Comments on: Uh-Oh, It’s Magic

By: Eric McCauley

Eric McCauley — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:57:22 +0000

I liked what TJ Simers had to say (also at LA Times). As he put it, two billion for anything, let alone a baseball team, is gross. Getting to and from that stadium for a game is a nightmare, and the new ownership ain’t gonna change that. I’d rather kick it with Arte and the Halos.

By: RIYank

RIYank — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:52:43 +0000

Shaun, the only way an owner can pull this off is by selling at a much higher price than he paid. If you do that, you’re going to make money pretty much no matter how bad you are in other ways.
I despise McCourt, too, but he didn’t really steal money from the team. It was his money.

I bet the Steinbrenners are very, very happy today.

By: rbj

rbj — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:25:45 +0000

[1] It’s a Delaware bankruptcy court (McCourt incorporated his LLC in Delaware) they are very sharp judges when it comes to business. Creditors are going to get 100% back before the judge will let McCourt see a dime of profit. Now, for $2 billion, I suspect there will be some meat on the bones for him.

By: Chyll Will

Chyll Will — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:11:55 +0000

[2] When Wilpon uses up the last bit of karma that’s kept the Mutts in his name.

By: Sliced Bread

Sliced Bread — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:37:31 +0000

When are they moving to Bklyn?

By: Shaun P.

Shaun P. — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:02:16 +0000

I think this is probably the best outcome for the Dodgers.

That said, Jon’s article alludes to McCourt actually making a profit from the sale. I don’t know the workings of bankruptcy to know if that is accurate or not. But if it is, what a travesty. Its basically a blueprint for anyone to do a ridiculously high-leveraged purchase of a franchise, steal millions from it, and then turn around, declare bankruptcy and sell for a profit. The only thing stopping it is the diligence of the other owners, in not letting such a highly leveraged purchase occur.

I don’t expect MLB will let anyone get away with such a highly leveraged purchase again – at least anytime in the next 20 years or so – but sheesh.