The Marlins “could be in the collateral damage” of the Dodgers' bankruptcy case, according to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. TIMES. As the court proceedings “increasingly resemble a grudge match cloaked in legal briefs, with Bud Selig threatening to banish the Dodgers from the league in order to rid it" of Frank McCourt, the Dodgers owner "might respond by trying to take down the commissioner." The "most prominent among Selig's grievances" against the Dodgers was contained in a court filing from MLB’s attorneys Friday that read, “A Club owner must be well-capitalized and cannot use the team as a personal ‘cash cow.’” That “could bring us to the Marlins -- perhaps uncomfortably for Selig, and for Jeffrey Loria, the team’s owner.” Shaikin: “Well capitalized? McCourt never was, yet Major League Baseball approved his purchase of the Dodgers. … Cash Cow? Selig claims McCourt diverted more than $180 million of Dodgers revenue for personal use, an allegation McCourt denies.” Meanwhile, under "pressure from MLB and the players' union, the Marlins agreed last year to make sure revenue-sharing money went back into the team." Yet Selig "never threatened to kick out Loria, or the Marlins." A source said that the Marlins needed to “keep payroll down to show the positive cash flow necessary for ballpark construction financing.” The source added, “What makes the Dodgers different is the stripping of club assets and violations of baseball rules.” Shaikin asks, “How do other owners spend club revenues? What defines stripping of club assets?” The way McCourt “figures to see it, the answers require sworn testimony and financial data from every other owner, and from the commissioner himself.” That way, the judge “can see whether there truly is one standard for McCourt and another for the Marlins, and the New York Mets, and every other team whose owner is on good terms with Selig” (L.A. TIMES, 9/27).
SHOW ME THE MONEY: In L.A., T.J. Simers reports McCourt has told GM Ned Colletti that “he will have the money needed to sign Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier to long-term contracts this off-season as well as the money required to compete in the free-agent market.” Colletti said, “Do we have the number solidified yet? No. But I have a range of money that I can spend, and the conversations I’ve had indicate there are different ways of doing it.” One of the ways “is offering big-money contracts with modest first-year salaries that would escalate dramatically in later years” (L.A. TIMES, 9/27)
