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October 17, 2003

O'Malley Offers His Services

Former Dodger owner wants to help McCourt with transition and doesn't rule out returning in an official role

By Jason Reid, Times Staff Writer.

ormer Dodger owner Peter O'Malley said Thursday he has offered to help Frank McCourt as the Boston real estate magnate takes control of the franchise from News Corp., and O'Malley did not rule out returning to Chavez Ravine in an official capacity.

O'Malley has had discussions with McCourt and his wife, Jamie, trying to assist them as they move forward with purchasing the club the O'Malley family had presided over for almost 50 years.

And although O'Malley stressed he has offered his assistance only out of friendship to the McCourts, it appears the door is ajar for him to join the club's prospective owners.

"I've told the McCourts that I would help them as much as possible, as a friend, as much as they would like," O'Malley said. "I want to help them as a friend because I want them to succeed, and all of us want the franchise to succeed. That's very important to me, and I know how important it is to Frank and Jamie.

"As far as anything that concerns me, I've got to decline comment on that right now. I really do I just want to do whatever I can, any time I can, to help Frank and Jamie get off to a good start here. That's the most important thing now."

O'Malley, who sold the Dodgers to News Corp. for a then-record $311 million in 1998, has remained in Los Angeles since leaving the organization on Dec. 31, 1998.

He recently introduced a Web site dedicated to his late father, Walter, who bought a majority interest in the then-Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950 and moved the club to L.A. in 1958.

O'Malley declined to reveal how long he has advised McCourt, but baseball executives said McCourt sought O'Malley's counsel before he reached an agreement in principle to purchase the Dodgers from News Corp. for a listed price of $430 million. Sources said the actual dollar value for the club and its property holdings is between $325 million and $340 million once discounts and credits are factored into the accounting.

As part of the purchase agreement, McCourt has already initiated transition plans in meetings that began this week at Dodger Stadium. McCourt advisor Corey Busch is handling the first phase of transition talks, and McCourt expected to attend meetings at Chavez Ravine next week.

O'Malley said he is not involved in the process, which cannot be finalized until approved in a vote of owners. Commissioner Bud Selig is expected to schedule a vote in mid-November.

"Having MLB approve the sale as soon as possible would be the best thing for Frank and Jamie," O'Malley said. "That would enable them to become involved with the fans and the community as soon as possible."

Having O'Malley aboard in any role could benefit the Bostonians as they adjust to life running a storied Southland institution.

O'Malley, who briefly served as Dodger chairman of the board after News. Corp. purchased the club, still has strong ties in the L.A. business community. Moreover, bringing in O'Malley could help the McCourts establish credibility with fans because of the stability of the franchise under his guidance.

Although O'Malley wasn't considered the innovator his father was, his 28-year reign as team president was marked by success on and off the field.

The Dodgers won World Series championships in 1981 and '88, and also won National League pennants in 1974, '77 and '78. And O'Malley was at the forefront of promoting baseball internationally.

"Stability is probably the most important characteristic of when we were there," said O'Malley, referring to his family's stewardship. "That's certainly a key thing, and Frank and Jamie have to get there.

"But the good thing is that Frank and Jamie are in this long term. They wouldn't be making this type of commitment if they weren't."

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EvilDodger

PRICELESS!!!

Look, after the debacle of News Corp, we need a calming, reassuring FEELING going into new ownership. We need to feel some baseball people are running the show, not some huge conglamorate who knows little or nothing about the game and the team we love.

I FEEL GOOD ABOUT THIS!

The news about Peter O’Malley returning to the Dodgers in some capacity, either as an advisor, a partner, or both gives the McCourt group a lot of credibility.

I do not think that Peter O’Malley is the potential partner referred to as the LA “Deep-Pockets.” Even though he is very wealthy, he does not have the “Deep-Pockets,” like billionaires do, needed for a MLB team. However, his presence with the team will bring in serious investors that would not have otherwise gone forward with their capital.

In addition, the presence of Peter O’Malley also solidifies the future of both Dan Evans and Jim Tracy with the team. Peter is a strong believer of continuity and stability and the Dodgers’ philosophy that players are fired and not the manager!

The transition for News Corp seems to be well under way headed by Corey Busch. Last week, he held meetings with many of the Dodgers’ chief executives primarily Bob Grazziano.

I really do not know how the new front office would shape up. If I have to guess, the managing partner, Frank McCourt, will become the new Chairman of the Board, Corey Busch the new President and Dan Evans continues as GM. Maybe Peter O’Malley would become the new President and Corey Busch the executive VP in charge of… the other VP’s.

I do not think that Evans job is still 100% guaranteed, though. The McCourts are reported to be coming this week for organizational meetings. These meeting are going to be crucial, imho. I believe that most of the Dodgers’ present brass will be there including Logan White, Bill Bavazzi, and Terry Collins.

The eye-opener, in my opinion, will be the state of the Dodgers minor league system, which is teaming with prospects.

While many teams are spending half their budget in overpaid and overaged pitchers, we have nothing but young power arms in the minors: Greg Miller, Edwin Jackson, Joel Hanrahan, Brian Pilkington, Jonathan Figueroa, Chad Billinsgley, Chuck Tiffany, Mike Negrew, Keith Totten, Steve Colyer, Lino Urdaneta, Jonathan Broxton, Eric Stolts, Andy Brown, Jason Fraser, etc. We do not need to overspend in pitching for years to come.

We do have many position players who shall start arriving by 2006. The can’t miss, imho, are: Delwyn Young, Mike Nixon, James Loney, Franklin Gutierrez, and Xavier Paul. The prospects and/or suspects are Joel Guzman, Reggie Abercrombie, Shane Victorino, Willy Aybar, Luis Castillo, etc. On or two of these group will make it, but not all.

Most teams and fans overrate their prospects. However, the Dodgers minor league system is for real. In addition, the people at the meeting will drop their collective jaws when they hear that the team will drop 20 mils in 2004, 20 mils in 2005, and 45 mils in 2006 in payroll, if we stick with Danny’s 5-year plan! The problem is that most of our position prospects will not be ready until 2006. Therefore, we have to bite the bullet in 2004 by acquiring players in order to field a championship team.

Fans have to understand that we have to replace our players from within. There is no other way.

What might be approved are the following moves:

• Sign Kazuo Matsui to a 15 mils/3 yrs contract.

• Trade Lo Duca (3.9 mils) + Thurston, + Pilkington + a medium level prospect for Richie Sexson (8 mils) or + 4 mils.

• Trade Odalis Perez (5 mils) for Jim Edmonds (8 mils.) Edmonds will make 9 mils in 2004 but 1 mil is deferred interest free. +3 mils.

We had about 18 mils to spend for new players and we only expended 12 mils for the three new players. Our lineup might be as follows:

1. Matsui – 2B (S)
2. Roberts – CF (L)
3. Green – RF (L)
4. Sexson – 1B (R)
5. Edmonds – LF (L)
6. Beltre – 3B (R)
7. Ross – C (R)
8. Izturis – SS (S)
9. Pitcher.

We still can drop more payroll if we trade Cora (1.2 mils) + Shuey (3.8 mils) or ~ 5 mils in total. I would favor this move because both Shuey and Quantrill are FA in 2005. I rather replace one of them with Colyer in 2004 and the other one in 2005. Quantrill might exercise his option and become a FA in 2004. If so, we would save 3.1 mils and replace him with Colyer and keep Shuey. In either case, we still can drop the payroll by at least 4 mils and concentrate on the bench:

1. Koyie Hill (S)
2. Todd Hundley (S)
3. Jolbert Cabrera (R)
4. Robin Ventura (L)
5. Wilkin Ruan (R)

Starting pitchers:

1. Kevin Brown (R)
2. Hideo Nomo (R)
3. Wilson Alvarez (L)
4. Darren Dreifort (R) – With Hanrahan waiting in the wings just in case!
5. Edwin Jackson (R)
6. Kazuhisa Ishii (L)

Bullpen:

1. Guillermo Mota (R)
2. Steve Colyer (L)
3. Paul Quantrill (R)
4. Jason Frasor, Lino Urdaneta, Masao Kida, or Rodney Myers (R)
5. Tom Martin (L)
6. Eric Gagne (R)

We might go after Milton Bradley, but I do not think we can if we trade Shuey. Cleveland wants Colyer. The problem is that Bradley will cost us ~ 4 mils extra (not trading Shuey) and Colyer – he looks good!

Best regards,

Hektor

I disagree. Here is the link to the article:

http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/dodgers/la-sp-dodgers17oct17,1,5215586.story?coll=la-headlines-sports-mlb-dodger

Let me quote the following paragraphs:

>>>As part of the purchase agreement, McCourt has already initiated transition plans in meetings that began this week at Dodger Stadium. McCourt advisor Corey Busch is handling the first phase of transition talks, and McCourt expected to attend meetings at Chavez Ravine next week.<<<

The transition already started with the approval of the commissioner office. Therefore, there is nothing the Dodgers, with their present front office, cannot do, if approved by News Corp and the McCourt group. I do not see any reason for News Corp to veto anything that the new ownership has agreed to.

>>>Former Dodger owner Peter O'Malley said Thursday he has offered to help Frank McCourt as the Boston real estate magnate takes control of the franchise from News Corp., and O'Malley did not rule out returning to Chavez Ravine in an official capacity.<<<

It is unconceivable that Peter O’Malley would make such a statement to the press without the approval of McCourt. In fact, the reason he made it, imho, is to facilitate McCourt securing partners to form his group. With Peter O’Malley in the mix, it is almost a certainty to get the people he needs. O’Malley brings the respectability and seriousness to the bid that otherwise might not have. Therefore, it is a done deal.

>>>And although O'Malley stressed he has offered his assistance only out of friendship to the McCourts, it appears the door is ajar for him to join the club's prospective owners.

"I've told the McCourts that I would help them as much as possible, as a friend, as much as they would like," O'Malley said. "I want to help them as a friend because I want them to succeed, and all of us want the franchise to succeed. That's very important to me, and I know how important it is to Frank and Jamie. <<<

O’Malley did not rule out his return in an official capacity. Why? All he head to say was no! Therefore, he is returning in some capacity. It is part of the deal with the McCourts!

>>>"Stability is probably the most important characteristic of when we were there," said O'Malley, referring to his family's stewardship. "That's certainly a key thing, and Frank and Jamie have to get there.

"But the good thing is that Frank and Jamie are in this long term. They wouldn't be making this type of commitment if they weren't." <<<

The above statements are not idle statements by a loose-cannon. Peter O’Malley is anything but. We’ve known him for decades.

The only question remaining is whether he is going to be an investor or not! That, I do not know. It could be!

Best regards,

Hektor