For Sale, Yes, but They’re Still the Dodgers

There was much twittering at Dodgertown, the Dodgers’ spring training complex in Vero Beach, Fla., when word leaked out that broadcaster Vin Scully was not flying in to perform his traditional rendition of “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” for the annual St. Patrick’s Day dinner.

This proves it, people said. The face is already being lifted, the heart is being removed. Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley has one hand on a suitcase and the other in escrow.

Then Scully’s substitute took the microphone.

It was Ralph Branca, who pitched for the Dodgers when they were still in Brooklyn.

The Dodgers may be for sale, but they are still the Dodgers.

It was that way during spring training, and should be that way the rest of the year.

Nearly three months after the announcement that the O’Malley family was putting its famous property on the market, here’s what we have learned:

* There will be no “For Sale” sign in the frontyard, no lockbox on the front door, no Sunday open houses.

* There will be no new carpet, no neutral paint, no last-minute remodeling.

* There will be no first pitches by Michael Ovitz, no double-play combinations of Time and Warner.

Even organist Nancy Bea Hefley says she has not been told of any decrease in playing time in favor of taped rock ‘n’ roll. This is good. We will be watching, making sure they didn’t lose her phone number.

The bottom line on the impending sale is there is no bottom line.

The team and organization will look and feel the same for at least another full season, no matter when O’Malley finds a buyer.

So relax. Enjoy what should be a division championship, perhaps even a National League pennant, now that the Atlanta Braves have sold their offensive soul to save their pitching.

Don’t worry about who’s buying, but who’s hitting and pitching. (Or, in rookie second baseman Wilton Guerrero’s case, who’s fielding.)

Instead of thinking about foreign investors, think about Mexican pitchers. Yes, Ismael Valdes really gave up 35 hits in 19 2/3 spring training innings. And yes, he said he had a good spring.

Nearly three months after the announcement, O’Malley says he has solicited no offers, received no offers and set no price.

Even so, the message behind it was clear to anyone who spent time with O’Malley this spring.

With each passing day, he is becoming more reluctant to sell all control, more determined to stick around.

Maybe it was the housekeeper. The one who has been cleaning his Dodgertown room for years.

She said she asked if she would see him next year, nearly begged him to say yes. And he said yes.

Everywhere he went in Dodgertown, O’Malley was asked the same question. What was an uncertain yes in February became a resounding yes this week.

While he was at it, he promised the city of Vero Beach that the team would also be back next year.

To even the most skeptical veteran observers--and there were plenty of those around the Dodgertown bar every night--this meant only that O’Malley has decided he wants somebody who will buy the team, but let him run it. He wants to free his family from the taxes, but keep his Dodgertown bungalow by the swimming pool.

He wants to run the baseball team as Stan Kasten runs the Braves for Ted Turner, or Tony Tavares runs the Anaheim Angels for Disney.

Then, in a few years, he wants to run a team in another sport, as Kasten runs basketball’s Atlanta Hawks and Tavares runs hockey’s Mighty Ducks. That sport would be football.

The legal ramifications of the above scenarios are too complicated for speculation. But O’Malley’s intent, as he rode his bike and entertained guests and cheered his team this spring, seemed clear.

He agrees with us. The Dodgers are too neat to be anything but the Dodgers. It is his legacy that they have remained successful in a changing environment. He realizes that it will also be his legacy if this treasure is lost.

Is the scare over? Certainly not. O’Malley has other considerations than the ones in his heart. And $500 million is a lot of money. The Dodgers could be wearing teal and building a retractable roof by November.

But for now, all is safe. This summer apparently will be spared.

The Dodgers do not trade for outfielder Kenny Lofton because they believe in Brett Butler ahead of high-priced, one-year rentals. The Dodgers start Chan Ho Park because they are committed to hard-throwing youngsters.

The funny little wrinkles are still there. So are the traditions.

There was much twittering in Dodgertown when a notable former manager spent the early part of spring training in Japan, then Los Angeles, anywhere but Field No. 2.

Then one day the old manager showed up, noticed a first baseman showing poor footwork on a far diamond and called over to the kid. Practice stopped, the old manager taught, the kid listened.

Tom Lasorda is still Tom Lasorda. The Dodgers are still who we think they are. Only March, and already there’s one victory.