Why the Dodgers’ mystic energy man matters

I got an email a few minutes ago that reflects a sentiment I’ve seen numerous times since the Dodgers’ Svengali story came out last night:

Do you ever write anything positive about the Dodgers? That’s the first place Dodgers. They are currently getting terrific pitching and playing solid baseball. I believe they have the best record in baseball for the past month and just swept the Cards. You are missing some fun baseball.

I get it: don’t beat up on the McCourts because the Dodgers have played good baseball for a couple of years. What’s a couple hundred thousand dollars to a quack if the team is winning?

I suppose that’s fair, but only to a point. And the point is this: the Dodgers have totally out-sized revenue streams compared to their divisional rivals in San Francisco, San Diego, Colorado and Arizona. Imagine how big their lead would be -- year-in, year-out -- if those resources were channeled into smart baseball decisions instead of energy-channeling physicists and the never ending parade of extravagance we’ve heard about since the McCourt divorce kicked off.

The Dodgers do OK. But if the McCourts wanted to focus on running a tight baseball ship instead of entertaining fantasies of NFL stadiums in the parking lot, buying soccer teams and pursing whatever whim their copious amounts of money and apparent lack of sense sets them upon, they could be the West Coast Yankees, dominating the division.