The one word that should never be uttered by Dodgers ownership

Scared? Come on, not just a tad? Probably should be.

Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly used the dreaded “A” word the other day in discussing the team’s future. The Times’ Bill Shaikin caught up with him and asked about the Dodgers’ record $298-million payroll last season and what it portends for coming seasons.

Wrote Shaikin:

“We’re looking toward building something long-term, and sustainable,” he said.

Leading the league in payroll every year, he said, is not sustainable.

“I think sustainable is more like the league average,” Boehly said, “plus some, or plus a lot.”

That’s right, kiddies, he uttered the single term that should absolutely never be used by ownership in discussing the Dodgers – average.

If you’re in the country’s second-largest market, lead the majors in attendance every year, raise ticket prices annually, jack up parking and sign a record $8.35-billion TV rights deal that leaves half your market without games, then you’d best not be talking about average anything.

Admittedly, Boehly added one helluva qualifier with that “plus some, or plus a lot” tagline, but it’s embarrassing to suggest that the Dodgers should approach the middle of the pack in anything.

These are not the Diamondbacks, Brewers or Indians. These are the Los Angeles Dodgers. Fans expect everything about them to be among the best in baseball, including the team payroll.

That’s not to say they have to be setting salary records every year or leading Major League Baseball, but they should be approaching the elite payrolls every season.

Thus far, the Dodgers have done just about everything they said they would when the Guggenheim ownership took over in 2012. They spent big to make the team immediately competitive, while investing heavily in their farm system. They made significant upgrades to Dodger Stadium and built a first-class team cable station, or so I’m told.

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There was nothing average about any of that, though it gave one pause when they didn’t react to the immediacy of the moment at the trade deadline and passed on acquiring a David Price or Johnny Cueto. They chose to hang onto top prospects rather than go all in for a possible title in 2015.

They are wiping about $90 million off the books in salaries they paid former Dodgers to play with other teams last season. They may want to get younger, but they’re still looking at a veteran team with a $200-million-plus payroll next season.

It’s not like the team is going to come crashing down to payroll mediocrity any time soon, but nor should it ever. An average payroll should not even be discussed.

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