Bryan Stow

Spring training is a lot like marriage, a constant mix of the good and bad. This guy looks poised for a breakout year, this guy is struggling. This hitter is on fire, this pitcher is melting. The wife is ageless, the husband is resembling a latter Orson Wells. Or something like that. On Day 2 of the Dodgers' 2012 spring season, they naturally received early doses of both good and bad, none of which can be taken too seriously, though that's partly why we love spring training. They lost 8-4 to the Giants Tuesday, which being spring wouldn't even qualify as bad news, except it was against the Giants.

Then in his second start, Aaron Harang came out of the phone booth and laughed at the mere mortals. It was going to be that kind of night. This was a much different Harang from the right-hander who couldn't get out of the fifth inning in his first start, also against the Padres. This Harang threw fastballs past hitters, dropped 70 mph curves on the corners and froze hitters. After giving up an initial hit to Cameron Maybin to begin the game, Harang went on a strikeout tear Friday, the likes of which the Dodgers have never seen.

The Dodgers told the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Friday exactly how much they owe: $573 million. The team included the figure in filing its reorganization plan, the formal document that explains how a company intends to get out of bankruptcy. For the Dodgers, that means a sale of the team, a process that appears to be getting more competitive by the day. Larry Ellison, the founder and chief executive of software giant Oracle, has considered pursuing the Dodgers, two people familiar with the matter said Friday.

The Dodgers are on pace to lose more than $42 million in annual revenue since the team's last postseason appearance in 2009, according to data filed Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The Dodgers reported revenue of $282 million in 2009. On the eve of the National League Championship Series that year, owner Frank McCourt and his ex-wife, Jamie, announced their separation. Revenue dropped to $265 million last year and $120 million through the first half of this year, according to the filing.

It wasn't even six years ago -- hardly enough time to qualify as an era for a team whose history goes back to the Arthur administration --  when The Times published an editorial at the conclusion of the 2006 season welcoming the Dodgers back to the playoffs. The editorial reflected a Dodgers fan base at the time slowly coming to terms with a team ownership that strained to endear itself to Los Angeles. I bring up this editorial to point out that the Frank McCourt era wasn't all bad for the Dodgers, as the reader letters below may suggest.

PHOENIX -- For the second time in a major league career that has lasted all of two weeks, Scott Van Slyke found his name in the Dodgers' starting lineup. The first time, he batted third. On Monday, he batted fourth. "Necessity is a good word," Manager Don Mattingly said. "I'd feel better if he were back there hitting sixth or seventh and not in the heart of the order. "I don't mean that in a bad way toward him. " The Dodgers had 10 home runs in their injury-depleted starting lineup Monday - eight from Andre Ethier , one from Justin Sellers and one from Van Slyke.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross on Wednesday urged attorneys for Bryan Stow and the Dodgers to settle their dispute without his intervention. Stow's attorneys had asked Gross to yield to a California court. Gross postponed a decision until March 21, when he is scheduled to hear the Dodgers' request that he throw out Stow's bankruptcy claim. However, after two hours of arguments in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., Gross strongly encouraged both sides to resume settlement discussions.

Finally, Frank McCourt made what appears to be his best decision ever on behalf of the Dodgers: He sold the team to a group that includes a local, business-savvy sports legend, an experienced baseball executive and the head of a deep-pocketed financial services company. Some of that lineup may be window-dressing, but at least the McCourt era is ending and a new one is beginning. What may determine the success of this era is how much the new owners are prepared to invest in the team, developing a roster of top-tier talent and making necessary renovations to the stadium.

Frank McCourt dreams, maybe not like the rest of us, but he dreams. His dreams entail a buyer ready to plunk down at least $1.5 billion for the Dodgers, maybe even $2 billion. And while he's dreaming, getting to keep the parking lots surrounding the stadium. Yeah, not like the rest of us. McCourt has reportedly submitted eight potential buyers to Major League Baseball, now vetting the financial backgrounds of each, before turning over its finalist back to McCourt to conclude his auction by April Fools' Day (some things you just can't make up)

Never let it be said that Dodgers fans don't support a loser. The franchise averaged 43,979 spectators in the last full season that it posted a losing record (2010), 7,743 more than it did in the last one it had a winning record (2011). Of course, the severe beating of Bryan Stow in a Dodger Stadium parking lot and the ensuing implosion of Frank McCourt's tenure as owner might have had something to do with the team's drop-off at the turnstiles last year. But the Dodgers are one of 10 major league teams to have averaged more fans the last time they lost more games than they did when they finished on the preferred side of .500.