MLB has been in control of the Dodgers for a few days now, and we are starting to learn a little bit more about the circumstances that necessitated the takeover, as well as the commissioner's plan for the organization in the immediate future. Bud Selig held a press conference Thursday afternoon to announce a new pension program with the players, but the topic of the Dodgers inevitably came up. Selig went through a similar situation early in his career with the Rangers, and John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times reports that the commissioner can see some parallels between the two situations.
"I thought a lot about it," he said. "I went back and looked at a lot of things, including some things that happened in my career. I said a couple weeks ago that people said this Texas thing [when the league facilitated the sale of the Rangers] was awful, and I said at the time that we'll work our way through. And I believe we'll work our way through this thing."
In a separate article from the Los Angeles Times, Diane Pucin has some more information on the loan that Frank McCourt got from Fox to make payroll.
The $30-million personal loan that Fox gave Dodgers owner Frank McCourt last week was not only to help him meet payroll and pay for increased security after the shocking beating of a San Francisco Giants fan, but also to stay in McCourt's favor after learning he had approached rival Time Warner Cable for a similar loan.