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MLB Notebook: Dodgers' McCourt claims low funds
Friday, November 27, 2009

In the latest filing in his contentious divorce, Frank McCourt said his personal account is low on cash, raising new questions about the team's ability to sign top players and retain the core of the National League West champions.

Responding to his estranged wife's request for monthly financial support, Frank McCourt said his checking account had fallen as low as $167,000 in recent weeks, before he received $1 million from a quarterly distribution. Bert Fields, an attorney for Jamie McCourt, said Frank McCourt's claims raise the question of whether he can continue to field a team with a $100 million payroll.

"If it were true that he really doesn't have the resources to pay anything, then you'd have serious concern about his ability to run a baseball team," Fields said.

Frank McCourt claims sole ownership of the team.

Blue Jays

Toronto signed shortstop Alex Gonzalez to a one-year deal worth $2.75 million yesterday, which includes a club option for 2011. The move came a day after backup shortstop John McDonald agreed to a $3-million, two-year deal.

Elsewhere

Bob Sheppard has no intentions of returning to his longtime job as the public address announcer at Yankee Stadium. Sheppard, 99, hasn't worked a game since late in the 2007 season because of illness. He became the PA announcer at the old Yankee Stadium in 1951.

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First published on November 27, 2009 at 12:00 am