It’s been a very, very long season for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
With everything that’s been happening in Dodgertown recently, most Dodger fans are at the point of exhaustion that they’re ready to throw in the white towel. Yet there’s still 31 games to be played in the 2010 campaign, and more drama continues to build.
The divorce proceedings between Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and his wife Jamie have seemingly taken a backseat to several other storylines over the course of the season, but the inevitable day has finally arrived.
Monday marks the beginning of the divorce trial between the McCourts in Los Angeles Superior Court, and for Los Angeles Dodgers fans at least, hopes are that the process is swift and judicious.
Whether the trial lasts three days or two months, there are several possibilities as to how Judge Scott Gordon may resolve the case. But for all parties involved, including the Dodger faithful, there’s one resolution that benefits everyone—a court-ordered sale of the franchise.
For the players, coaches, and fans of the Dodgers, this would be the best possible verdict. California Family Law is a bit different than most states, as the judge exclusively sets the stage and makes the decisions. Although counsels for both sides potentially have the right to appeal the verdict, these cases are seldom overturned.
Gordon has recommended previously to the McCourts to sell the organization to reconcile their differences, but both sides have decided to take their chances and press on. Clearly pride is a factor here, and neither Frank or Jamie’s ego is prepared for any type of humility.
Nevertheless, the quicker that Judge Gordon orders the sale, the sooner the Dodger franchise can begin to move in a new direction and once again strive to become among the elite organizations in Major League Baseball.
For Jamie, a court-ordered sale would be joyous. The marital property agreement is the core piece of evidence at the trial, and despite the legality and the authenticity of the documents, Judge Gordon’s main task will be to determine if Jamie was indeed duped by Frank, or if the agreement was drafted to protect Jamie all along.
With half of the proceeds from the sale of the Dodgers, Jamie could begin to comfortably move forward into a new era of her life, and have more than enough funds and assets to undertake many possible future paths.
In Frank’s eyes, to witness Judge Gordon force the sale of the team is the last thing he wants to happen. Frank’s primary goal is to hold on to the franchise until 2014 when Dodgers’ ownership assumes television broadcast rights for the club, which seemingly would exponentially increase revenue.
However, despite his lavish spending and affluent lifestyle, Frank must be absolutely miserable.
Almost everyone in Dodgertown wants him out as owner, and he’s become almost an evil name in the City of Los Angeles. Many fault the current standing of the organization to Frank’s business decisions alone, and it’s almost getting to the point where he’s not even welcomed in his own stadium.
Perhaps this could be an opportunity for Frank to rediscover himself and start a new life, to cleanse his soul, so to speak. By getting half of the assets from the sale, there would be more than enough funds for Frank to possibly undertake new business opportunities, but at the same time, it would also allow him to take some time off, to look at life from the outside-in for a change.
Maybe he could take some emphasis off of himself and do some volunteer work, or perhaps donate a sizable sum of money to the Dodgers team charity once new ownership is in place—something to shift his attention to the needs of other people.
As Frank sees it as the worst possible scenario, it could be a blessing in disguise—for the good of all parties involved.
The fans, players, coaches, and the Dodger legacy deserve much better.
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