Team spirit

In the next seat over, her husband, Frank, has entered a cone of tense silence, broken only by the occasional hoarse shout of encouragement to whatever player is within earshot. The division race is nearing the end and the crowd is big for a Monday, loud, opinionated, clearly pumped for its still-in-first team. But it's the eighth inning now and the Padres' two-run lead seems to be holding.

"There they go," Jamie McCourt says watching people trudge up the steps and disappear before turning her attention back to the game. "It's so funny. I still can't get used to it."

Jamie McCourt has learned a lot about life in Los Angeles in a fairly short span of time. Since she and her husband bought the Dodgers earlier this year, she has learned that the sun really does shine here pretty much every day; that waiters, and most people, are nicer than in certain East Coast cities; that if you live in an upscale ZIP Code, one of your famous neighbors just might have a couple of very loud peacocks; that Angelenos seem to eat a lot of edamame but there is, thank God, a Krispy Kreme on Wilshire Boulevard; and that Dodger fans absolutely will leave in the eighth inning of even a crucial game to avoid traffic.

As co-owner of the franchise, McCourt has been occupied by many things other than getting to know her new city. Named vice chairman within days of the purchase, she has taken an active role in front-office decisions, including the hiring of General Manager Paul DePodesta. Although she does not have much contact with the players, she has been a major influence in the restructuring of the organization -- the chief marketing officer, the general manager and the chief operating officer all report to Frank and her.

"It's not just baseball," she says. "Baseball is what you sell. There are many businesses rolled into one. My job is to integrate the businesses."

So in the seven months since she left Boston, McCourt has also learned a few other things, including what it's like to be ripped by press and fans alike for comments that seemed to her fairly innocuous; how it feels (not good) to have columnists follow your every move with relentless criticism and unflattering sobriquets; and how strange it is to realize that many people suddenly have an inordinate interest in your financial situation and your personal life.