By Steven Booth
This is the twenty-first World Series in a row I’ve seen without the Dodgers in it. While one one hand I admit that I watch the Phillies and Yankees battle it out with lots of “what ifs” and “if onlys”, on the other hand I also admit that the right teams made it.
The Yankees spending is paying off. C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnette and Mark Teixera delivered the goods for the exorbitant amount the Steinbrenners paid for them. The Phillies, with some big help from Cliff Lee, are proving that they are more than a Florida Marlins passing fancy.
The Dodgers had a fine year, and they continue to make progress toward being one of those championship teams, provided the McCourts don’t tear them to shreds. Their hitting was fine, and while their pitching was solid all season, it wasn’t championship caliber. Hopefully the McCourts will take time away from shredding each other in public and give Ned Colletti something to work with.
The Mc Court thing gets uglier and uglier. Frank fired Jamie unceremoniously from her CEO position, and it came out that Jamie had an affair with her bodyguard. Jamie officially filed for divorce and is suing to have herself reinstated as the team’s CEO.
“Frank has no right to purport to terminate me. We are co-owners of the Dodgers,” she said. “Not only has Frank publicly held us out as co-owners of the franchise, he has also admitted this fact in front of our estate planning counsel.”
In a filing submitted by the Dodgers that opposes her return to the team, Dodgers attorneys allege that Jamie McCourt took a trip with her bodyguard, Jeff Fuller, in early July to Israel on team business, but then headed to France for 2 1/2 weeks and billed the Dodgers for the trip. Jamie McCourt is also accused of not giving her husband any information about her assignments as chief executive and not providing the team with her schedule of public appearances.
It’s sad, but TMZ.com has become the primary source for Dodger news before the Los Angeles Times or the Daily News. It would be nice to debate things in the offseason like “Which pitcher will the Dodgers sign” or “is Manny coming back?” but it’s looking like that will not be the case.
