Mystical Russian “V” Hired by Dodgers

Did somebody dare Frank and Jamie McCourt to appear as publicly ridiculous as possible? As if the beleaguered ownership duo couldn't have come off any creepier, Bill Shaikin reports in the L.A. Times this morning that for the entirety of their ownership the daffy pair have employed a reclusive Russian mystic to will the team to victory. That is correct -- the estranged Tsar and Tsarina of Dodgertown have their very own Rasputin on the payroll.

Reportedly earning bonuses well into the six-figures depending on Dodger playoff performance (and presumably exiled to Siberia following the team's dreadful 91-loss 2005 campaign), Vladimir Shpunt, a mysterious 71-year-old Russian émigré physicist and faith healer, is paid by the Dodgers brain trust to sit in a room in (ugh!) BOSTON and meditate the team to victory. Well, hats off to the two for developing a winning strategy in the absence of actually spending money on team payroll, as I understand there was a much more expensive Vladimir that some unenlightened fans hoped the team would pursue.
Shaikin's full story can be found here.