Mark Cuban on buying Dodgers: 'L.A. would never be the same'

 

All the super rich who claim they want to buy the bankrupt Dodgers are facing Monday’s deadline for getting their initial bids in, and that could put a damper on the pre-purchase quotes.

Bidders are required to sign a non-disclosure agreement, meaning they’re not supposed to be discussing the process with the media, outsiders or their favorite latte baristas.

Where’s the fun in that?

Apparently Mark Cuban has already signed up, since he went on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" Thursday and was ever so careful not to spill any negotiating secrets, which could simply prove a negotiating tactic.

Leno asked Cuban about the rumor he "might be buying the Dodgers. Any truth to that?” Guess it’s a rumor on late-night talk shows.

Answered Cuban, “I’m not allowed to really talk about it, but …” At which point Leno interrupted and said, “That means yes.” Laughs all around.

Leno tried again, “Would you like to buy the Dodgers if it was possible?” Do his writers read newspapers (or blogs)?

“It could be fun," Cuban said. "Could you imagine? L.A. would never be the same.”

Can the Dodgers find a second lefty for the bullpen?

A closed shop, right? Barring injury, the Dodgers’ 25-man roster  seems almost boringly set.

Yet a month before the start of spring training, it’s possible there could be one opening. Anyway, the Dodgers at least have to consider adding a second left-hander to their bullpen.

At the moment, Scott Elbert is their only lefty reliever. Elbert delivered his breakout season last year (2.43 ERA, 1.23 WHIP). Most teams, however, prefer having two lefties in their pen. And it’s here where things get dicey.

The Dodgers have no obvious second left-handed candidate. And if they were to uncover one, then promising right-hander Josh Lindblom (2.73, 1.04) might be pushed out. Unless Blake Hawksworth’s minor elbow surgery proves a bigger challenge than anticipated.

The Vicente Padilla Experience lands with the Red Sox

Vicente Padilla, now there was a ride for the Dodgers.

No more, however, with the report Monday that he has signed a minor-league deal with the Boston Red Sox with an invite to their major-league camp. If he makes the team, the Boston Herald said he will earn $1.5 million.

Padilla spent the past two-plus seasons with the Dodgers, and he was all over the map. Sometimes brilliant, others awful, sometimes a starter, briefly a closer, and most often injured.

He’s 34 now, and with his history of injuries he’s a real gamble, though not necessarily a bad one.

It was only two years ago that Padilla was the Dodgers’ opening-day starter. As they say, you could look it up. This followed a midseason acquisition from the previous year, when a Dodgers team desperate for a starter signed him after he was released by the Rangers, and he went 4-0 with a 3.20 ERA and 1.22 WHIP.

Injuries limited him to just 16 starts (6-5, 4.08, 1.08), but the Dodgers took a flier on him last off-season, signing him as their swing man, potential starter and backup closer for $2 million. But his sore elbow flared up before the Dodgers could get out of camp and he had minor surgery in March.

Dodgers officially wave goodbye as Hiroki Kuroda signs with Yanks

Nearly six months after they tried to trade him to save $4 million in salary and get a prospect in return, only to have the right-hander nix the deal, Hiroki Kuroda is officially gone.

Kuroda reportedly signed a one-year deal with the Yankees Friday for $10 million.

So long, best of luck, but can’t pretend to understand it.

Kuroda was supposedly so loyal to the Dodgers, he exercised the no-trade clause in his contract last July. The thought then was, in 2012 he would either return to the Dodgers or go back to pitch in Japan.

The Dodgers thought so too, at least initially. But he was apparently trying to get close to the $12 million he made last season, so General Manager Ned Colletti filled his rotation by signing veteran starters Chris Capuano (two years, $10 million) and Aaron Harang (two years, $12 million).

Both will make $3 million next season, or 60% of what Kuroda ended up signing for. Of course, you could certainly argue they’re about a combined 60% as good as Kuroda.

Kuroda went a misleading 13-16 last season, actually pitching much better than his record indicated. He had a 3.07 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP and struck out a career-high 161. And even though he’ll turn 37 next month, there was no doubt he could still pitch and the Dodgers wanted him back.

The offensive emptiness that is the Dodgers 2012 bench

Look real hard and you can find it. It’s there, just not exactly under the spotlight. Maybe not in hiding, though you could make the argument that the Dodgers will try it.

It is the Dodgers’ bench, such as it. And as it is, it’s wholly unimpressive.

Presenting your 2012 Dodgers in reserve: catcher Matt Treanor, infielders Jerry Hairston Jr. and Adam Kennedy, and outfielders Tony Gwynn Jr. and Jerry Sands.

There’s some versatility and some nice defensive elements, but offensively there just isn’t much there. The power hitter is Sands, he of the 194 career at-bats? The left-handed bats are Gwynn and Kennedy?

This is all as currently scheduled, of course. And these things almost never go as scheduled. Which would explain why the Dodgers started last season with Xavier Paul, Hector Gimenez and Ivan DeJesus Jr. on the roster.

General manager Ned Colletti said he thinks this year’s bench can be superior to last season’s, before quickly asking which Dodgers’ bench he should reference.

"Unfortunately our bench ended up playing," Colletti said. "The bench was really the second bench."

Which is why the 2012 edition is so scary. Chances are, some of them are going to have to play more than expected. And this is what manager Don Mattingly will have to choose from based on last season’s numbers:

Player                         Avg.                OBP                 SLG

Treanor                      .214                .338                .291

Hairston                     .270                .344                .383

Kennedy                     .234                .277                .355

Gwynn                        .256                .308                .353

Sands                         .253                .338                .389

And as a group, it’s not like it’s a bunch of kids approaching their prime. Kennedy is 36, and Treanor will be in March and Hairston in May.

Plus you have to remember the Dodgers’ regular everyday lineup is already going to have its risks. Rookie shortstop Dee Gordon batted .304 last season but in only 224 at-bats, so we’ve yet to see if pitchers adjust to the slight Gordon. And A.J. Ellis is going to be the main catcher, and has a career .262 average with zippo power in 206 career at-bats.

There’s not a strong pinch-hitter in the group, either. Career averages as pinch-hitters: Treanor .200, Hairston .174, Kennedy .223, Gwynn .288, Sands .000 (only four at-bats). There's not really a reserve shortstop.

Last year the Dodgers wanted to start the season with a bench of Dioner Navarro, Jamey Carroll, Aaron Miles, Tony Gwynn Jr., Marcus Thames/Jay Gibbons. Navarro and Thames were busts, and Gibbons couldn’t overcome vision issues. Yet they still might prove a better group.

The Dodgers 25-man roster is basically set. If everyone makes it through spring healthy, there are no position openings.

 ``If it goes the way it’s planned, the team has some flexibility to it but not a whole lot,’’ Colletti said.

On days when Juan Rivera or James Loney don't start, the bench will get a boost but it could use plenty more. It could have used a Coco Crisp, but Colletti denied an interest in the outfielder before he re-signed with the A’s.

``Never had a conversation,’’ Colletti said.

Colletti is operating under budget constraints unworthy of a team playing in the second-largest market in the country, but such are the times when your team is in bankruptcy court.

And such is the bench.

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It's Manny Ramirez in the role of a lifetime

And now for his latest incarnation, it’s Manny Ramirez, role model! Honest to Charles Barkley.

There’s an image for you. Manny, the guy who sets a proper example, whose behavior every youngster should try to emulate. You know, minus his temper tantrums and twice being busted for performance enhancing drugs and being arrested on domestic violence charges.

It’s true, though, Manny wants back in baseball and to show everyone the right way to do things. He turns 40 in May, and they say it’s never too late.

But in a lengthy video piece with ESPN’s Pedro Gomez -- worth viewing if only to see him with his dreadlocks in a hair net and exercising in the pool with Florida retirees -- Manny talks of being a new man.

"I want to show people that Manny can change and he can do the right thing," he said.

Guess he could start by not talking in the third person. Or maybe I forgot what it sounded like to hear him speak, since he stopped talking to the media (and thus the fans) on an apparent whim his last season with the Dodgers.

When last seen at the plate, Manny was a ghost of his former fearsome self. He hit .261 with the White Sox the last month of the 2010 season after the Dodgers released him. He had one hit in 17 at-bats to start last season with Tampa Bay before his second PED bust and prompt retirement.

Now his suspension has been reduced to 50 games and he is trying to sign with a team to go out more on his own terms.

"I don’t want to leave the game like that," Manny told Gomez.

Asked why he wants back, Manny said: "First, I could still play. Second, I’m going to be a role model. A bunch of guys are going to look at me and say,'He made mistakes and he didn’t quit. Look how he finished.' "

The Dodgers, of course, have a bench pretty much devoid of power and could use a deep threat in reserve. I’d say the chances of his playing for the Dodgers next season are about the same as Zack Wheat, dead since 1972.

Asked if he’d be interested in bringing Manny back, Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said: "Not really. I love Manny but he was a huge distraction the last time he was here. I don’t think that’s what our clubhouse needs at this moment."

Manny and his wife have reconciled and he gets emotional talking to Gomez about almost losing his family. And he appears serious about his comeback, having dropped some weight.

"You don’t know what you have until you lose it," Manny said.

Or for some teams, you know exactly what you have and try to lose it.

Manny was a lock for the Hall of Fame who has now soiled his career so badly there’s something sad about his attempted reinvention. For his sake, may Manny get the finish he dreams of. Most teams, however, will probably search for their role models elsewhere.

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-- Steve Dilbeck

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The sale of the Dodgers: Let's get it on

Pigs fly, paper towels aren’t shrinking, Chelsea Handler goes demure, Tim Tebow becomes an atheist, Frank McCourt ends lawsuits.

Not all lawsuits, of course -– there does remain that little hiccup concerning his botched post-marital agreement -- just the ones preventing a timely sale of the Dodgers.

But the news Wednesday that U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross had approved McCourt's settlements with Fox Sports and Major League Baseball, appears to be the final hurdle before to the auctioning off of the team.

Somehow, still hard to believe. We’ve been so bombarded by unexpected legal challenges and appeals and countersuits and judicial delays that even when the coast appears clear it’s difficult to peer into the Dodgers future without expecting to be flattened by an unforeseen lawsuit.

Yet on this day, at this moment, there is nothing to prevent the scheduled sale of the team. Not an ugly divorce. Not filing for bankruptcy. Not arguing over media rights.

Bids on the team are due in less than two weeks (Jan. 23). Major League Baseball will then approve up to 10 bidders, though the time frame for its approval hasn’t been released. Then McCourt has until April 1 to choose the next Dodgers owner, which is presumably the one with the highest offer, and until the end of the month to hand over the keys.

It’s getting down to it now. All these groups who truly want in on the Dodgers are about to be separated from the dreamers and the publicity whores.

There appear to be enough of the super rich interested that McCourt is going to come away from this much wealthier than any would have imagined a year ago.

And this is a man with some staggering debt. MLB estimates the club and its entities are close to $600 million in debt. Then there’s that $150-million loan from MLB, what could be close to $200 million in income tax liabilities and $131 million he owes in a divorce settlement (due April 30). That’s a little more than $1 billion.

Which would explain why The Times’ Bill Shaikin reported that McCourt apparently turned up his nose at an offer of $1.2 billion from Fox during mediation.

Now, a team that Forbes last estimated to be worth $800 million could double the record price for a ball club. The Cubs (plus Wrigley Field and a 25% interest in Comcast Sports Net) were $845 million in 2009.

Now it's really the Dodgers' turn. Get on with it. Also, pigs can fly.

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The Dodgers and the dream that is Prince Fielder

What to do, what to do? Or maybe I should say, what should the Dodgers do about Prince Fielder?

I don’t mean in an ideal world, where they have a committed owner with the means to make his signing happen. I mean in this world, with an owner who’s taken the team into bankruptcy and is scheduled to auction it off in the next few months.

The easy thing is to scream, sign him! Act like a real big-league ballclub located in the second-largest market in the country. If necessary, back-load his contract from here until the next millennium, just stick his 35-homer swing behind Matt Kemp.

He would become an immediate impact bat, you know, the kind the Dodgers said they wanted to add going into the off-season. Instead, their roster is complete without one and it’s apparently not coming.

"I don’t see it," said General Manager Ned Colletti, careful not to mention Fielder by name. "Not at the moment.

"Our payroll is what it is."

Which looks like it could be close to $20 million less than last season. But should Frank McCourt still make a late run? CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman lists seven clubs supposedly in on Fielder to some degree, and none of them are the Dodgers, though he does add a mystery team out of recognition that his agent is Scott Boras.

The rationale behind the Dodgers making a run is pretty simple. They are a better and more attractive club for the would-be owners to bid on than they are without him, and if Fielder would go for one of McCourt’s back-loaded specials, the financial impact would not be immediate. If the Dodgers win, team revenue would clearly rise. Plus, McCourt gets credit for a going-away present to embittered fans.

Dodgers get nod they wanted: Vin Scully bobblehead night

How would you like to market the 2012 Dodgers? No significant new players to trumpet, coming off a third-place finish, ownership still in flux . . .

The Dodgers’ solution is their "Dodger Stadium Greats Bobblehead Series," which became more interesting Monday with the announcement their final three bobblehead giveaways would be Vin Scully, Kirk Gibson and Eric Karros.

Not sure which is a bigger coup, getting the beloved Scully, who had resisted previous efforts to have a bobblehead night, or Gibson, whom I believe was so irritated the Frank McCourt Dodgers would not give him a managerial look that he auctioned off his 1988 World Series memorabilia.

Guess they could have combined the two –- like they plan to do somehow with Don Drysdale and Maury Wills in their first one. You could tap Vin’s head and it could play a recording of  "In the year of the improbable, the impossible has happened." And then have Gibson’s spring on a leg so you could pat him and it looks like he’s limping around the bases.

There are 10 bobblehead nights in all -– available in their own mini-plan ticket package. Here is the schedule:

Date                Opponent                  Bobblehead

April 28           Nationals                   Drysdale and Wills

May 15            Diamondbacks           Orel Hershiser

May 29           Brewers                      Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell and Ron Cey

June 12          Angels                        Mike Scioscia

June 28          Mets                           Karros

July 14           Padres                        Tom Lasorda with Walter Alston

July 31           Diamondbacks             Gibson

Aug. 7           Rockies                       Sandy Koufax

Aug. 21         Giants                         Fernando Valenzuela

Aug. 30         Diamondbacks             Scully

Three games are against Arizona, so I guess the Dodgers aren’t figuring on the Diamondbacks' NL West title last season turning them into a draw.

The list includes two ex-Dodgers whose bobbleheads will go out on the night they come in managing an opposing team (Scioscia and Gibson), two who are current broadcasters (Scully and Valenzuela) and two who want to buy the team (Garvey and Hershiser).

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Putting a face on the next Dodgers owner

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Putting a face on the next Dodgers owner

I need a new face. Though friends have been telling me that for years, I’ve finally come to that belated realization. Truth is, the Dilbeck Investment Group (DIG) bid to purchase the Dodgers is flagging.

Despite our enormous wealth, I’m certain it’s because our feisty group lacks an identifiable Dodgers/baseball face.

Everybody else has one.

Maybe Frank McCourt ultimately does select the next Dodgers owner from a pure bottom-line perspective. But if the bids are close –- and keep donating those 10-speeds to Dilbeck Investment Group -– perhaps McCourt’s farewell gift and last attempt at mollifying his shattered legacy is to select a local owner with ties to the Dodgers.

Which sadly, the Dilbeck Investment Group lacks. Although Petros Papakakis was kind enough to offer his services when I spoke with him and Matt Smith about the Dodgers ownership situation on the "Petros and Money Show" at KLAC-AM (570), I fear his Dodger connect could fall a tad short of what the competing groups are putting together.

Now clearly, if you’re Peter O’Malley, your own face is just swell. Ditto with Fred Claire, though he also has former Dodgers bat boy Ben Hwang and A’s ex-president Andy Dolich. Dennis Gilbert is a former superstar baseball agent, minor league player and current White Sox executive.

Steve Garvey and Orel Hershiser have the reverse problem. Plenty of face, gathering investors.

Every other would-be owner is adding someone with an established baseball pedigree.

Joe Torre is Rick Caruso’s guy. He’s the calming face that adds legitimacy to a developer who otherwise has no baseball background. But add Torre, and it’s instance credibility.

Magic Johnson is beloved in Los Angeles and has the kind of name recognition the other groups can’t even dream about, but zero baseball background. So he’s hooked up with former Braves and Nationals executive Stan Kasten.

Hedge fund guru Steven Cohen is stupid rich, but lives on the East Coast, and as far as we know, has never seen Dodger Stadium. Which would be just like the last couple to buy it. Cohen is reportedly adding Steve Greenberg, the former assistant MLB commissioner, and influential sports agent (and L.A. resident) Arn Tellum.

Mark Cuban remains on his own planet, as best serves him.

Other groups will emerge, and will probably have nice face. O’Malley, of course, could probably add anyone he wants with a simple phone call. Which means I need to strike quickly. Hmm, let’s see, Vin Scully or Sandy Koufax? What the heck, maybe I’ll reach out to both.

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Photo: Magic Johnson. Credit: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times.