Get Dodgers Back on the Ball

The multibillion-dollar Fox Corp. has proved a load of green cannot revive the Dodger Blue. So after another dreary season the suits have retired and sent in what may be just what the L.A. ballclub needs, a No. 1 fan. Former Warner Bros. top executive Robert Daly, whose enthusiasm for the Dodgers makes Tommy Lasorda look tame, has signed on as the team’s chairman and CEO with a 5% piece of the action and a bigger bite anticipated, Fox of course retaining the remainder, and all pending official approval.

Granted the club has nowhere to go but up, Daley nevertheless should deliver some enthusiasm to the Dodger executive offices.

This was a sorry season for the club, its second since Fox bought the team from the O’Malley family. It was a collective collapse: the front office, players, manager and coaches. And with it all fans continued to deliver support.

So Daly has some building to do, and should lose no time. First up should be the revitalization of what once was the best farm system in baseball. This year it produced next to nothing. Trades? You bet. No one can look at the nine that the Dodgers put on the field last season and say, “these are the Dodgers.” The L.A. Dodgers were Maury Wills, Tommy Davis, Steve Garvey. But we digress.

With Fox handing the controls to Daly, a top-flight businessman stepping into a world almost as chaotic as Hollywood, the challenge will be immediate and obvious. Rebuilding the team will take astute trades. Some familiar names will be leaving, but Daly will retain General Manager Kevin Malone and Manager Davey Johnson.

A paraphrased line from the film “Field of Dreams” was “build it and they will come.” That’s what a competitive team will bring to Dodger Stadium. Please, Mr. Daly, a team to beat the Yankees in the World Series. That’s all.