Tru was the first to break the news. Lots of web sites are now reporting it:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/baseball/mlb/03/27/dodgers.magic.johnson.ap/index.html
http://www.dodgerthoughts.com/2012/03/27/sold-report-says-magic-johnson-stan-kasten-acquire-dodgers/
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120327&content_id=27685944&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb
This is good news but not great news. It is troubling that the premium price paid may not have included the parking lots. The following quote was part of the many stories:
“As part of the agreement, the Dodgers said McCourt and “certain affiliates of the purchasers” would acquire the land surrounding Dodger Stadium for $150 million.”
What does this mean? That McCourt sold everything but then has the option to buy back the land? And which land does it include? Are Dodger fans still going to be paying McCourt to park at the stadium?
On the plus side, we get a winning leader, Magic Johnson, as the PR face of the team and a proven winner in Stan Kasten who put together the fantastic Atlanta Braves teams of the 1990’s.
I just hope these new guys are smart enough to make a lot of money from a new media deal which hopefully be funded by commercials and not by raising cable rates. If they try to get their money back directly out of the fan’s pockets, it might cost a typical family well over $500 to attend a game.
32and53fan
colliethec
crash24now
dodgereric
The Beav
GiveUsBackOurTeam
JhallWally
yunghitters89
trublu4ever
Outside the Dodgers 
I will gladly pay an extra $10 to have McCourt park and detail my car. LoL. I will make sure to have my daughter throw up on the seats.
So when is the going away party?
Let the party start! Shots! 32 you are right Mccourt still has his fingers in the land, but it isn’t soley his, it is a partnership with thenew owners. May not like it, but I can remember the McCourt era for taking the dodgers to the NLCS two years in row for the first time in long enough time.! I’m Happy about this , Finally!
I am pleased that Magic Johnson is part of the winning group but I am shocked at the price and the question of who really will end up owning the real estate. I also hope that when all the dust settles and the executive management team is in place we all know who is responsible and accountable.
I also could not help notice comments about the new ownership continuing what the McCourts have done in the community. While this sort of thing is important and should continue, the reality is ownership’s first responsibility is to provide the fans with the most competitive and exciting team possible.
I do have to admit I am a bit surprised that the transfer of ownership may actually happen within the timetable set by the court. I thought Frank would find some way to derail things with some legal wrangling. I am trouble by the mention of joint ventures if Frank is involved in any way but we will just have to wait and see what happens.
Birk – the caveat here is, the fat lady hasn’t sung yet. Plenty of time for some legal shenanigans by Frank and/or Jamie now that she’s only netting a paltry $131M.
We have been sold? I have been out of the Dodger loop today other than the few text alerts I received during the game. Love reading about this!!! It is almost party time!
Not celebrating until I know that McSlime will have NO PART OF ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE DODGERS.
I feel like ………… what? I feel like I should be happy. But I’m not. Perhaps this is what a newly-divorced man feels like: I’m free of the problems given to me by the person I just got rid of…..but she still has half of my money.
Funny. I should be a lot happier than I am. We were promised he’d be gone and he’s not. He dragged our team through the slime and he’s walking away not only with a billion dollars or so in profit, but he’s still here. Shame on Bud Selig for allowing this to happen.
I’m sure that Magic and his group will do a good, honest job with the Dodgers and eventually return them to power in the National League. That is indeed enough to celebrate. Long live the King, but not only is the old king not dead, he’s singing and laughing.
It’s not enough.
Let’s hope this group still has a TON of cash left over because there’s a shitload of fixin’ to do.
It may be way too early to worry about the fate of the land. I have always thought that the long term goal of McCourt was to be able to build luxury high rise condos on the rim of the parking lot with those great views of downtown Los Angeles. If that happens, the fans at the top of the park will get to look at the buildings instead of the downtown view.
It might be a mute point if the city will not rezone the land for high density residential use. But with the amount of new taxes to be generated, it is very likely that a rezoning could occur.
If in fact the land does get developed in that manner, why not let McCourt reap the benefits? He was the clever capitalist who was smart enough to hire the best lawyers and separate the Dodgers into multiple entities. We may not like it, but he broke no laws. He did what countless other businessmen have done by spinning off corporation assets. At least he did not cause thousands of jobs to be shipped overseas. If the city and county let someone build on the hill in the future, it might as well be the guy with the vision to see the possibilities before anyone else.
If that land is developed, I hope it at least will include shopping/entertainment features that benefit the average Dodger fan, not just some people rich enough to buy a new condo with a killer view of LA.
Sorry, I do not share your sentiments. I agree, Frank McCourt is a smart guy. But don’t you think there is something fundamentally wrong when an owner of a company can drive it into the ground and walk away not only with a boatload of money but also still have a piece of a potentially valuable asset? Too bad he did not use his business skills in a more positive way.
Technically there is a logical and ethical break when this happens, but ENRON, and countless other companies who have failed gave their CEO’s and executive board pension and money while the company floundered. GM had to be bailed out and the top of the company got raises. BofA, etc,all have this same problem. The mere fact that he has beat a city, the IRS, and baseball and its fans is a true testament of how todays economy works. He’s a genious and after all is said and done, he’ll be remembered for prosperity in getting the team back within games of 2 consecutive WS’s, and then the divorce and bankruptcy. A 10 year fiasco, IMHO.
I’m not saying I like it. In fact I hate it. There is something wrong with the system that lets a despicable guy like McCourt get away with something like this. I don’t want anyone to develop the land and take away the views enjoyed by fans that attend the games.
I would like to see the city and county prohibit any construction on the south side of the stadium that would impede the existing views. If housing has to be built, I would like to see it revert back to the original agreement between the evictees of Chavez Ravine and the government and build some low income housing on a few acres on the north side, maybe where the auxiliary parking lot is located.
With the way McCourt has played the capitalist game, maybe a little socialism would serve the public interest more.
Guess the great day has come, sort of. I think Magic’s group has been taken because the parking lots and surrounding land are not included. It bothers me that Frankie is still part of the LA scene. I wanted him totally gone. He’s like doggie doo someone has stepped in and it won’t go away!
All we can do is hope that the future of the team is in good hands and that their stewardship will help ease the pain and shame of the last few years.
It is being said that Magic Johnson’s group has control over the parking lots during all the games, and that any development surrounding the lots has to be approved by said group. So, it appears Magic Johnson’s group has some say over what Frank is allowed “or not allowed” to do, but like you all have said, it would have been better if Frank was just gone…..period. I am a glass half-full person so I am hoping this group is looking out for the best interest of the fans, who (hopefully they know) have suffered a great deal these past few years dealing with this crook.
.
Next order of business…………………………Ned needs to be gone.
Great minds think alike!
🙂
Meanwhile, T-34 days. Ned, by all rights, should have some serious short-timer disease right about now.
Anyone notice anything different about this blog?
I am sick of thinking about the economics and ownership and other non baseball operations related stories. I just hope today’s news of a new ownership group will be the start of building the Dodgers back to the premiere team of the National League.
It would be nice to see some major resources placed in the development system so the Dodgers could have the best farm system in baseball again. Kemp has finally turned out to meet his potential. The Dodgers could use a few more star position players that come up through the ranks.
I am not a big fan of paying players over $20 million. But there must be a way to bring some guys in that make it to the highlight reels on ESPN and MLB Network. This team should be in contention to reach the World Series every year.
Question – How long does Ned last once Kasten gets a hold of baseball operations and really sees the job he’s been doing?
50 days – over or under?
I think we will have a new GM by June 1st (interim or otherwise), which is 65 days away. I think it will take a month to get all situated, and then it depends on if they get an interim GM or actually go out looking for a GM right away. So, as far as Ned being gone, I am thinking under 50 because they will want someone in place and comfortable before the trade deadline. That would be my thinking, but then if it really were me….Ned would be gone day 1 after the new ownership takes over.
Under 50 days. I give you:
Exhibit A – Uribum
Exhibit B – Andruw, the Caracao Cow
Exhibit C – Jason Shit
That’s so weird the Mariners/A’s playing a regular season game in Japan as I type this it’s 1-1 in the bottom of the 7th and every other teams are still playing exhibition games.
I should feel better about this, but I do not. I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet.
Um I wonder what NEDs unspecified contract details, I am sure mcCourt had the the last pick for certain reason, all selfish, but perhaps he is making backroom deals, thus Ned’s tenure may remain for this season or longer, perhaps Ned could pull off some deals if he had full financial backing, but geez he made some awful blunders (see Crash24 exhibits above,and theres more), sure I would not want him as GM if I were owner. Let me see how this season plays out, it is really late to get anything improved for opening day, but a year from now? All of us should be happy that McCourt although not gone, is pushed aside, not a strong influence, and I believe this new ownership knows that putting a competitive team on the field is the way the Dodgers and their Fans want it. I imagine all administrative and field management will stay put until a WS strategy is laid out. GO DODGERS! and what a relief not to have divorce, bankruptsy and judges to think about anymore.
Wow!!! What an exciting day and turn of events for our Dodgers…
Yes 32/53, the field is indeed looking much greener today… LOL!!
Now, start the new Dodger era off right and can Nedcompoop soon… And send Stan Conte packing with him….
Finally it is time to reverse the negative image of the Dodgers and restore it to normal. The darkness has been replaced by light.
Its hard to get completely giddy about the whole deal when a cretin like Frank can basically rape the Dodger franchise and name for his own vanity and gain and still walk away 10 times richer. What he did to the team and franchise was/is criminal.
But, at least he seems to have bested his tramp ex-wife in the process.
I’m so glad we won’t have to speak the McCourt name ever again! I think it will be a bright future for the Dodger fans.
Things are definately looking much better. However, I can’t get totally on board until they fire Ned.
I would think that would be the “Groups” first order of business!
With Bunnynutts and Charlie Steiner next! 😉
I certainly hope so Tru…
Very nice to hear that McCretin will not have ultimate control of the land and parking lots.
On another note, with that much money being tossed around, the new owners should be able to eat Uribes’ contract without even blinking.
I would not shed a tear if Uribe was let go…..he is a definite liability to the team.
No tears here either… I think Uribums leash just got a lot shorter….
Totally agree with you on Steiner and Honeycutt also.
Kasten has been a GM before (although in the NBA, not the MLB). So he can easily see what a rotten job Ned has done. Ned’s contract details really don’t matter, because they can buy him out or just sit him on the sidelines for that matter. Before the ink is dry on the final deal, Kasten should pull Ned aside and say:
“No more deals for you!”
One can describe Frank as something similar to an armor plated cockroach. No matter how hard, or how many times you step on them, they survive somehow. It reminds me of an old 70’s sci-fi movie called “Damnation Alley” where they dealt with the nasty bugs somewhere in what’s left of SLC, Utah!
Sadly VL, I know of which movie you speak. George Peppard, Jan-Michael Vincent, and that really ugly kid. I remember actually going to the theater and seeing it.
Wasn’t that ugly kid the same one that played on “The Bad News Bears” (Jackie Earl Haley)?
Yup. And I remember going to the theater and seeing that too! 🙂
I’m feeling a little better about things today.
I’ve officially ended my boycott of Dodger Stadium. I’ve turned my classic Dodger sign right-side up in my cubical at work. Better yet, I now have 4 tickets for Opening Day. They’re in just about the worst possible place, the top row of the Reserved deck in right field, wrapped around the foul pole, so you know the place is just about sold out. But I don’t care. These seats are pretty close to the ones my Dad and I sat in when we saw Joe Ferguson make that throw in the ’74 Series. That’s a pretty good memory.
I’ve decided I want to be there. I want to root, root, root for the home team again.
YAY….way to go!
Thanks to you (and others like you) Opening Day is now sold out!
YEAH!!!!! I have been waiting to read/hear those words that the boycott has ended 🙂
Here is a 40 minute interview from 2011 with one of the new owners, Peter Guber. He gives his point of view on the sports and entertainment business.
http://www.variety.com/video/?1534995210001//Peter
The video cuts in and out on my system but the audio is solid. Update: watching in full screen mode prevents the flickering.
He has some good insight on what it takes to create a successful sports franchise. He mentioned a few things about what McCourt did wrong when he started like immediately raising parking prices which put people in a bad mood upon first entering the stadium.
I like what this guy has to say about running a team.
Some comments from Matt Kemp about the news of the sale:
“I think it’s tight, man, for Magic to be one of our owners,” said Kemp, who signed an eight-year, $160 million extension this winter. “He knows what the Dodgers mean to L.A. Magic is very important to L.A., and the fans love him. This is a pretty good day for the Dodgers.”
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/dailypitch/post/2012/03/dodgers-players-magic-johnson-owner-/1#.T3NsCnnIeaQ
If some of you are experiencing the new policy of the LA Times to only allow a certain number of articles to be read each month and throwing up a big banner asking you to subscribe if that number is exceeded, you are in luck. Just go to http://unblockbypass.com and enter the URL for the LA Times article you wish to read. The limitation is removed and you can once again read entire stories.
When you do get to the L.A. Times please read T.J. Simers column. He pretty much sums up how I feel about things right now. I still remain cautiously optomistic about new ownership. It will take time to make changes and hopefully we will not be talking much about onwership but about the team, second guessing the manager and GM and worrying about lineups. As for Ned, I would not be surprised if he lasted the season if the Dodgers are still in the hunt for a playoff spot. Of course, if the season starts badly Ned might be gone quicker than I think (and certainly not quick enough for most of us). It just makes sense to me for new ownership to take time to evaluate what is currently in place as well as available options. Who knows, maybe Ned has issues with new ownership and he resigns.
Now that phase one is almost complete, does any one want to lay odds on how long Nedcompoop hangs on before he’s kicked to the curb? How about Bunnynuts?
The sooner the better for both with me. BTW Tru, I agree Steiner needs to go too. 😉
Ned & Bunnynuts gone within two months. Please!
All I got on my mind is that the team will be a lot richer than it was, now that the Guggleheim group is taken over. I understand they got MONEY. No more excuses. Magic, Kasten, Walter and the rest could make things a lot easier around here and help bring back a franchise that we can all be proud of and win us some World Championships.
If they were the owners a couple of years ago, we would probably have C.C. Sabathia, Carlos Santana, and Pujols or Fielder on the team now.. More importantly, the farm system would be on the way to getting back to the greatness of the past when it was the best in baseball.
Looks like the hitting’s been in mid-season form lately. Sure glad Ned “upgraded” or we could be in serious trouble.
But hey, they show up early and work hard….
Great clubhouse guys and team players…
They are grinding…. LOL!!!
Think you covered them all Wally. 🙂
I am glad Donnie is giving Josh a shot ….. he’s trying left field today and got a hit.
We’re gonna need Josh around to fill in at 3rd base.
Oh yeah, absolutely! Matt’s only struck out three times in three at bats today.
Good news: I juust read that McCrook will get NO revenue from the parking lots….YAY
From ESPN…they have three sources with knowledge of the situation.
And, another bright note….Magic will use the Yankees blueprint for success…..thank goodness…I guess that means no more dumpster diving for us!
🙂 That will be nice. However, it’s really not how much you ultimately spend, it’s how you spend it. Nedcompoop has had plenty of money to spend the past 5-6 years. We really need a GM with half a clue.
Job #1 for the new owners is to can Ned.
Very nice Crash… I will retire my Gravitar when they finish the fob and fire or let Ned go…. LOL!!!
I should have waited until the sale has been closed. But I can’t wait, because Magic’s smile is just too infectious. He will be a great front man.
YAY….crash is back!
I really don’t like buying your way to a pennant either. What I want is for this group to build a terrific farm system and fill in a spot or two as needed with trades or FAs. I’d much rather watch our own than a bunch of mercs and journeymen. If that takes another 3-4 years, so be it.
Yep Beav, the old Dodger way…. I am 100% with you…
I think that is a major part of their plan.
Building a team through the farm system is Stan Kasten’s philosophy. He will start organizing to make that happen right away. Meanwhile, the new owners are not afraid to fill in the gaps with some quality players to cover the short term.
Sounds great to me!
Kasten already said he has no plans to fire anybody right away. He wants to meet the people and try to find the right place for each of them. It might buy Colletti an extra few months. Ned has blown some big bucks on deals that didn’t work out but hindsight is 20/20. Schmidt and Jones seemed like a good idea at the time. Who knew they would crash and burn so badly. Maybe Kasten will give him a chance at the trading deadline to redeem himself. Still, I would rather see him replaced with a top line GM.
Me too!
Ya gotta figure Kasten will be screening Neds transactions very closely and will have the final say before pulling the trigger.
I wouldn’t send Ned to the grocery to buy a loaf of bread….
LOL…for sure!
Send Ned to the store to buy a fresh loaf of Wonder bread and all he comes back with is poopernickle.
I’m still undecided about my return to Dodger Stadium. McCourt still has a piece. Not only am I bothered that McCourt remains around, I have a problem with anybody who goes into any kind of a partnership with McCourt. That group includes the new ownership group.
Happy Birthday to you….Happy Birthday to you….Happy Birthday, Dear, Dodgereric, …….Happy Birthday to you!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy Birthday Dad/Eric….. Have a great day and glad to read your going to opening day at Dodger Stadium. Enjoy my friend.
Happy Birthday Eric!!
Phan probably won’t like this but Pierre just made the Phillies opening day roster.
So Podsednik is likely not going to be on the opening day roster.
LOL!! Pierre is really not a bad piece for around $1M/year or under until they get healthy. That is around what they are paying him. Of course, he doesn’t need the money anymore since Nedcompoop set him up with that ridiculous 5 year-$45M deal we are still paying off.
Just saw that Aaron Rowland was released. It’s easy to see why Ned is such a joke coming from the G’aints. The Rowland and Zito deals are right up there with the Pierre, Schidt, Andruw, and Manny deals that crippled our payroll.
I’m still a bit surprised that someone hasn’t picked up Miles…
Maybe they have and I just haven’t heard about it.
Shhhh! Don’t anyone tell Ned that Rowand is available!
Don’t forget former Giants Livan Hernandez is available to.
Livan just signed with Atlanta, Kasten’s old team. Too bad for Ned that he couldn’t sign the 37 year old.
There’s always the trade deadline… Shouldn’t cost us more than Lee and Sands don’t you think?
Sands is not enough. In order to pick up Livan, Ned will need to send Lee, Withrow, Sands, and Van Slyke.
After that excellent deal, Ned will pick up Juanpy in exchange for Rubby, Fields, and Sellers.
Out of all the teams for JP to end up on, it’s the Phillies. Well, I wish JP luck dealing with that crowd if he doesn’t live up to their standards.
And people think I was hard on JP – they ain’t seen nuthin’ yet.
That’s exactly what I was thinking when I typed my comment – lol!!!
Happy Birthday Eric!!!
Happy Birthday Mr. Cleaver, er, Eric!
DRE!
Yeah!!!
So who said he can’t hit lefties?
Beav & Wally 😉
The more I see of Capuano, the more I like him. He has been quite impressive today. Let’s hope that he can continue his good pitching throughout the season.
I like the way he just threw behind Braun! He will defend his players!
BTW, so glad they’ll be sending down Lingblom and keeping Guerrier, MacDougal, Wright and Coffey. They’ll make for a real impressive bullpen.
Maybe Donnie thinks Guerrier means Grinder….and, you know Wally approves of grinders too 😉
None of those a-holes could pitch their way out of a wet paper bag.
Ahh – feels good to start stretching it out. Sarcasm’s coming around nicely. My derogatory cutters are working. I’ll be ready for the season in another couple of comments…
🙂 Sure glad we decided to send Grabow (a lefty that hadn’t given up a run this spring) packing and keep freaking washed up Wright. Geez!!! I guess we needed another Cormier.
Ned’s got to be the stupidest GM ever when it comes to player personnel decisions. Who in the hell signs MacDougal, Coffey AND Wright (all crap righties) when you’ve got a better pitcher in Lindblom who’s not only cheaper, but actually EARNED his way onto the team last year. Then he keeps only one lefty even though all the other lefties have outpitched the crap mentioned above. Kasten should fire Ned’s ass right on the spot and replace him with a chimp in the interim.
LMFAO!!! Good one!
No offense meant to the chimp…
Let’s be honest here Wally do you really want to keep Grabow? The way Grabow pitched in the spring he does deserve it over Wright and Coffeybbv. The last 2 years with the Cubs were terrible. In Wright defense with the Mariners he wasn’t bad but than again he pitch with Seattle and just like the Giants last year the Mariners had some good pitching but couldn’t hit a lick and scored runs. Oh look another former Giants on our roster and he pitched for them back in 2006 and I hope he get cut when Belisario come back.
Could be Coffey’s been brewed too long – that was some horrible pitching we just witnessed.
Well, I thought I had the sarcasm and cutters working today, but I need to start working in some quips here and there to keep the other commentors off balance. My straight logic needs some honing, but its still a work in progress. All-in-all I think I’ll be able to come out of the gait strong, throwing in some off-speed songs and an occasional off the wall curve. I’m hoping for a big year and putting in a strong effort for the Sty Dung Award, named after Ned’s tenure.
Dung Ho!
Smooth delivery Tru!
I’m assuming that Lilly is now the #5 pitcher, because I can’t see them switching starters back and forth. I was thinking that Eovaldi or someone else would’ve replaced Lilly for one turn, and they would’ve kept the rotation in tact or more to the point as it was..
Josh Ratwich reported on twitter that he was hit by an Andre Ethier foul ball. I told him it was payback for leaving us. He is doing great with the Dbacks organization. It makes a difference when you are working for people who know what they are doing.
Now I hope we also have people that do.
Oh, nuts!
http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120331&content_id=27792250¬ebook_id=27801444&vkey=notebook_la&c_id=la
Josh said he gained five followers once it happened, and I bet he gets alot more now that it made the print news – lol!!!
Josh deserved that for leaving us. A real turncoat.
Billz (_|_)~~~~!
🙂 LOL!! Pfffffft!!!!!! He blows and stinks….
What a mess…
Indeed he do!!
Well folks, who goes when Belisario reaches eligible status?
(A) MacDougal
(B) Coffey
(C) Wright
(D) Belisario
Personally, I wish there were an (E) All of the above.
(A)
I’ll guess (C) Wright and I’m pretty sure (D) has nothing to worry about when Belisario gets back. (haha)
Who’s going to get the last spot on the roster? Josh, Justin…or somebody else?
I think Luis Cruz would fill in nicely right now.
Sellers has earned the last spot, but I’d be surprised if he got it.
Dee Gordon is back in LA!! The boys are breaking camp and coming back to their baseball home for the season. Can’t wait to see how this season unfolds for the team and its players. Four more days until it begins again. Until then, let’s hope our Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles show the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim there is only one team in Los Angeles and they where Dodger Blue.
.
And for the record enchanted, I hope it’s A. I wasn’t impressed last season, and he certainly hasn’t given me any reason to change my mind this spring. If I’m a starting pitcher, he’s the last person I want to see coming in to relieve me, no matter the score.
*wear
One day on spring break, and the spelling goes to hell – lol!!!
I think what holds MacDougal is that he lead the team in “HOLDS”. He seemed to give up runs but, more often than not, not enough runs to blow the lead. Not that it’s good but most of the runs that scored while he was pitching were inherited. Just my thought of way he keeps his job.
I wonder since Kasten doesn’t get to take the reigns until May 1 if he’s looking at the squad Ned’s assembled on the 25-man and wondering why guys like MacDogDoo, Coffey, Wright and Cruz/Fields are making the team and guys like Lindblom, Eovaldi and Sellers aren’t (I have to assume Lindblom and Sellers aren’t because they’re far superior players to the others mentioned.)
Eovaldi got awarded today….
.
Nathan Eovaldi has won the annual Jim Mulvey award for the top rookie in spring camp. Jim and Dearie Mulvey were part time owners of the Dodgers from 1938-1975. Eovaldi finished with a 1.72 ERA this spring, and has held opponents to a .233 batting average against.
.
….but his true reward was being sent down. Thanks Ned!
Actually, do we know if they are keeping Nathan yet?
I don’t see him on the depth chart.
With what this ownership group is overpaying for the franchise, my prediction is that it is going to lose its ass. It won’t be long before the fans feel the dire consequences. McCourt won’t be the end of our troubles – just the beginning. Sorry for the sad outlook. Hopefully we get some enjoyment on the field before the roof collapses.
Welcome to the Hotel California…
This could be heaven or it could be hell….
Matt Cain is rolling in the big bucks now.
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/san-francisco-giants-matt-cain-agrees-to-largest-deal-for-right-handed-pitcher-040212