McCourt’s Recent Words Are Hard to Characterize

We learned last week in a Bill Plaschke column that Dodger owner Frank McCourt just discovered the importance of character. McCourt is 52 years old, so I asked Manager Jim Tracy how old he was when he learned the importance of character.

Tracy scooted his chair forward, put his head under his desk, and began opening drawers. I asked if he was looking for an answer.

“Character has always been a very important issue with me,” he said, while straightening up and confirming my suspicion that most folks get a grip on this character thing sometime before their eighth or ninth birthday.

Plaschke, though, seemed genuinely excited that McCourt learned the value of character recently, but then for the record Plaschke was also thrilled to be granted a 30-minute interview with McCourt knowing that McCourt would not talk about Milton Bradley and Jeff Kent -- which seemingly was the only reason to talk to the guy. I probably would have said, “then forget it.”

To Plaschke’s credit, and this might explain why he was the columnist of the year, he plowed on, knowing McCourt had a sob story to tell and who better to relay it to you? McCourt talked about this disappointing season and the decisions that have been made, and shortly after mentioning the importance of character, he displayed his own, shifting the blame for this Dodger debacle to General Manager Paul DePodesta.

“I think Paul, for some of the reasons I experienced, now sees things in a different light,” McCourt was quoted as saying, which prompted this supporting comment from Plaschke: “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.”

We’re left to presume, now that McCourt has seen the light, that DePodesta will never again be allowed to disappoint us.

This is all hogwash, with, of all people, Charley Steiner setting the record straight. At the end of every Dodger radio broadcast, and I would imagine not many have hung in there that long, Steiner says, “This is L.A. Baseball.”

It has been the team’s marketing slogan all season long, the Boston Parking Lot Attendant’s idea of letting folks know what baseball is going to be like in L.A. as long as he’s around pinching the pennies. There’s no question, “This is L.A. Baseball” probably has a better marketing ring to it than “Slugs ‘R’ Us.”

Funny thing, however, you people seem to like it, more than 3 million of you as of Monday night -- the quickest to 3 million in Dodger history -- buying tickets to watch this brand of sub-.500 ball. The Dodgers keep drawing fans, the payroll continues to get cut, and misery really does love company.

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I ELIMINATED the Dodgers from playoff contention on opening day, taking for granted the computer whiz who put this mess together was clueless.

“You were fully right,” DePodesta said, and I’m not sure whether he was referring to my prediction or the fact that he’s clueless.

DePodesta’s miscalculations included hiring Jose Valentin to provide leadership. Valentin is hitting .184, and yes, everyone seems to be following his lead. He signed J.D. Drew, a recluse who gets hurt all the time, and then appeared stunned when Drew came out of hiding to get hurt.

He had no intention of bringing back Odalis Perez, a certified head case, but when free-agency plans and possible trades went sour (and don’t they always with DePodesta), he brought back Perez to recertify himself a head case.

Hee-Seop Choi was going to be the every-day first baseman, which should have been the first clue how this season was going to go, but instead he became a reminder of how pathetic Dodger fans have become -- everyone chanting the .254 hitter’s name in unison as if he’s going to hit the ball. Monday they screamed, and he struck out to end the game.

Dodger catchers have thrown out 29 of 144 runners attempting to steal, with Jason Phillips obviously distracted by the fact that he’s trying to make it from paycheck to paycheck on only $339,000.

Now we’re being told to just wait until all the minor leaguers from Jacksonville grow up, and then things will really change. Unfortunately, we’re hearing this from DePodesta.

What about the team he’s already built? “I consider every one of these guys to be my guys,” DePodesta said.

And they’re horrible, I told him.

“There’s no doubt we’re disappointed in the way things have gone,” DePodesta said, which is as troubling as the fact that it will be up to DePodesta and McCourt, two on-the-job trainees, to turn things around next season.

This is L.A. Baseball.

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AFTER A report from Foxsports.com’s Ken Rosenthal that Tom Lasorda has been trashing DePodesta in talks with McCourt, it was interesting to see DePodesta make a rare appearance in the owners’ box Monday night.

DePodesta took a seat between the McCourts -- behind Lasorda.

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DEREK LOWE asked that they play Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” when he took the mound. The way the bullpen has been going I can understand the reluctance to turn it over to those guys, but unfortunately that’s what happened.

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I SPENT a good deal of time watching Kellen Winslow and John Elway practice and play, maybe two of the best to ever play their positions, but I’ve made the argument for some time now that Jerry Rice was the best player in NFL history.

Rice began each play without the ball and had to go somewhere to get it, and although not the swiftest, strongest or biggest, he couldn’t be stopped. He scored 208 touchdowns, more than any other player in NFL history, and never once pulled out a Sharpie to make a spectacle of himself.

T.J. Simers can be reached at

t.j.simers@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers

The public had Monday off, but you will note that Simers worked.