inducing element is that Vin Scully will not broadcast any games from Camelback, so he won’t be heard from until April 3 when the Dodgers and Angels meet at Dodger Stadium. Maybe we should have sent him some cookies.”

The latter was a reference to when Scully announced on TV last August he’d return for a 63rd season of broadcasting the Dodgers while holding a pair of cookies sent to him by Woodland Hills costume designer Marti Squyres, and said then:

“God's been awfully good to me, allowing me to do the things that I've always wanted to do. I asked him for one more year at least. He said, ‘OK, and be quiet, and eat your cookie.' I'll do the same thing.”

Less than a half-hour after the post about the Dodgers’ spring broadcasting plans came an email update from the team saying Scully was now scheduled to do a pair of games March 17 and March 18.

Scully said when he read my post about the broadcast schedule, and the cookies, he decided, “I could use a little spring training, too. So I’m going to do the St. Patrick’s Day game on March 17 against the Giants and then the following day against the Angels.”

In appreciation I promised him cookies, the responsibility of which was immediately passed on to the wife. She is very excited.

Now maybe that’s not exactly the way it all unfolded and how he decided to do a pair of 2012 spring games, but you’ll never convince me otherwise.

Because Vin Scully called me at home the other night.

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-- Steve Dilbeck

Photo: Vin Scully shares a laugh before a game at Dodger Stadium. Credit: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times

Dodgers Web musings: Clayton Kershaw and the long term [Videos]

Plenty to get to today, leading off with … so the Dodgers have signed Clayton Kershaw to a two-year, $19-million deal. Exactly right for the moment or does more have to be done?

Buster Olney argues in this ESPN video that the new owner’s first order of business should be to sign Kershaw to a long-term deal. He argues Kershaw would be only 26 in his first year of free agency and free-spending teams like the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies would be circling.

Olney estimates a five-year deal for Kershaw would cost between $100 to $120 million.

Meanwhile, Robert Timm at Dodger Dugout argues there is risk in signing any pitcher to a long-term deal and the Dodgers were smart to settle for a two-year agreement.

Also on the Web:

--The Left Field Pavilion has organized a charity softball tournament of teams representing several Dodgers blogs on Saturday at the Big League Dreams fields in West Covina.

Play starts at 8 a.m. Admission is only $3 and includes a drink. Fans are asked to bring a box or bag of food for the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.

--It never ends: USA Today thinks the Dodgers could be in line for a $5-billion TV rights deal. Guess that $3 billion Frank McCourt wanted to sign up for with Fox might have been just a tad low.

--Eric Stephen at True Blue LA has his Dodgers preview. He doesn’t think Jerry Sands makes the 25-man roster, but Josh Fields does.

--FanGraphs’ David Laurila has a lengthy and detailed Q&A with Dodgers scouting director Logan White, while Dodgers Thoughts’ Jon Weisman interviews farm director De Jon Watson.

--MLB.com’s Spencer Fordin looks at the Dodgers' top 20 prospects, while ESPN’s Keith Law (Insider status required) rates their system 12th overall in the majors.

--The Times’ Dylan Hernandez talks to James Loney about his bizarre freeway accident. Loney blames it on a blow to his head.

--The Times’ Bill Shaikin adds an 11th and, really, possibly final Dodgers bidder in Michael Heisley, the 75-year-old owner of the Memphis Grizzlies. He could bring Jerry West into the deal.

--ESPN’s Baseball Tonight crew looks at what could be next for Matt Kemp.

--Reuters’ Sue Zeidler writes that the second round of bids on the Dodgers is due around Feb. 23.

--NBC Sports’ Tony DeMarco thinks that with the right owner the Dodgers could be a power fairly quickly.

--Fox Sports' Mike Martinez checks in with shortstop Dee Gordon. Gordon on how many bases he’s capable of stealing: “a hundred.”

--Daily News columnist Tom Hoffarth is auctioning off a Kershaw-autographed copy of his new book, “Arise,” on EBay to raise funds for a Watts literacy center.

--Daily Breeze columnist Mike Waldner looks at the Dodgers auction situation: “McCourt's first, last and always goal has been to line his pockets.”

--Oh, goody: Russell Martin tells the New York Daily News he’s all giddy the Yankees have added Hiroki Kuroda.

--And finally, Roberto Baly of Vin Scully Is My Homeboy has found a video of a vintage TV commercial, this one from 1981. Warning: Hope you like looking at a shirtless Bill Russell.

 

-- Steve Dilbeck

 

For Matt Kemp, the season doesn't start on Opening Day

A lot of fans don’t realize that, for players, the season starts Jan. 1. As soon as the holidays pass, the major leaguers’ preseason conditioning begins in earnest.

Check out some exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of Dodger Matt Kemp’s off-season drills. The three short Web videos take him through a day of winter workouts, starting with him waking in the morning, groggily putting in his contacts, then heading out to a stadium to run stairs, lift weights and take some turns in the batting cage.

Kemp also discusses his motivation and expectations for the season.

The quick-paced clips -– basically the same material cut to three different lengths -- are the first of a series of videos the MLB has done on various stars, including Curtis Granderson and Jose Bautista.

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-- Chris Erskine

Frank McCourt: A few words in praise of Dodgers owner

Hey, I didn’t say they were my words.

It must be understood that despite racking up almost a billion dollars in debt and taking the Dodgers into bankruptcy, Frank McCourt still has supporters. They mostly point to the team’s four playoff appearances in his eight years of ownership.

And then there is General Manager Ned Colletti, who during Tuesday's announcement of Clayton Kershaw’s two-year, $19-million contracttook the time to commend McCourt for trying to leave the team in good condition.

Colletti based this on McCourt’s off-season signing of Kershaw and Matt Kemp (eight years, $160 million), and his efforts to sign Prince Fielder.

“When you think about how we were able to complete a deal with Matt for eight years, get the go-ahead to go after Prince and sign Clayton for a couple of years, you have to give Frank credit,” Colletti said.

“These are things he didn’t have to do. We could have not pursued Prince and let the next owner deal with Matt and Clayton. To his credit, he’s trying to leave the organization in the best place possible.”

Just makes you see ol' Frankie in a completely different light, no?

Dodgers' sale: Falling deeper into the Frank McCourt rabbit hole

Even as we supposedly approach the end of this mescaline-shrouded trip of an ownership sale, the tale continues to grow curiouser and curiouser.

Really, the whole thing is so completely bizarre. The cast of characters is all over the map, beginning, of  course, with Frank McCourt, who bought the Dodgers with equity in a parking lot, mismanaged the team into bankruptcy and almost a billion in debt, and is still about to exit a ridiculously wealthy man.

And then there are the bidders. They include a guy who once interviewed to be their general manager (Dennis Gilbert), a guy who used to be their general manager (Fred Claire), a guy who used to be their manager (Joe Torre), a couple who used to play for them (Steve Garvey, Orel Hershiser) and a guy who used to own them (Peter O’Malley).

Then there are guys who won NBA championships (Magic Johnson), one who owns the current champion (Mark Cuban) and another who owns an NFL team (Stan Kroenke).

There are stupid-rich investment guys (Steve Cohen, Tom Barrack, Stanley Gold), stupid-rich guys who may yet jump in (Patrick Soon-Shiong, Ron Burkle), guys who are agents (Arn Tellum), who built TV networks (Leo Hindry) and actual TV networks (Fox, Time Warner, Comcast). Alas, sadly the Dilbeck Investment Group has been left a financial casualty, although the good news is I do get to keep the 2005 Accord.

Some have advanced and some have not, though apparently they can get slip back in if they only up their initial bid by another $200 million or so.

And yet somehow this ongoing sale still grows more fantastic. The Times’ Bill Shaikin reported that in addition to the original final eight approved by McCourt for the auction, there is a ninth named Jared Kushner, the 31-year-old son-in-law of Donald Trump. Listen, David Lynch hit on the head couldn’t come up with this stuff.

Kushner is the son of New York real estate mogul Charles Kushner, who served prison time for what the New Times said was for “orchestrating one of the more memorable get-even schemes perpetrated in the name of sibling rivalry. He had hired a prostitute to entrap his brother-in-law and captured their encounter on hidden camera to show his sister.” Aldous Huxley on a psychedelic flashback couldn’t come up with this stuff.

Baby-faced Jared Kushner has zero experience in sports management, though that hardly makes him unique in this group. His claim to fame is buying the New York Observer in 2006. He is now on his fourth editor. He also used family money to purchase a Manhattan office building for a record $1.8 billion in 2006, which the New York Times said is now bleeding money.

Shaikin said Kushner family money would primarily be used for his bid on the Dodgers. Ain’t that just swell? A silver-spooned sports neophyte with inherited money and connected to Trump. What could go wrong?

Maybe you think it cannot possibly grow more preternatural, but just wait, tomorrow calls.

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— Steve Dilbeck

Photo: Dodgers owner Frank McCourt bids farewell to retiring Manager Joe Torre in October of 2010. Now Torre could be part of the ownership group that McCourt selects to replace him. Credit: Jae C. Hong / Associated Press

Dodgers sign Clayton Kershaw to two-year, $19-million deal

That may not have been the truly long-term contract some of the faithful were hoping for, but the Dodgers did avoid arbitration with Clayton Kershaw this year and the next by signing him Tuesday to a two-year, $19-million contract.

The Times’ Dylan Hernandez reports Kershaw will earn a $500,000 signing bonus, $7.5 million this season and $11 million in 2013.

The club had previously exchanged arbitration figures with National League’s Cy Young winner, submitting $6.5 million to Kershaw’s $10-million bid.

His contract is in keeping with the Dodgers signing players at a comparatively low salary for next season, then raising it significantly the next. Matt Kemp, who signed an eight-year, $160-million contract in November, will earn just $10 million next season, $2 million of it deferred.

The Dodgers’ 2012 active payroll now figures to come in about $93.5 million.

It seems a fair contract for both the Dodgers and the 23-year-old Kershaw, thought particularly for the Dodgers. After his third season, and second consecutive Cy Young win, the Giants Tim Lincecum signed a two-year, $23-million deal in 2010.

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Dodgers sign right-hander Jamey Wright as a nonroster invitee

Dodgers announce 2012 spring training broadcast schedule [Updated]

-- Steve Dilbeck

Dodgers sign right-hander Jamey Wright as a nonroster invitee

The Dodgers signed veteran Jamey Wright Tuesday because … yeah, well, because they could. Because, why not?

He’ll be a nonroster invitee, so there’s no real risk involved. His chances of making the team out of spring are what you might call slim, as in Dee Gordon-standing-sideways kinda slim.

Dodgers have plenty of veterans in their bullpen now, so he’s not an answer there. They could badly use a left-handed reliever, which is swell, except Wright is right-handed.

And if he’s never lived up to that first-round pick by the Rockies status, he’s at least managed to hang around for a long time. He’s 37 now and made his major-league debut at age 21.

He spent last season with the Mariners, where he was at least decent enough. He appeared in 60 games, going 2-3 with a 3.16 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. That’s actually a career-low ERA, and he’s been around for 16 seasons.

It’s that annual spring nothing-to-lose signing. Maybe injuries will enable him to sneak onto the roster. Maybe he starts at triple-A Albuquerque to see what happens. And maybe he has an opt-out clause should he not make the team.

A minuscule gamble, and sometimes they prove useful.

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Dodgers announce 2012 spring training broadcast schedule [Updated]

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— Steve Dilbeck

Photo: Jamey Wright in 2006. Credit: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images