If the Dodgers Go on Sale, Mark Cuban's Interested in Buying Them

Mark Cuban is back on Bud Selig's doorstep with a sack full of money. This time he's got his eyes on the Los Angeles Dodgers.

As the divorce drama of Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and his wife (and, depending on the courts, co-owner) Jamie plays out in Los Angeles, speculation has started that the team may hit the market. That's what happened with the Padres, you'll remember, when John Moores sold a stake in the team to pay off his ex-wife. If it plays out that way further up the California coastline, Cuban told the Los Angeles Times that he'd be interested in buying the team.

What's more, he says that more Dodgers fans than he can count have already reached out to him to swoop in and scoop up the franchise. The sticking point, the one beyond the fact that McCourt insists the team isn't for sale anyway, is that Moores only sold a minority stake in the Padres, while Cuban says he'd only be interested in being the controlling shareholder of the Dodgers as part of an ownership group.

"I'm not a fan of debt-driven acquisitions," Cuban wrote. "If a unique situation came up where I could contribute capital to buy out a majority shareholder and gain control, with existing shareholders or note holders staying in place, I would consider it."

Cuban famously bid on the Cubs, but his bid was rejected, in part, because of how reliant it was on the credit market. When the economy nosedived last year, so did the financing for Cuban's bid and both sides are probably better off that nothing went forward with a deal structured that way.

While the prospect of Cuban owning a MLB team remains an intriguing prospect, we appear to be a long way off from any resolution to the Dodgers situation. Mrs. McCourt is fighting to be considered a co-owner, Mr. McCourt contends he's the only owner and the absurdly public and acrimonious proceedings will surely keep it moving at a glacial pace as huge sums of money are at stake. That's bad for the Dodgers as it may keep them from making moves financially to keep pace with their rivals and could, at some point, have Selig and other owners pushing McCourt to find new capital to keep the high-profile franchise in the pink.