I don’t really have anything to add to this story- other than to say it is no wonder players don’t trust owners.  What’s that quote?

“You go through the Sporting News for the last 100 years, an you will find two things are always true.  You never have enough pitching, and nobody ever made money.”  -Donald Fehr, former Executive Director of the MLBPA

Well,  the McCourts, the owners of the Dodgers have figured out another way to make sure that the team doesn’t appear to make any money, but to ensure that the owners do.  Here is the Bill Shaikin story. If you are a Dodger Fan it will make you sick.

Keep in mind though, as you read it, that other teams have found ways to pay ownership money through backdoor deals.  Think about teams that have started their own networks.  Those networks can “pay”  for the rights for less money than another television network, so  they make more of a profit from the ad revenue. Just another way of moving money around.  But, the McCourts’ method for setting this up is on a scale that exceeds all other examples in sports.  Imagine if the Dodgers were able to spend the rent their were paying for the parking lots they originally owned on the team.  The Dodgers might be headed back to the playoffs, and the Yankees wouldn’t be seen as the only villains in baseball.  The McCourts don’t care about winning on the field.  They do seem to care about filling their pockets.