MLB: McCourt's demands 'frivolous'

LOS ANGELES, July 6 (UPI) -- Attorneys for Major League Baseball Wednesday blasted demands for internal MLB documents by the owner of bankrupt Los Angeles Dodgers as "frivolous."

MLB lawyers in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing Wednesday derided a demand by Dodgers owner Frank McCourt to obtain a wide range of documents, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Baseball argued granting the request would turn an upcoming hearing into "a multi-ringed side show of mini-trials on (McCourt's) personal disputes" with baseball.

McCourt's attorneys have said they need the documents to show MLB Commissioner Bud Selig acted unfairly when he turned down the team's a proposed $2.5 billion television deal with Fox Sports.

Selig, they argue, purposely created a "liquidity crisis" meant to force McCourt to sell the team.

MLB lawyers refuted that assertion, writing, "McCourt's allegations that MLB caused the liquidity crisis for the Dodgers are frivolous."

A bankruptcy court hearing is set for Thursday to determine whether MLB must turn over the documents and whether Selig and other top baseball officials should be immediately deposed in the case, the Times reported.