A Message to Dodger Fans: Stop Blaming Frank McCourt
If you open up the Saturday edition of the Los Angeles Times, you will discover numerous letters to the editor berating Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and his wife Jamie:
[Frank McCourt has] taken all the fun out of going to a Dodgers game, but I suppose if [he] continues to make these announcements [he] can draw the fans’ attention away from the fact that [his] team is in last place.”
The criticism that McCourt has received in just a few short years as owner of the Dodgers has persisted to the point where you might think he is somehow a reincarnation of the unpopular George W. Bush. As soon as the Dodgers go on a losing streak, the McCourt haters come out of the closet and make him the scapegoat for all of the team’s problems: hitting, fielding, coaching, or even parking.
While McCourt may not be George Steinbrenner, who has brought six World Series titles to New York City and has a wallet the size of the Brooklyn Bridge, he has proven that he is eager to put a consistent winner on the field.
One of the primary complaints against McCourt is his unwillingness to spend big dollars to sign free agents, coaches, and draft picks. Nothing could be further from the truth as the Dodgers currently have the league’s third highest payroll at $125.6 million. Only the Yankees and Red Sox have spent more to update their 2008 rosters.
In 2006, McCourt signed Atlanta Braves shortstop Rafael Furcal to a three year $39 million dollar deal, which happened to be much more than any team wanted to pay for the 28 year old shortstop.
In 2007, McCourt signed free agents Juan Pierre and Jason Scmidt to multi-million dollar contracts. Pierre was signed to a five year $44 million dollar contract and Schmidt was given a three year deal worth $47 million. Their signings surprised many scouts and general managers who felt that both players were past their prime and did not warrant that kind of money.
In 2008, he signed Atlanta Braves reject Andruw Jones to a two year $36 million dollar contract, which makes the Pierre’s deal look meager in comparison. Any owner who is willing to pay Andruw Jones $18 million dollars a year is certainly not a miser in my book; foolish perhaps but not a miser.
These mega-contracts, whether beneficial or not, demonstrate that McCourt is more than willing to spend money to bring big-time players and high priced free agents to Los Angeles.
An owner’s responsibility is to allocate the necessary funds to maintain the ballpark and to hire quality staff, and players. In just a few years as the Dodgers’ owner, he has proven more than willing to accomplish these goals as evidenced by the continuous upgrades to Dodger Stadium, the hiring of Joe Torre, and the lavish spending on free agents.
Therefore, its time for Dodger fans to realize that the team’s problems are not because of Frank McCourt, but are a result of a litany of things that cannot be covered in just one post.
Stay tuned…
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Comment by Tyler on 8 June 2008:
Giants fan here.
Frank McCourt is a bad owner for running Paul DePodesta (a great GM) out of town and then signing off on the ill-advised signings of Juan Pierre, Jason Schmidt and Andruw Jones.
It isn’t about spending money. It’s about spending it well.
Also, the buffet in foul territory is trashy. as are the new colors.
Comment by John on 8 June 2008:
Hate to agree with a Giants fan but spending money does not make a good team. What you just passed over is the fact that Juan Pierre is a horribly overpaid player! As is Schmidt, and Jones (although given the choice I would take Jones everyday of the week over Pierre and his rag arm).
Spending money does not make a team great, it’s a connection with the fans and the history of the team, neither of which McCourt has. That is why he takes so much heat from the press and the fans. He sees the stadium as a project/investment with no regard to the fan base that makes the Dodger’s great. If you want to be seen instead of see a game go to SF or Anaheim where the game is secondary to the social aspect of being at the stadium.
When I met McCourt shortly after the JD Drew signing I told him it was a waste of money and he said “Give him time” as if he were in the minors and still developing and not a veteran player with a history of injury and a bad attitude. NO clue whatsoever! And as for DePodesta, McCourt’s only mistake was that he hired him in the first place!
Comment by Mike on 8 June 2008:
Mr. McCourt pays Ned Colletti’s and Joe Torre’s salaries, so yes, he in fact is responsible “for all of LA’s problems, hitting, fielding, spending, coaching” and “even parking for that matter.”
As a 5-year season ticket holder, I have seen my ticket (and parking!) prices skyrocket under the McCourt administration, while the quality of play on the field has not improved.
So, no. I will not stop blaming Mr. McCourt. To the contrary, kind sir, I do not think Mr. McCourt has been blamed enough.
Comment by Rob McMillin on 8 June 2008:
First-rate rubbish. Frank McCourt has been responsible for
1) chasing out of town TWO qualified GMs (Dan Evans and Paul DePodesta), both of whom had significant contributions to getting the team into the postseason.
2) Installed a general manager who is PR-first and talent acuity second. Jason Schmidt, Andruw Jones, Nomar Garciaparra, and Rafael Furcal are all presently on the DL; that’s $42.5M worth of deadweight. Now, Furcal is liable to come back and be productive, it’s true, but future contributions of the others are far more in doubt:
* Schmidt had significant injury history coming to the Dodgers, and big dropoffs in his velocity the last year with the Giants
* Garciaparra’s contributions continued to tail off; why was he re-upped?
* Jones had massive and continuous declines in his line drive rate from year to year over the last three prior to his signing, plus a huge drop in his batting average last year.
And that doesn’t even take into consideration Juan Pierre and his ridiculous five-year deal for the emptiest .300 batting average in the game today. A leadoff hitter who can’t hit for power and has no arm is now playing in left field, a traditional place to hide a power bat with iffy defense? Oh, sign me up! (Not.)
So, where in the world do you get off telling others that McCourt shouldn’t be criticized because of Colletti’s idiotic signings? Colletti is in the front office precisely because the McCourts are thin-skinned and PR-conscious; proof enough of that came when they fired Paul DePodesta essentially for making the right but unpopular moves, unloading popular catcher Paul Lo Duca and reliable eighth-inning man Guillermo Mota for starter Brad Penny; Penny’s had a bad 2008 for the Dodgers, but DePo’s analysis of what he would bring in other years has been right on the money. Meantime, Colletti gave out ridiculous contracts to the washed-up or nearly washed-up. What’s more, these that these contracts would turn out badly was *completely predictable*.
As for the comment above about J.D. Drew, he gave the Dodgers performances that were about in line with his career numbers, save for the fact that his 2005 was injury plagued; this was a known risk with him, but for those criticizing the signing, riddle me this: he hit 20 home runs in his last full season with the Dodgers in 2006. Who on this team is going to do that? Jones? Are you kidding me?
Anybody can spend money foolishly. That’s exactly what the McCourts are doing by proxy, and principally to salve their own egos. That won’t work much longer, as even T.J. Simers caught on to the rationale for Colletti’s signing: keeping the press at bay:
http://tinyurl.com/5q8eno
Comment by RevHalofan on 8 June 2008:
WHAT IS THIS, JOHN:
“If you want to be seen instead of see a game go to SF or Anaheim where the game is secondary to the social aspect of being at the stadium.”
GARBAGE - Between every inning at Dodger stadium what does the jumbotron feed us - fan face-shot after fan face-shot.
McCourt’s brilliance is the death by a thousand cuts of slowly raising prices on EVERYTHING while actually delivering LESS over each season, knowing fans simply have visions of being on that big screen themselves if they just “give it time.”
Comment by Jessy on 9 June 2008:
My best team of MLB is The Los Angeles Dodgers . This why I always fallow their games especially whenever I have some time. I’m always trying not o miss any of their game and hear about the team’s news. But The Los Angeles Dodgers tickets get more pricy especially when there are some hot games. But, if we’re really good fans we should try not to be mean when we’re talking about a favourite teams. It’s not only the Dodgers tickets that got pricy, but there are other major teams too, so the team needs our support and we should provide as much as we can.