Comments on: When it comes to Frank McCourt’s legacy, money changes everything

By: lostsok

lostsok — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 03:59:43 +0000

This entire article is naive. And painfully so. You act as if running down a business and walking away with a massive profit for doing so is something new…and that people should care that CAN do anything about it. Numerous CEOs and other business poobahs have done exactly the same thing. I used to work for Idaho First bank, which became WestOne bank, which became US Bank…and thousands lost their jobs here in Idaho. The CEO at the time, Larry Johnston, floated off to Florida on a 40-50 million dollar golden parachute.

He is one of the most reviled people in the world to those of us in Idaho. Think he’s losing sleep behind the gate of his mansion?

And now you talk about “perception” with McCourt? I guarantee you…he does not care. Frank McCourt is validated by dollar signs, and nothing else.

By: jimeejohnson

jimeejohnson — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:26:10 +0000

I think you’re lying!

By: jimeejohnson

jimeejohnson — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:23:22 +0000

McCourt is Darth Vader’s cousin, “the malignant force”. Boston is glad he moved way out there!

By: jkaflagg

jkaflagg — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:06:57 +0000

While Frank McCourt is the ultimate American business success story – get rich using other people’s money and taking advantage of fools – let’s not forget that once you get past the Magic Johnson as front man schtick, the Dodgers are now owned by a financial company; and despite all the flowery talk about Dodger tradition blah blah blah, they bought the team because they saw a chance to make more money. Let’s give this thing a little time to see if the new ownership can keep both the money people back home and Dodger fans happy – because if it has to be one or the other, I think we all know how it will go.

By: WhenMattStairsIsKing

WhenMattStairsIsKing — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 21:45:42 +0000

My iguana is offended by your comment.

By: WhenMattStairsIsKing

WhenMattStairsIsKing — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 21:44:49 +0000

Good point, lions. The battle McCourt has isn’t close to being over, with everything else he has to settle.

By: smoothaswilkes

smoothaswilkes — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:53:14 +0000

Sorry, why isn’t the 579m widely reported? I only saw it once and never again.

By: smoothaswilkes

smoothaswilkes — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:52:07 +0000

What about the 579 million of debt that McCourt assumed in the Fox sale? That is not being reported in any of these stories. Where’d that debt go? Doubtful that it paid off given Frank’s money problems. If you count that against the sale price, McCourt still comes out with a cool billion and it still makes me want to vomit repeatedly.

Am I wrong about the 579m? Why is that being widely reported?

By: paperlions

paperlions — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 19:10:44 +0000

Well, first, Frank is going to have to pay off all of his debts…which total to…what? $800M plus? There will be something going to taxes one would hope, but he may be rich enough to avoid that all together. It’ll be interesting to find out how much he walks away with in the end.

By: umrguy42

umrguy42 — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:31:06 +0000

cur, more loonies than you can shake a stick at.

By: cur68

cur68 — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:16:23 +0000

How much is that Canadian?

By: yankeesfanlen

yankeesfanlen — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:01:56 +0000

Ten trazillion million.

By: mcsnide

mcsnide — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:52:55 +0000

They also had the Astros at $474 mil last year. You know, the team that sold for $615 mil after a $65 mil discount for moving to the AL. The Rangers also went for about 25% more than Forbes thought they were worth. In the past, Forbes was pretty close with its estimates, but the last couple years, not so much. Makes you wonder what changed. BP has a good article up on the topic: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=16297

What I really want to know: If the Dodgers are worth $2 Bil, how much are the Yankees worth?

By: CJ

CJ — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:28:58 +0000

Morosi’s basically says that Dodger fans will than McCourt for selling. Which could have been true had Mccourt done so of his own choosing. Morosi seems to foget that McCourt was basically forced into selling the team, thus Dodger fans will not be changing the workd before “you” to “thank” anytime soon, or ever, for that matter.

They’d have to thank Selig instead. Not that that’ll happen anytme soon either.

By: Jonny 5

Jonny 5 — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:21:40 +0000

This tells me Forbes doesn’t know squat when it comes to the value of MLB teams. They valued the team at 1.4 b which is a 75% increase from the year before.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:20:08 +0000

Gamera – you forgot to add, “in one of the funniest movies ever made.”

By: Jeremy Fox

Jeremy Fox — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:13:40 +0000

“…he will become the most financially successful owner of a team in Major League Baseball history”.

Isn’t that mostly because all franchise values have been rising dramatically, the Dodgers have fundamental value that even McCourt couldn’t destroy, and there was a bidding war between several very rich buyers when McCourt was forced to sell at a time not of his choosing? Why should McCourt get any credit for any of that?

Funny how making lots of money in business is always attributed to the CEO’s business acumen and never to larger forces outside the CEO’s control…

By: cur68

cur68 — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:02:54 +0000

See this is where Craig fails: he doesn’t know enough to suck up to the mega rich and ultra stupid. Morosi has seized the advantage from him by being first in line as official Media Toady for Frank McCourt, America’s newest Billionaire.

He won’t be the last to try and get a little of that sweet lucre for a PR job and, at FOX, he’s ideally situated to suck up to rich idiots.

By: Gamera the Brave

Gamera the Brave — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:58:43 +0000

mitzvah,
You just put me in the mind of that classic flick, “They Live”, where Rowdy Roddy Piper utters (or, more accurately, mumbles) the classic line – “I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass…and I’m all out of bubblegum.”
Aliens and bad actors ARE among us.

By: koufaxmitzvah

koufaxmitzvah — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:56:23 +0000

His statement is very Foxual. After all, they created the belief that the Iraqi people will be thanking George W Bush for his invasion of Iraq 30 years from now. All that bloodshed, looting, and violence will be forgotten because GWB brought democracy to the Middle East!

By: lanflfan

lanflfan — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:54:00 +0000

Time to send that high-priced attorney back into court and renegotiate.

By: koufaxmitzvah

koufaxmitzvah — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:53:12 +0000

Jon Morosi should change his name to Jon Moron.

By: lanflfan

lanflfan — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:52:42 +0000

Frank McAsshat will never be like or thanked by any sane Dodger fan. He will reap a huge pile of ill-gotten gold, and with such acquisitions eventually comes the karmic boomerang. I just hope I’m able to laugh my ass off at him when it happens.

By: yankeesfanlen

yankeesfanlen — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:52:27 +0000

As stated in the previous post, Magic not withstanding, this is a business proposition that went totally awry and will take a ton of money to remedy.
The part that will probably be the most difficult is getting the product back on track through intelligent drafting of farms and FAs. We shall see if the new management is skilled and determined enough to do that

By: Kevin S.

Kevin S. — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:51:38 +0000

$131 million. She settled months ago.

Oops.

By: Gamera the Brave

Gamera the Brave — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:51:12 +0000

As one erstwhile funnyman once said, “HALF, Eddie!!!!!!!!!”

By: koufaxmitzvah

koufaxmitzvah — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:51:06 +0000

He looks like a lizard in a suit.

Aliens are among us.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:47:01 +0000

Incidentally, how much of that profit is Jamie going to try to grab? This circus might not be over yet….

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:45:37 +0000

Craig, listen. Just put a nice cushion or couch pillow on the floor, sit down on it, cross your legs, extend your arms over your knees, open your palms, close your thumb and index finger to just not quite touching each other, take a deep breath, close your eyes and from as far back in your vocal apparatus as possible say ohhhhhmmmmmmmmm. Do this for an hour, slowly rise back to the daylight, and then go write something about the Angels for a change.

By: Jon Weisman

Jon Weisman — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:43:31 +0000

I can assure you that the notion that Frank McCourt has changed his legacy with this sale – as if this matters to anyone but him – is preposterous. What he did in the past is too prominent, and it’s not as if he made some sacrifice to get Magic in the game.

The visceral level of the anger might soften as it often does over time no matter what the situation, and it will be easier to make jokes about him, but thanking him? No way.