By Tamara Latta
Sports Writer
The Dodgers’ Andre Ethier is playing impressive baseball at the moment. He is currently on a 29-game hitting streak, after hitting a single off the Cubs’ Ryan Dempster Tuesday night. Ethier have been a bullet so far this season. In the final season of a two-year $15.25-million contract, Ethier is sending a notorious message. If he continues to play well, expect Ethier to request a ludicrous contract that would pay him a substantial amount of money over the next four or five years. Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti said he had discussions with Ethier’s agent during spring training about a possible extension but was unable to get anything done. On the other hand, there’s a larger issue the Dodgers have to face.
The Dodgers are trying to stay focused and concentrate on the game of baseball while they are hearing a bunch of ruckus from media outlets about their owner Frank McCourt. After being silent for over a year, McCourt is finally speaking out and giving his side of the story. But very few are willing to listen at this point. He’s taking a lot of criticism from the media about not being able to meet the team’s payroll this month. If he’s unable to distribute checks on payday, MLB will likely seize the team and put it up for sale. After McCourt flew to New York last week to meet with MLB executives to present his proposal about a $1.6-billion TV deal to which Fox Sports had agreed, MLB Commissioner Bug Selig politely said “no, thank you.” McCourt is looking to take legal action against MLB and Selig. McCourt issued a statement from his lawyer addressing some of the issues.
“The press is now discussing the Dodgers’ ability to make its payroll at the end of May,” stated a letter written by McCourt’s lawyers. “There would be no issue involving the Dodgers’ financial strength and viability” had Selig agreed to the Fox deal.
According to Tom Schieffer, who has been appointed to monitor the Dodgers, he and McCourt are trying to protect the franchise for the fans’ sake. “I felt as if baseball had called, and I was willing to do my part,” Schieffer said. “To the citizens of Los Angeles and Dodgers fans around the world, I know how much you love this franchise, and I’ll do everything I can do to help.”
We can argue that it’s not fair to the Dodgers for their fans to abandon them so quickly. This is the time the players need their support. Dodger Stadium is so empty during games, you can hear your echo from a mile away. It’s like a ghost town in the stadium. I hope this issue can be resolved in a timely manner and that Los Angeles natives will continue to show their passion for their city again.
