Character Card Played by McCourt

On a late-summer afternoon at Dodger Stadium, batting practice was spread across the deep green field outside his window.

Yet Frank McCourt requested that the shades be closed.

Then he took his own hacks.

“I’ve had the same reaction most of our fans have had,” he said, his smile tight, his stare icy. “From disappointment to embarrassment.”

In granting his first newspaper interview about the racially charged feud between Milton Bradley and Jeff Kent, McCourt’s swings were mighty indeed.

He acknowledged for the first time that, in building this team, he underestimated character.

He acknowledged for the first time that there may have been too many changes last winter.

And he vowed to learn from his mistakes.

“My biggest emotion is a very strong resolve to use this as an opportunity to make it clear what this organization stands for,” he said.

Simply by giving the interview during one of the most uncomfortable moments of his short tenure, McCourt made it clear that the Dodgers are again attempting to stand for public accountability.

For 30 minutes Thursday, McCourt did what good owners do.

“There are things that transcend baseball games,” he said.

He said he now understands that one of the biggest things is the character of the players in his clubhouse.

“The biggest single lesson I learned since I’ve been here is just how important character is,” he said. “I’m not sure I fully understood how important it was. I now understand it in a practical sense.”

While he would not comment directly on Bradley or Kent, it is clear the organization thinks the feud reflects poorly on Bradley’s character.

Why would Bradley suddenly turn on his supportive team by turning a private disagreement into a public circus?

“Unselfishness is a part of character ... and what does unselfishness mean?” McCourt said. “It means putting the team ahead of yourself.”

Why would Bradley, against all hard evidence, trivialize the true equality struggles of former Dodger Jackie Robinson by playing the race card after being scolded for lack of hustle?

“I’ve looked carefully at this situation and I’m confident there’s no racism in our clubhouse,” McCourt said.

So why keep Bradley around next season when, as an arbitration-eligible player, he can simply be released?

The Dodgers probably won’t. While McCourt wouldn’t comment, Bradley’s Dodger career is likely history.

“No question, the biggest lesson I’ve learned so far is the importance of character in building a winning baseball team,” McCourt repeated.

Does this mean it will be more of a factor in personnel decisions?

“No question,” he said.

No matter what sort of cool numbers are spit from Paul DePodesta’s computer?

“I think Paul, for some of the reasons I experienced, now sees things in a different light,” said McCourt.

Ah, there’s the question.

After watching his personality-as-afterthought philosophy collapse like a thrown clubhouse chair, will DePodesta finally realize that you can’t just build a team from double clicks?

Everyone in baseball -- including those who mentioned it to me in the Dodger clubhouse in Vero Beach five months ago -- knew that Bradley and Kent could not coexist.

Everyone in baseball knew that J.D. Drew looked good on paper, and uninterested and injury-prone on the field.

Everyone except DePodesta, whose off-season remodel put his manager in an untenable position and his team in an unworkable one.

In less than a year, DePodesta has helped whittle one of the most magical moments in Dodger history into one of the nastiest ones.

Here’s guessing he won’t be allowed to make such radical, computer-generated changes again.

“There is no question, we made a lot of changes in the off-season

McCourt won’t say it, but I will.

Wouldn’t you rather take last year’s Dodger division winners over these guys? Even with the injuries?

Maybe they would also be a jillion games under .500, but at least they wouldn’t be imploding.

My sense is that McCourt understands this now, and that DePodesta better understand this now.

Jim Tracy is the only guy who has understood it all along, and for that, McCourt said he was thankful.

“In this particular area, I think Jim understands beautifully what the Dodgers represent,” he said. “I think he lives it.”

Here’s hoping his career doesn’t die because of it.

And here’s hoping McCourt keeps living it along with Tracy.

Last October, as the owner danced with his championship players on a confetti-speckled field, Frank McCourt was the happiest I’ve ever seen him.

On Thursday, less than a year later, he was quietly angrier than I’ve ever seen him.

His color fading from blue to red. His smile going from forced to frown. A frustrated, impatient, impassioned look.

A good look.