Frank McCourt ain’t talking and you wouldn’t be either

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So Frank McCourt chose not to address the controversy his divorce proceedings have fermented.

Very disappointing. Also, very understandable.

Maybe he sounds a little too self-congratulatory over the ‘taking the high road’ bit by not addressing the various issues, but really, what does he have to gain by it?

‘I’m not going to get into the back and forth of it,’ McCourt said Saturday. ‘I’ll leave the process to the lawyers to deal with.’

If I were him, I wouldn’t be mucking it up any worse with any additional back and forth. Some of the charges rendered by his soon-to-be ex-wife Jamie McCourt may prove inaccurate. Or each one legitimate.

But what exactly is he supposed to say about not paying taxes for the last six years? I feel just terrible about it? Don’t blame me, blame the system?

Documents filed by Jamie McCourt alleged the club plans to maintain its payroll below what it was last year for the next nine years. It was part of a proposal to attract Chinese investors. Proposals like that are loaded with manipulated numbers.

And then there are their sons, two of them combining to draw a salary of $600,000 from the Dodgers, even though one works for Goldman Sachs and the other attends Stanford.

If I were him, I would have kept quiet even about a son working at Goldman Sachs. Not a popular employer these days.

‘It’s just really impossible to try and deal with allegations and things like that and deal with every one of them because it’s an endless process,’ he said.

He’s absolutely right. Some bad stuff has come out, but more is likely in what is shaping up as one of the ugliest, most public divorces in state history. He should stop and respond to every charge?

He wants to win control of the team. That’s his personal priority right now. He can work on damage control later, and he’ll have to. That was the one thing he said Saturday that had to cause snickering. His living in denial that many fans are upset with the news that the McCourts are living such a lavish lifestyle while not paying taxes and planning to smother the payroll.

‘All I can tell you is my own interactions with our fans have been very positive,’ McCourt said. ‘I think our fans want to focus on baseball, and what they want is for us to win a championship.’

Well, of course, they do. They also want their team owner to pay his share of taxes and not double ticket prices while lowing payroll.

McCourt will ultimately have a lot to answer to. But while the court proceeding continues, this isn’t the wisest of times to do so.

-- Steve Dilbeck