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TJM could tell us whether this guess is true or not, but ... My sense is they woo'ed Friedman by saying something like "You're the best there is. Come do it with a big budget. You just do your thing and you have a blank check to light money on fire. Make us a juggernaut."
If any team would do that, it'd be the Dodgers and if any exec would do that, it'd be Friedman...
Or not...
........
As for everything before your last line: thanks for the freebie mosh pit URL. Knew there was a reason we kept yer around...