Jamie speaks.

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 Simers:

Sat down with the Screaming Meanie on Tuesday morning, and how about that, even cutting into Jamie McCourt's negotiated swimming time.

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Perhaps unaware he would open his column with multiple shots at her, Jamie McCourt offered T.J. Simers an extended interview on a wide variety of topics. I'm sure you'll get excellent blow-by-blows elsewhere, so I'll stick to what I know: the divorce.  Jamie's relevant quotes, and my quick thoughts:

• "I'm a baseball girl. Frank likes the real estate side."


• Smart strategy here by Jamie, implying many times throughout the interview that she's vital to the baseball operations side of the club. She also throws Frank under the bus on the extravagance of the couple's homes, again saying he's the real estate guy. She also uses this set-up to blame Frank for parking pass price increases at the Stadium.
• Of course, when it really came down to it, she signed away the baseball team, and he gave her the real estate. That sort of contradiction eats into her credibility a little bit here.

• "Let's remember it's how we lived and not how I lived . . . . [Jamie's demand for so much money was] something that had to be done at the time."


• Jamie has an excellent point--because she is in the position of asking for money, it appears like she's the only one living the extravagant lifestyle. It was how the married couple lived, and she's simply asking for that to remain available to her.
• As we've discussed, she's right on. She has no chance of getting a dime (or a benefit, perquisite, or emolument) that she doesn't ask for up front. I don't fault her strategy here, and I hope that however you feel about her lifestyle, you recognize that to ask for less right now would be foolish.

• "My dream would be to have a coalition of people [owning the Dodgers]. . . . I don't need to be the controlling interest, I just love baseball that much and want to stay a part of it and lend my expertise any way I can."


• I gotta say, my alarm bells are ringing like crazy right now. To me, that quote says she knows she doesn't have the cash to buy out Frank's half (assuming the Dodgers are community property). If there's a silent minority out there hoping Jamie ends up with the team...well, those hopes take a big blow if that quote means what I think it means.

• "I met Frank when I was 17, dated him for eight years and was married to him almost 30 years. . . . I trusted the man." 


• Here, she was explaining why she signed the post-nup without raising concerns as to its effect. As we'll talk about tomorrow (sneak preview!), she might be in deep trouble if Frank's preliminary assertions are right.

I encourage you all to read Simers' account in its entirety. Like his style or not, we certainly need to be thankful for his reporting. There's some great stuff in the interview about ticket prices, payroll, and even Jamie's relationship with her bodyguard/driver/lover Jeff Fuller. The quotes above offer significant insight into how the divorce proceedings will move forward and provide background about the coming battle for the Dodgers.

Thanks to an intrepid reader, we have more original documents to talk about tomorrow. See you then.

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