Definitely worth reading, and not just for the McCourts:

He took a look at those books and knew he could turn a profit within three years," says a former executive who was part of McCourt's transition team. "Fox was the worst owner in the history of baseball. They inflated their losses with accounting tricks. They were hemorrhaging money on the most ridiculous things you could imagine, from terrible gardening deals to the way the yearbook was published to the soda distributor. It wasn't rocket science to turn it around."

And the McCourt stuff is of course hilarious,

Steinberg went so far as to unveil "Project Jamie," a seven-page action plan with a goal to make her president of the United States, with support from a coalition of "women, minorities, Hollywood types, and sports-loving males."

Frank, for example, once harbored desires to build an NFL stadium -- project code name Gorilla -- adjacent to Dodger Stadium. Trying to secure Chinese investors for the project, as well as financing for a stake in a Premiership soccer team, Frank wrote a plan to double Dodger ticket prices over the next eight years while lowering payroll.

doesn't seem like there's anything especially new here, but its a great recap.

a few interesting insights to the relationship itself. the divorce doesn't seem all that bitter, just something that became inevitable after some disagreements. i know a former exec said they 'hated' each other, but it doesn't really sound that way from other sources.

i like the little sidebar with zim's evaluations of players. good for him.

Fox was the worst owner in the history of baseball.

I'm shocked at Fox's incompetence.
/deadpan

They just didn’t expect to star in a reality show about their crumbling marriage. Once the divorce trial begins, on Aug. 30, sordid details of their troubles will likely be aired coast-to-coast.

I wonder which entity will be one of the primary fora for this?

Jamie for Prez in 2012!

"Fox was the worst owner in the history of baseball. They inflated their losses with accounting tricks."

Tell me something I don't know. I'm reasonably certain Murdoch has yet to turn a profit with Fox News Channel, and over the last 30-35 years he's lost close to $1 billion with the New York Post.

150K a year on haircuts--for a man!--is just gross. Honestly, I find the McCourts revolting and wish a debilitating poverty on them. (Oh, poor Jamie McCourt had to go on COBRA. Boo ####### Hoo.) Looks like England dodged a bullet, though. That's all the EPL needs in another idiot American ownership group.

Tell me something I don't know. I'm reasonably certain Murdoch has yet to turn a profit with Fox News Channel, and over the last 30-35 years he's lost close to $1 billion with the New York Post.

How's Myspace working out for them?

This claim that they are worth $1.2 billion seems off. It seems like the figure is adding up all their assets and not factoring in any debts.

They bought the team for $431 million, with $31M down. The $200 million FOX loan was wiped off the books with the taking of the parking lot. But then the couple takes out a $390 million loan against future tickets sales. They are spending like crazy, snapping up property at an alarming rate, and using the Dodgers to pad their sons' bank accounts. The math just doesn't make sense that they are worth $1.2.

McCourts revolting and wish a debilitating poverty

Then Frank McCourt could write a book about his debilitating poverty.

If they ended up broke, at least the younger kids could still afford to go to school here.

Tommy Lasorda is deader than ten dogs?

\I got nothin'

the three worst days of our jobs would be when Vin Scully died, when Tommy Lasorda died and when the McCourts decided to split

Tommy Lasorda is held in the same regard as Vin Scully? What is wrong with this world?

Deadbeats like the McCourts would not be allowed in baseball if Bud Selig were still alive.

Too bad they didn't get the Red Sox.

Man, what a comedic soap opera. Too bad Ernst Lubitsch, Preston Sturges or Billy Wilder aren't around to fictionalize it on film.

[14] They haven't hurt the team itself at all. The Dodgers have made the playoffs 4 times in 6 years under the McCourts as opposed to 2 times in 15 years prior.

The math just doesn't make sense that they are worth $1.2B.

Josh Fisher at dodgerdivorce.com agrees.

What a dreadfully distasteful couple. The pictures in the article are simply great too - the before and after pictures of the happy and unhappy couple.

They haven't hurt the team itself at all. The Dodgers have made the playoffs 4 times in 6 years under the McCourts as opposed to 2 times in 15 years prior.

The second sentence doesn't prove the first. For all we know, they would have won 4 consecutive world titles if not for the McCourts.

One thing they've done is the near-total dismantling of the farm system over the past 3 or 4 years. This hasn't manifested itself on the field yet, but it will soon enough.
- The punting of compensation picks
- Choosing not to sign their high draft choices like Hochevar and (soon) Zach Lee
- The discontinuation of Latin American scouting
- Lack of participation in the international free agent market
- The short-sighted sale of Carlos Santana to Cleveland for $2 million in cash
- Refusal to use their big-market revenues to pay over-slot bonuses

Etc etc. They've most certainly hurt the team tremendously; it just hasn't shown up on the major league field yet.

The second sentence doesn't prove the first. For all we know, they would have won 4 consecutive world titles if not for the McCourts.

Hence the statement they haven't hurt the team itself at all.

How is that Hochevar kid doing?

Casey Blake has done alright for the Dodgers so far.

The Mag asked Dan Szymborski of Baseball Think Factory to forecast each player's production from 2013 through 2017 and rank them by runs created above average (RCAA)

He should have projected crazy McCourt expenses. Dan, any reason you're using a metric based on average?

The Dodgers didn't need to trade for Casey Blake in order to re-sign him in the offseason. He's a Dodgers today because they offered him the most money, and the most years. That's all. Giving up Carlos Santana for two and a half months of Casey Blake is a bad deal and everyone knows it.

Hence the statement they haven't hurt the team itself at all.

How is that Hochevar kid doing?

Dodgers fans have a long, crazy and convoluted way on how not signing Hochevar allowed the Dodgers to draft Clayton Kershaw.

Because the Dodgers didn't sign Hochevar, he was there for the Royals to draft 1st. Which had an effect on the teams drafting under them since the likely hood is that the Royals will have drafted a player like Longoria, or Andrew Miller, or Brandon Morrow. The big one is that the Tigers decided to draft Miller instead of Kershaw which might not have happened if Hochevar wasn't there, and the Royals did decide to draft Miller or Morrow instead.

I'm confused, which one of the three Jamies pictured in the article is Jamie McCourt?

[14] They haven't hurt the team itself at all. The Dodgers have made the playoffs 4 times in 6 years under the McCourts as opposed to 2 times in 15 years prior.

The article states that the Dodgers have spent less than any other MLB team in drafting and development over the past two seasons.