FanHouse Frank Mccourt

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.

The Dodgers went to the National League Championship Series for the second year in a row, and lost again.

So they now realize -- or at least should -- that they need to retool some to take the next step. And as if that already didn't make this a critical offseason, owner Frank McCourt is divorcing his wife Jamie, leaving everyone to wonder who will control the team and whether it will affect their spending, as happened down the road in San Diego.

The Dodgers did some fixing on the fly over the summer, with Vicente Padilla, Jon Garland and Ronnie Belliard. But all three of those players are now free agents, so the holes are back to be patched.

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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.

The personal and professional lives of Frank and Jamie McCourt have certainly seen better days. The two had been married since 1979, having four children together. They were working together in running one of the most recognizable sports franchises in the world, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now, citing irreconcilable differences, the two are going through divorce proceedings -- which appear neither friendly nor ending anytime soon.

While the Los Angeles Dodgers season may be over it appears that team owner Frank McCourt's divorce drama with his wife Jamie is going to continue for a while. The latest story being reported about the estranged couple is of Jamie calling 911 after being startled at home by Frank.

According to the police report that was filed, Frank did not attack Jamie in anyway, but rather came over to the house while she was swimming, which prompted her to make the call.

Frank McCourt, the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, has dismissed wife Jamie from her post as the team's CEO ahead of what is expected to be a bitter divorce battle between the separated couple, according to a report by SI.com's Jon Heyman.

McCourt, who has been married to Jamie since 1979, purchased the Dodgers in 2004 for $430 million, but the team is believed to be worth considerably more than that.

The firing of Jamie further complicates the fate of the franchise as the couple heads for divorce court, with Frank claiming that he has full ownership of the team and his spouse contending that she owns 50 percent of it.

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Ned Colletti hasn't been perfect in four seasons as the Dodgers' general manager. But he promises he has learned from his mistakes.

The team announced Tuesday that Colletti had agreed to a "long-term" extension.

"I think that some of the decisions we made that didn't work out particularly well were out of impatience on our own part," Colletti said -- referring to (not by name) -- contracts for Juan Pierre, Jason Schmidt and Andruw Jones. "I think the last year or so our deliberation and our thought process were keener, were a little bit more fine-tuned, were less impatient."

Instead, the Dodgers have blended acquisitions (Manny Ramirez, Orlando Hudson, Rafael Furcal, Casey Blake, Hiroki Kuroda) with a home-grown core.

Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and his wife, Jamie, have confirmed to the Associated Press that they have separated a few days after Frank attended the Cardinals-Dodgers game alone. This is intriguing news in terms of how it may effect the inner workings of the Dodgers' front office. Jamie McCourt is the team president and CEO of the Dodgers -- making her the highest ranking female in all of baseball.

If the separation continues and evolves into a divorce, how will all their substantial assets be divided? They've been married since 1979, so the ownership of the Dodgers -- and the job of the team president -- will likely be at stake during proceedings.

While some people around Major League Baseball are losing their jobs for failing to win games, others around the league are being rewarded for their success. The Los Angeles Dodgers are getting ready to make their third appearance in the postseason in the last four years, and it looks like the man who is in charge of putting the team together is about to be rewarded for it.

There's word out of Los Angeles that the team has begun negotiating with general manager Ned Colletti about signing a long-term contract extension with the team. Colletti is currently working under a deal that includes a mutual option for 2010, and now the Dodgers would like that to last a bit longer.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- It was something Dodgers fans rarely saw from Andruw Jones last year: a home run.

The Dodgers fans in attendance during Saturday night's Rangers-Dodgers game booed Jones during four trips to the plate. The Rangers fans cheered Jones when he hit a tying home run to right field in the sixth inning.

Though the Dodgers won, 3-1, it was Jones getting a little revenge on the Dodgers for giving up on him last year. Jones is still upset with Dodgers owner Frank McCourt for letting him out of his contract last year.

What, did somebody die? There are too many grave problems in this world for Manny Ramirez to sequester his dreadlocked soul in solitary confinement. He prefers to hide this week, a full seven days after word surfaced of his self-inflicted steroid shame, rather than apologize in person to his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates as the club's mortified owner has demanded.

"He's really beaten up over this. He's embarrassed," manager Joe Torre said. "I think it's going to take him time to clear his head. We want to see him as a team. The players are here, and they're supporting him. But right now, he's not ready for it."

One, two, three: Awwwwwwww.