Don Mattingly calls for caution about Dodgers' fast start

Don Mattingly calls for caution about Dodgers' fast start

Manager points to last season's Colorado Rockies, who won 17 of their first 25 games before faltering. 'It's too early to think anything other than that we got off to a good start,' Mattingly says.

DENVER — The Colorado Rockies started the 2011 season the way the Dodgers have started this one.

"So much for 17-8, right?" Rockies Manager Jim Tracy said Tuesday.

The 2011 Rockies, who won 17 of their first 25 games, finished the season with a losing record and in fourth place in the National League West. Over their last 139 games, they were 56-83.

"I remember that," Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said. "See, that's what I'm saying. Nobody is going to remember a good start."

The Dodgers were a National League-best 16-7 in April.

"It's too early to think anything other than that we got off to a good start," Mattingly said.

He continued to stress that players other than Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier had to produce.

"They're at a pace history says they can't really sustain," Mattingly said. "Maybe they can, but it's really asking a lot."

In the case of the 2011 Rockies, they stopped hitting in May. Later in the month, they lost pitcher Jorge De La Rosa to a season-ending elbow operation.

"Everything started to spiral in the other direction," Tracy said.

Most baseball veterans believe that how a fast-starting team responds to adversity determines whether it will reach the postseason or finish like the 2011 Rockies.

Tracy recalled the words of current Chicago White Sox Manager Robin Ventura, whom he managed with the Dodgers in 2003 and 2004.

"Over the course of 162 games, all 30 teams will step into a pothole," Tracy said. "Every single one of them at some point in time will go through something like that. The teams that figure out quicker than others how to get the hell out of the pothole that they stepped in, that will go a long way in determining what your season will look like."

Tweet, tweet

There was a major online event this week: Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw joined Twitter.

"Yeah …" Kershaw sighed.

In three days, Kershaw's account, @ClaytonKersh22, gained more than 18,000 followers.

He has only posted two messages on the social networking service: one announcing that he joined Twitter and another explaining that catcher A.J. Ellis pressured him into doing so.

Ellis (@AJEllis17) is among several other Twitter users on the team.

One of the most active and followed accounts belongs to Kemp (@TheRealMattKemp). On Tuesday, Kemp posted a picture of his new shoes. Last week, he posted pictures from the inside of a dentist's office.

Dee Gordon (@skinnyswag9) recently posted a picture of Aaron Harang's badly bruised foot that was the topic of several clubhouse conversations.

"It's just to have fun with the fans," Gordon said.

During spring training, closer Javy Guerra (@JavyGuerra54) asked his followers to choose his entrance music.

Other players on Twitter include James Loney (JamesLoney_7), Josh Lindblom (@JoshLindblom52), Justin Sellers (@SellBlock_12), Todd Coffey (@ToddCoffey60), Blake Hawksworth (@BlakeHawk425) and Jerry Hairston Jr. (@TheRealJHair).

Short hops

Juan Rivera (hamstring) is expected to return to the lineup for the series finale in Colorado on Wednesday. … Reliever Ronald Belisario is eligible to return Friday from a 25-game drug suspension. Because he is out of minor league options, the Dodgers would have to expose him to waivers and risk losing him if they do not immediately add him to their major league roster. A decision of what to do with Belisario hasn't been made, according to Mattingly.

Dodgers must pay Major League Baseball legal bills

Mediator is said to have upheld MLB constitution regarding teams that initiate legal action, with Frank McCourt and Guggenheim Baseball to share responsibility for more than $10 million.

The Dodgers' bankruptcy filing will cost the team more than $30 million, after the team was ordered to pay the legal bills of Major League Baseball.

The Dodgers' player payroll on opening day was $25 million less than that of the Texas Rangers, participants in the last two World Series. The Dodgers have not been in the Series since 1988.

Under the MLB constitution, a team initiating legal action against the league must cover the costs for both sides. The court-appointed mediator in the Dodgers' bankruptcy case upheld that provision, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Frank McCourt, the Dodgers' outgoing owner, and incoming owner Guggenheim Baseball will share responsibility for the more than $10 million in MLB legal bills, these people said. The precise amount each side will pay could not be determined, and final bills have yet to be submitted.

The Dodgers reported more than $20 million in "bankruptcy-related expenses" through February, according to a court filing.

The bankruptcy case appears be the costliest for a U.S. professional sports team, according to Sports Business Journal.

However, the costs were well worth it for McCourt. He believes the Dodgers might have commanded less than half their $2.15-million sale price had MLB controlled the sale rather than the Bankruptcy Court, according to people who have spoken with him.

Dodgers hold off Rockies after hitting three home runs to take a 7-0 lead.

By Steve Dilbeck

May 1, 2012, 9:43 p.m.

Guggenheim Baseball Management, greatest owners in baseball history. Or something like that. Anyway, they are undefeated.

In the first game under the new ownership, the Dodgers jumped all over the Rockies on Tuesday night and then had to absolutely hang on for a 7-6 victory in Denver that featured three L.A. home runs -- and not one that came from Matt Kemp.

The taut game was finally turned over to struggling closer Javy Guerra in the ninth inning, who survived a nervous inning to earn his eighth save.

Kemp had 12 of the Dodgers’ 20 home runs entering the game.

One of the homers wasn’t exactly of the unexpected variety -- Andre Ethier’s three-run shot was his sixth home run -- but the others came from Dee Gordon (first of his career)  and A.J. Ellis.

Ellis’ second home run of the season was a two-run drive in the fifth that left the Dodgers with a 7-0 lead and Ted Lilly simply cruising. It was looking easy.

This being Coors Field -- home of the no-lead-is-safe mantra -- things got a little nervous for the Dodgers when the Rockies’ offense awoke in the sixth.

Lilly had allowed only two hits through five scoreless innings, when Eric Young Jr. led off the sixth with a single, and one out later, Carlos Gonzalez hit a two-run homer.

It was the first home run allowed by Lilly since last Aug. 26, a span of 68 innings. The batter who hit it? Gonzalez.

Lilly, off to a 3-0 start for the first time in his 12-year career, left after six innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and one walk, with four strikeouts.

He was followed by Josh Lindblom, who had been just shy of spectacular in his first 11 appearances (one earned run), but got into immediate trouble. He gave up back-to-back doubles to Ramon Hernandez and Chris Nelson, and then a two-run homer to Tyler Colvin.

The Rockies pulled to within one in the eighth when Troy Tulowitzki tripled off the right-field wall against Kenley Jansen and scored on Todd Helton sacrifice fly that Tony Gwynn Jr. caught near the left-center wall.

The Dodgers turned it over to Guerra in the ninth, who after three consecutive poor outings, pitched a scoreless inning to earn the save. But it came with some added suspense. With the tying run on second, Mark Ellis made a game-saving backhanded stop of a Marco Scutaro bouncer. Guerra struck out Gonzalez to end it.

Gordon opened the game by jumping on a Jhoulys Chacin (0-3) fastball, stunning everyone -- including himself, no doubt -- by driving it off the façade in the second deck.

Singles by Mark Ellis (one of his four) and Kemp preceded Ethier’s three-run homer. Ellis doubled in one run in the third before hitting his two-run homer in the fifth.

Frank McCourt's farewell letter to Dodgers staff

By Bill Shaikin

May 1, 2012, 8:29 p.m.

As the sale of the Dodgers closed on Tuesday morning, outgoing owner Frank McCourt emailed a letter to the Dodgers' staffers, thanking them for their efforts and inviting them to a meeting with the new owners. The text of McCourt's farewell letter follows:

"To my colleagues at the Los Angeles Dodgers,
 
"I am pleased to inform you that the Los Angeles Dodgers have emerged successfully from Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. The sale to Guggenheim Baseball Partners has been completed, and the Dodgers move forward as a well capitalized organization, strong both on and off the field.
 
"This is how it should be for the Dodgers - one of the truly storied and best known franchises in not just baseball, but all of sports.
 
"I am grateful to have been part of the Dodger organization and to have had the pleasure of working with you. Despite the difficult environment of the last few years, we together can be proud of what we have achieved. We enjoyed tremendous success on the field.  In 2004, we won our first playoff game since 1988. We went to the playoffs four times over the next six years, including back-to-back National League Championship Series - a first for the Los Angeles Dodgers in over 30 years.  And we are off to one of the best starts in baseball in 2012.
 
"Off the field, we returned the organization to profitability. We grew the value of the franchise well beyond what anyone thought was possible. We made it a Dodger ongoing practice to give back to the Los Angeles community. Your hard work has been essential to all of this.
 
"I am confident that the new ownership, which will be introduced to you this morning at 10:30 a.m. in the Stadium Club, will carry forward the Dodger tradition, the Dodger commitment to community and the effort to make the team once again World Champions of baseball. I thank you all for working with me and for your dedication to and support of the Dodgers.
 
"With respect and affection, Frank"

Wave goodbye to the McCourts: Dancing in the streets is allowed

By Steve Dilbeck

May 1, 2012, 12:23 p.m.

Let’s party. Let’s make like Kool & the Gang. Let’s throw confetti, imbibe a wee too much, dance until the feet blister, sing lyrics we can’t quite remember.

You are allowed to be gleeful today. Allowed to overreact, overindulge, over whatever you want.

The McCourt era is officially dead.

I was going to put on my little sailor cap and run down the street and kiss a nurse, but the wife is funny about things like that. Maybe we could invite Hank Williams Jr. over, and just ask that he skip the political commentary.

Twenty years after riots broke out in the streets of Los Angeles, there is reason to take to them again in celebration. The darkest chapter in Dodgers’ history is over.

For the moment we can forget all our very real questions and concerns about Guggenheim Baseball Management, and just go all happy feet. Smile until it hurts. Relish a fresh beginning and the exit from the team of Frank and Jamie McCourt.

Maybe the new guys won’t prove any better, though I’m liking the odds. Maybe nothing changes, or in some dark alternate universe, they actually get worse. Maybe a giant asteroid is about to hit the Earth and Bruce Willis is nowhere to be found.

But right now, at this very moment, just rejoice. The family that sent one of the most iconic and cherished of all Los Angeles civic treasures into financial ruin, is gone from the team. Pop the cork on the good stuff.

That Frank McCourt somehow turned this into a near $1-billion personal windfall, that he incredibly duped the new owners into keeping half control of the Dodger Stadium parking lots, is anguish for another day.

Today we party. Ding dong, McCourt is gone. Everything begins anew. Hope that there is an ownership group that is actually committed to the team and winning is reborn.

Feel good. Hug a stranger. Find an old sailor’s cap. It’s a gray and overcast day in Los Angeles, and it’s absolutely beautiful.

By Steve Dilbeck

May 1, 2012, 10:47 a.m.

And the answers are: 1) Absolutely; 2) Maybe; 3) It wasn’t even the best April for a Dodger.

I offer multiple answers not to go all wimpy on you, but because the answer requires a close examination of statistics. And as Mark Twain wrote, there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and baseball statistics.

Picking a greatest whatever in baseball inherently demands the use of statistics, and this means not only picking which numbers to play with, but which ones to place the greatest significance.

And Kemp offered some amazing April numbers to play with: In 23 games he batted .417, had a .490 on-base percentage, .893 slugging percentage, 12 home runs, 16 extra-base hits, 24 runs and 25 runs batted in.

As The Times’ Dylan Hernandez pointed out, this is only the fourth time in major-league history a player has finished April with a batting average higher than .400, with more than 10 home runs and more than 20 RBI.

The others are Barry Bonds (2004), Larry Walker (1997) and Tony Perez (1970). Bonds and Walker went onto to win the National League MVP and Perez is in the Hall of Fame.

ESPN’s wonderful Jayson Stark examined whether Kemp managed the greatest April ever and concluded: “It is, at the very least, The Greatest April Ever By A Hitter Who Played His Home Games At Sea Level.”

Using the same statistical categories listed above for Kemp, it could be argued only Walker in ’97 edged Kemp’s April: .456/.538/.911, with 11 homers, 18 extra-base hits, 29 runs, 29 RBIs.

Walker, of course, played in Denver during the pre-humidor era, when balls at Coors Field made like NASA projects. And 11 of Walker’s 23 games were played at Coors.

Then there were these numbers by Bonds: .472/.696/1.132, with 10 homers, 15 extra-base hits, 21 runs, 22 RBIs. He walked a staggering 39 times.

Stark lists 10 other contenders for the April award, including Ron Cey for the Dodgers in 1977: .425./543/.890, with 9 homers, 15 extra-base hits, 18 runs, 29 RBIs in 20 games.

Whether Kemp’s April was the greatest, or just one of the best, doesn’t matter too much in the end. It was at least knocking at the door. And for every Dodgers fan, a wonder to behold.

Dodgers sale closes; McCourt era ends

By Bill Shaikin

May 1, 2012, 10:12 a.m.

Frank McCourt surrendered ownership of the Dodgerson Tuesday, closing a turbulent chapter in the history of one of baseball’s most historic franchises.

The new owners wired the final payment on the record $2.15-billion purchase price on Tuesday, closing the transaction that ended the McCourt era and ushering in Guggenheim Baseball as the Dodgers’ third owner since the O’Malley family sold the team in 1998, individuals close to the negotiations confirmed.

The new ownership group, fronted by Magic Johnson and incoming Dodgers President Stan Kasten, is expected to hold its first news conference on Wednesday. Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter, who arranged the financing as chief executive of Chicago-based Guggenheim Financial, is expected to make a rare public appearance at the news conference.

The new ownership will be charged with returning the Dodgers to the World Series for the first time since 1988. Every other team in the National League West has played in the World Series since then.

No major changes to the team are expected immediately. The Dodgers’ executive departures Tuesday included McCourt and two of his closest lieutenants, vice chairman Jeff Ingram and senior vice president Howard Sunkin.

Kasten, the former president of the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals, is expected to evaluate the Dodgers’ front-office personnel before considering additional changes. General Manager Ned Colletti remains in place.

Colletti and McCourt signed the Dodgers’ best position player, outfielder Matt Kemp, to an eight-year, $160-million contract extension last winter. Colletti also has said he would like to sign outfielder Andre Ethier to an extension.

Colletti met with Ethier’s agent at Dodger Stadium on Friday, but it is unclear if a deal might be in the works. Ethier, who is second behind Kemp for the league lead in runs batted in, can file for free agency after the season.

McCourt’s eight-year run included the highs of the Dodgers’ first consecutive National League championship appearances in 31 years and the lows of a failed strategy to retain ownership by taking the storied team into bankruptcy.

In the end, McCourt won, at least financially. No baseball team had sold for even $1 billion, yet McCourt is expected to clear close to that amount in net profit. That would leave him with about seven times as much money as his ex-wife Jamie got under the divorce settlement to which the couple agreed last fall, before he announced he would sell the Dodgers.

Jamie McCourt was wired her $131 million divorce payment on Monday, from the Dodgers’ sale proceeds.

McCourt retains half-ownership of the Dodger Stadium parking lots, although no development can take place on the site unless he and the new owners agree, according to people familiar with the sale agreement.

The Dodgers’ new owners will collect parking fees, but they have not said how that revenue might be split with McCourt, or what development they might have envisioned for the parking lots.

The Dodgers’ bankruptcy filing came on the heels of a bruising two-year divorce battle that revealed how the McCourts used team revenue to further a lifestyle that included side-by-side estates in Holmby Hills and Malibu, private jet travel around the world, even house calls from hairdressers and makeup artists.

Commissioner Bud Selig seized control of the Dodgers’ financial operations last April. Major League Baseball later accused McCourt of “looting” $189 million from team funds.

The Dodgers filed for bankruptcy in June, evicting the trustee appointed by Selig and charging the commissioner with forcing their hand by rejecting a proposed television contract that would have put the team on sound financial footing.

The Dodgers’ new owners can open negotiations on a television deal this fall. They can launch a team-owned regional sports network, or they can leverage the threat to do so in what is expected to be a bidding war among Fox Sports, Time Warner Cable and perhaps CBS. The Dodgers’ new television contract is expected to be worth $4 billion, or more.

DENVER -- As usual, the Los Angeles Dodgers got power and production up the middle. For once, center fielder Matt Kemp wasn't the one doing the heavy lifting.

Catcher A.J. Ellis homered and drove in three runs, shortstop Dee Gordon hit his first major league home run and second baseman Mark Ellis had four singles and made the game-saving play in the ninth inning to preserve a 7-6 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night.

Their contributions helped Ted Lilly (3-0) pick up the win despite a shaky performance by the Dodgers bullpen. Lilly pitched six solid innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits, but he left after throwing just 79 pitches because of a stiff lat muscle.

"We just didn't want to push it too far," said manager Don Mattingly, who watched his bullpen fritter away almost all of the 7-2 lead Lilly left his relievers.

"That was fun," Mattingly said. "That's the way it's supposed to be, right? CarGo with the game on the line?"

The Dodgers pounded out 11 hits off Rockies right-hander Jhoulys Chacin and then held on. The win capped a big day for the storied franchise, marking the end to the tumultuous Frank McCourt era.

The $2 billion sale of the team to Guggenheim Baseball Management, a group that includes former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson, was finalized Tuesday, just hours before the Dodgers improved to an NL-best 17-7.

"I think the fans of L.A. are pretty excited about the new ownership and what it's bringing. As long as L.A. is happy, I'm happy," Kemp said.

The Dodgers were even happier after this latest display of pinpoint pitching from Lilly and power at the plate that has propelled them to their best start since 1983.

Even with a 7-0 lead after five innings, they weren't exactly comfortable at Coors Field, however.

"Every inning we'd come in and say we need more runs, we need more runs," Mark Ellis said. "Nothing against our pitchers. That's just the way this is. And then that wind starts blowing a little bit and you know we need to score some more runs. And we held on."

Thanks in large part to the second baseman's play that robbed Marco Scutaro of a tying single up the middle with one out in the ninth and Wilin Rosario on second base.

"Just good scouting, I guess," Todd Helton said.

That, and tough luck.

Mark Ellis was shading toward the bag while jockeying with Rosario before the pitch, and then the thick grass slowed the ball down enough for him to make the play to throw out Scutaro and keep Rosario at third.

After falling behind Gonzalez 2-0, Guerra threw a backdoor slider and two cutters to strike him out.

The dramatic ending was a fitting bookend for the Dodgers. Gordon led off the game with his first career homer, a second-deck shot to right field.

"He was talking all day how he was going to hit a home run," Mark Ellis recounted. "And then he goes out there and hits a home run. It wasn't a short one, either. It was a bomb, too. He called it."

Gordon was surprised that his double-play partner revealed that bit of banter.

"I kind of hinted to Mark," clarified Gordon, who was homerless in his first 311 career at-bats. "I can swing the bat. I've got power. I just try to get on base, hit steady line drives, but he gave me a pitch that I could hit."

How could a guy who's generously listed at 160 pounds and who had never hit a home run in the majors be so sure of his power?

"Because I know me. I know what kind of power I possess. I've lived with me for 24 years," Gordon replied. "So, I just try to do what I can to get on base and I happened to hit a home run."

Lilly downplayed the strained lat muscle that cut his outing short. He called the injury "very minor" and said he hoped it wouldn't force him to skip a side session or his next start.

Chacin (0-3) gave up a career-worst seven earned runs. After allowing Gordon's homer and Andre Either's three-run shot in the first, he gave up an RBI double and a two-run homer to A.J. Ellis and left trailing 7-0 after 4 2/3 innings.

Lilly's only mistake was a fat fastball that Gonzalez sent into the right-field seats for a two-run homer, his fifth, in the sixth inning that made it 7-2.

The Rockies tagged Josh Lindblom for three runs on four hits in the seventh and Todd Helton made it 7-6 with a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

Game notes

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

Updated: May 1, 2012, 10:48 PM ET

ESPN.com news services

LOS ANGELES -- The tumultuous Frank McCourt era is over for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The $2 billion sale of the team to Guggenheim Baseball Management, a group that includes former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson, was finalized Tuesday.

McCourt met with Dodgers employees Tuesday, expressing his appreciation, and introduced new controlling owner Mark Walter, said Howard Sunkin, a spokesman for McCourt.

Walter is chief executive officer of the financial services firm Guggenheim Partners. The team will be run by former Atlanta Braves president Stan Kasten. They will hold a news conference Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.

"The Dodgers move forward with confidence in a strong financial position as a premier Major League Baseball franchise and as an integral part of and representative of the Los Angeles community," according to a joint statement by McCourt and the new owners.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said he's pleased the sale is finished and the Dodgers can have a fresh start after the "unbecoming events of recent years."

"It is my great hope and firm expectation that today's change in ownership marks the start of a new era for the Los Angeles Dodgers and that this historic franchise will once again make the city of Los Angeles proud," Selig said in a statement.

The timing couldn't have come at a better time for Dodgers fans, who are excited about having their team leading the National League. The team had a 16-7 record going into Tuesday night's game in Colorado.

"It's been a positive since the announcement of Magic and his group," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said in an interview on 710 ESPN's "Mason & Ireland Show." "You could feel a difference with the fans instantly. There's been so much negative for the last few years that it just gets kind of old for guys that are playing because people aren't showing up and it doesn't have anything to do with if you win or not.

"And I think the energy's been great with the new group. Hearing the things these guys are talking about wanting to do, it fits in right with what we want to do. We came to win. These guys come and they work hard, and at the end of the day they want to be fighting for a championship, and it sounds like the group we have coming are all about that."

Said Dodgers slugger Matt Kemp: "I think the fans of LA are pretty excited about the new ownership and what it's bringing. As long as L.A. is happy, I'm happy. As long as we're winning, I'm happy."

The Dodgers have won six World Series titles but none since 1988, when they were still owned by the O'Malley family that moved the team from Brooklyn to California after the 1957 season.

The sale was part of a reorganization plan after McCourt took the team into bankruptcy last June. A federal judge approved the deal last month.

The sale was supposed to close Monday, the day McCourt was to make a $131 million payment to former wife Jamie McCourt as part of their divorce settlement. The team's statement said all claims will be paid. Jamie McCourt did receive her payout on Monday.

McCourt bought the team, Dodger Stadium and 250 acres of land that includes the parking lots from the Fox division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. in a $430 million deal in 2004. Fox bought the team in 1998, then sold it to McCourt.

Despite the Dodgers making the playoffs the first four out of six seasons under McCourt's ownership, the off-the-field saga took attention away from the team as he and Jamie McCourt became involved in a protracted divorce battle during which their lavish spending habits were revealed in court documents and testimony.

In April 2011, MLB appointed former Texas Rangers President Tom Schieffer to monitor the Dodgers on behalf of Selig, who said he was concerned about the team's finances and how the Dodgers were being run.

The team filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after Selig rejected a proposed broadcast rights deal with Fox Sports that McCourt said would have alleviated worries about covering payroll.

The team's debt stood at $579 million as of January, according to a court filing, but McCourt stands to make hundreds of millions of dollars.

The sale price set a record; Stephen Ross forked out $1.1 billion for the NFL's Miami Dolphins in 2009, and Malcolm Glazer and his family took over England's Manchester United soccer club seven years ago in a deal then valued at $1.47 billion.

The previous record for a baseball franchise was the $845 million paid by the Ricketts family for the Chicago Cubs in 2009.

NL Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw said the ownership issues didn't weigh on the team last year because it was out of the players' control. He said the squad has had an opportunity to meet the new owners and he's excited about the future.

"It's the end, but it's also the beginning," Kershaw said. "It's a cool time."