Editorial: Baseball Fields

So, there's been a lot of talk about something Dodgers President Jamie McCourt said earlier this week.

From the L.A. Times:

"If you bring somebody in to play and pay them, pick a number, $30 million, does that seem a little weird to you?" Jamie McCourt asked in an interview at the Evergreen Recreation Center in East Los Angeles. "That's what we're trying to figure out. We're really trying to see it through the eyes of our fans. We're really trying to understand, would they rather have the 50 fields?"

Now, obviously, there has been a tremendous amount of backlash to this quote. The McCourt's insist they were speaking on a philosophical hypothetical level. Which very well could be the case. However, many are viewing McCourt's words to be something else... a testing of the waters.

First off, when did both charity and free agents become mutually exclusive? Why not have both? In any case, should this be just a hypothetical statement, then all is forgiven.

If this statement is really inferring that the McCourt's won't be ponying up some cash to bring in quality free agents this offseason, then there are going to be some issues.

The money that Dodger fans spend on going to games or purchasing merchandise is, at least by my assumptions, going back into the team. Yes, I know a lot of it is going into Frank McCourt's pocket, or to pay team President Jamie McCourt's salary. But I still assume the rest of it will go back into the team. It's bad enough when I see ticket prices being raised to Frank McCourt can build some kind of crazy super mall in the front of the stadium, but to think that the money I'm spending is going to be put into something that I'm never going to see the fruits of, then I'm going to start seriously reconsidering where I put my money.

I mean really, putting money into things you don't gain anything from? That's what property taxes are for.

If the McCourt's want to set up a foundation for building baseball fields, then do that, but keep the Dodger money away from the charity money. Those are two different piles of money, as well they should be.

Look, there's still obviously a lot to be seen with the backlash from all this. Will the McCourt's pay for quality free agents or not? Within the next couple months, we'll start to figure out what this all means. I'm not really ready to completely bash the McCourt's yet on some quote that might not mean anything in a few weeks.

But I am a little worried. And quite frankly, Jamie McCourt, if you really want to know what the Dodger fans think, these are the poll results from the L.A. Times:


That's right, folks. The Dodgers mean a lot to a lot of people. You can't even stick poor kids in between Dodgers and their fans. And I'm with them. Don't make us choose between the Dodgers and the kids, because first and foremost, I want my team to win. Is that really so wrong?

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving people. They'll be a new player profile up tonight. It's Chin-lung Hu. Don't get too excited...