Former Dodgers Owner Peter O'Malley "has withdrawn his bid" to buy the team, according to sources cited by Bill Shaikin of the L.A. TIMES. The decision means the O'Malley family "will not reclaim the stewardship of the team it owned for nearly half a century." Backed in part by the South Korean conglomerate E-Land, O'Malley "was one of 11 bidders to survive the first cut." Blackstone Advisory Partners, the investment bank handling the Dodgers sale for outgoing Owner Frank McCourt, has "asked the remaining bidders to submit a new offer this week." However, one source said that O'Malley "was concerned he might not win the bidding even if he made the highest offer." O'Malley "publicly called for McCourt to sell the Dodgers before Commissioner Bud Selig applied pressure for him to do so." A source said that O'Malley's decision to withdraw was "strategic," adding that the O'Malley family remains "interested in helping to restore the pride and prominence of the Dodgers in any way possible" (L.A. TIMES, 2/22). In L.A., Steve Dilbeck wrote of O'Malley, "I was never convinced he had a real shot, not after he came out publicly and criticized Frank McCourt’s ownership, saying it had lost all credibility and he needed to sell the team." There were "some who did not want to see O’Malley regain the team, figuring he was a tad too mature and it would be going backwards." Dilbeck: "Reasonable concerns maybe, though with O’Malley you had no doubt he would put the team first and would be buying it for the right reasons" (LATIMES.com, 2/21). Meanwhile, ESPN L.A.'s Tony Jackson cited a source as saying that although the second round of bids is "due Thursday, there is nothing to stop additional individuals or groups from entering the process after that deadline." MLB is presently "undergoing a process of vetting every potential buyer, including each individual member of each potential ownership group." Even if MLB determines that "one of those individuals isn't suited to own the club or be a part of a group that owns the club, McCourt can appeal that decision to a mediator if he chooses" (ESPNLA.com, 2/21).
