Dodgers Fans Rejoyce At MLB Takeover

With one swoop a man’s dreams were destroyed. Frank McCourt went to sleep on Monday night as the owner of one of professional sports most storied franchises – the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, McCourt was given a rude awakening by Baseball Commissioner and current Bill Gates impersonator, Bud Selig, who decided to take the reins from McCourt, and now Major League Baseball will be taking control of the Dodgers.

McCourt was loathed because he treated the Dodgers as his personal piggy bank.

He never met a relative he did not hire for the front office. His wife was even the CEO, while his two sons were paid six figure salaries for jobs without any real job descriptions. If there is no sympathy for the devil, then McCourt received even less as he dropped more in a year for haircuts than a school teacher earns in salary.

All of this was financed by the Dodger fans. People like me, who encompass an apathetic lot of fans that stick with the same mediocre product year, after year, after year. We make our demands year after year, and we got stuck with talent that is past its prime. We pay ever increasing ticket prices to watch as the Dodgers sign former all-stars and injury-riddled talent. I am just as guilty. I complain a whole lot, and there I am paying $15 for parking, another $20 to $30 for a seat, and finally $12 for a hot dog and a soft drink; all so Frank McCourt can have enough money to burn.

Bottom line, McCourt was an unpopular owner in Los Angeles, which is hard to do considering the fact that you have Clippers owner Donald Sterling in the same town. Under McCourt’s tenure, the Dodgers made it to the Championship Series (2008 and 2009), both times losing to the Philadelphia Phillies, and that was still insufficient. This was the same Dodger franchise that had only won one playoff game in 2004 since their last championship in 1988.

However there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Major League Baseball will give the Dodgers their version of a government bailout simply because they are too big to fail, and the good news is that Major League Baseball has some deep pockets. This will only be a temporary quick-fix until an adequate buyer can be found. The last time this happened was last year when Major League Baseball took over the Texas Rangers. These same Rangers ended up acquiring one of the most elite pitchers in the game as well as making a World Series appearance.

As a fan, I know that Major League Baseball needs the Dodgers to be a contender – maybe not a winner, but a contender. Three million tickets will be sold, regardless of the price. The Dodgers can be a contender given the fact that they play in one of the weakest divisions in baseball. All they need is a couple of top tier arms and bats, and the right people interested. Dallas Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban is always in the mix. This is exciting because Cuban is willing to spend the money necessary to make us all forget about the McCourts.

Follow Oscar Barajas on Twitter @Oscarcoatl