1.2 Billion Dollar Offer for LA Dodgers

Frank McCourt has been offered $1.2 billion to sell the Los Angeles Dodgers to a group backed by Chinese government-owned investment banks, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The bid to buy the team out of bankruptcy, which was first reported by the Los Angeles Times, was being headed by Los Angeles Marathon founder Bill Burke, said the person who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it publicly.

The bid terms, put forth in a letter sent to McCourt this week, call for an all-cash payment to buy the Dodgers, all real estate related to the team and the team's media rights. The offer is roughly $800 million more than what McCourt paid for the Dodgers in 2004 at more than $430 million.

The letter, which was presented on behalf of the Burke group by Signal Capital Management of New York, said funding for the bid would come from "certain state-owned investment institutions of the People's Republic of China" as well as unidentified American investors, the newspaper reported.

The bid would expire in 21 days, according to the letter, with the goal of closing a deal within 90 days, subject to the approvals of the bankruptcy court and Major League Baseball.

Burke and a McCourt spokesman, Steve Sugerman, did not return calls from the AP seeking comment.

The proposed sale price would break a record for a Major League Baseball team that had been set two years ago when the Ricketts family paid $845 million to buy the Chicago Cubs from Tribune Co. The participation of overseas investors in the team's ownership would not be unprecedented, with the Seattle Mariners' ownership group including a significant Japanese presence.

Dodgers third baseman Casey Blake is having season-ending surgery to repair a pinched nerve in his neck.

Yankees-Red Sox: A.J. Burnett kept the New York Yankees close, Russell Martin put them ahead with a two-run double, and Mariano Rivera nailed down a satisfying victory over host Boston.

The Yankees trailed 2-1 when Burnett left, then scored three times in the seventh off Alfredo Aceves (9-2) in a tense game that took 4 hours, 21 minutes.

The Yankees moved within a half-game of the first-place Red Sox in the A.L. East by winning two of three in the series.

"I just had a feeling tonight he was going to get it done," New York manager Joe Girardi said of Burnett, "and he did."

Mets: The Mets said that the sale of a stake in the club to hedge fund manager David Einhorn for $200 million has fallen through, denying the flagging franchise the money needed to repay a loan from Major League Baseball and bolster its operating capital.

Marlins: Injured Florida star Hanley Ramirez has left shoulder instability, and the shortstop is contemplating offseason surgery.

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