Dodgers' honcho Mannion: the McCourt's Divorce has had no financial impact - MLB

Wait, so they signed Jamey Carroll to start at second base by choice?!

How would you say the divorce proceedings between Frank and Jamie
McCourt have impacted the Dodgers’ spending this winter? Have you been
asked — by Frank McCourt, by Major League Baseball or by anyone else
— not to take on major long-term contracts this winter?

Our baseball and business decisions have not been impacted by the
proceedings. Neither [General Manager] Ned [Colletti] nor I have been
asked by anyone to limit long-term liabilities.

So how would you explain to skeptical fans why the Dodgers are not in on any of the best free agents?

Ned has demonstrated a fantastic ability to read the talent market. We
made back-to-back NLCS appearances for the first time in three decades
as a result of Ned’s ability to make the right acquisitions at the
right time. We want the same thing our fans want, a team that can
compete for a world championship year in and year out, and we’ve been
in that position for the last two seasons. We expect that to continue.

And if you believe that, I have a highly-leveraged, once-proud baseball franchise to sell ya.

The Dodgers refused to take a chance on their best pitcher in arbitration, they have holes in their rotation, and they have not been a player on any free agent or trade target of note. Maybe they still figure to be the favorite in an NL West that seems collectively unwilling to make any moves, but the Dodgers have taken a fundamentally different approach to this offseason than they have in any previous year. If the divorce is not the reason for this I’ll eat my hat.

CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Senate adjourned Thursday without voting on a financing bill for a proposed $1.5 billion Las Vegas Strip stadium for the Oakland Athletics, extending the special legislative session into the next week amid negotiations over whether to contribute $380 million in public funding to the project.

The measure can still be amended by lawmakers, and if it passes the Senate it would still need approval from the Assembly before going to the desk of Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who has expressed support for it. Both the state Senate and Assembly are adjourned until Monday.

In a hearing that began Wednesday and stretched into the early morning hours Thursday, lawmakers peppered tourism officials and a representative from a firm partnering with the ball club with questions about the feasibility and benefits of financing such a deal.

Public funds for the stadium would mainly come from $180 million in transferable tax credits and $120 million in county bonds. Backers have pledged that the creation of a special tax district around the proposed stadium would generate enough money to pay off those bonds and interest. The plan would not directly raise taxes.

The A’s would not owe property taxes for the publicly owned stadium. Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, would also contribute $25 million in credit toward infrastructure costs.

A’s representatives and some tourism officials say a deal would further grow Las Vegas’ developing sports scene and act as an economic engine, but a growing chorus of economists and some lawmakers warn that the project would bring minimal benefits for the hefty public price tag.