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Frank McCourt is the owner of the Dodgers and the team would not be put up for sale, his lawyer says in a story the Times posted at 1:58 a.m.*, meaning it was a scramble to get it done when the news broke last night. That news, of course, is that Frank and Jamie McCourt have separated — followed by reporters saying, now, that there has been obvious tension between the McCourts for awhile now. (The Times said it sought comment from Major League Baseball last week, so reporters have been working on this.) Lawyer Marshall Grossman says the Dodgers won't have to be sold as the San Diego Padres were after that team's owner got divorced: "Speculation about a potential sale of the team is rubbish. Frank McCourt is the sole owner. He has absolutely no intention of selling this team now or ever." Jamie McCourt is represented by Dennis Wasser, but there's been no divorce filing, the story says. A prenup or other agreement between the McCourts could let Frank keep the team, but otherwise family assets are typically split 50-50ish in a California divorce. Baseball sources told the LAT it was likely neither McCourt could afford to buy out the other. The LAT also linked the recent departure of marketing chief Charles Steinberg to his ties to Jamie McCourt and her waning influence at Dodger Stadium.
Also swirling: ESPN's Peter Gammons said in a column about Joe Torre that working with the Dodgers front office has been a "living hell" this season. Also, the contract of general manager Ned Colletti is up soon. Oh, and tonight the Dodgers play the Phillies.
Plus: Expect more traffic snarls during the games, or as the Times calls it, "gridlock."
* Noted: I'm told 1:58 a.m. was the latest update of the LAT's main story; the original had gone up around 11 p.m.
Previously: McCourts 'lawyered up,' talking divorce