Rodriguez is a good example of the Rays lack of depth in positional players. The guy is hitting .214 and butchering it in the field and here he is starting in an important game.
The Rays' organization is constantly touted as one of the best and it may be. They continue to produce good young pitchers. But they are not producing any hitters at all. They are a classic good pitch/no hit team, and this year's version looks like it will miss the playoffs.
The lack of hitting also makes this Rays team a bore to watch. The Tampa fans have never been the best, but when the team is like watching paint dry it makes matters worse.
Gasparino says one of the things that convinced him the story was solid was the trade with the Dodgers, that whenever a team unloads that much payroll it's a sign of financial trouble. He thereby excludes the possibility that it was merely a smart baseball and financial move that should be instrumental in rebuilding the team.
That doesn't really answer it. I doubt the Red Sox lost very much money this year, and they just offloaded a ton of payroll. I think they're only committed to about 50 million of payroll for 2013 right now. I can't see how Henry would be in financial trouble with the Sox.
If Henry was interested in selling I think it would be because it ain't fun anymore and it's a good time to cash in. Not because of financial trouble.
Henry said on the M & M show it's complete horseshit...'we love this, we're in it for the long haul, I've already got more money than I'll ever need, we just signed some agreements that would prove all this if you saw them' etc. etc.