Fenway Sports Group President MICHAEL GORDON's "baseball trajectory has taken him from selling popcorn for BUD SELIG’s Brewers at Milwaukee’s County Stadium to owning the second-largest stake in the Red Sox," according to a profile of Gordon's role with FSG by Alex Speier of the BOSTON GLOBE. After taking his current title last summer, Gordon was later "listed above" Red Sox President & CEO LARRY LUCCHINO "in the front office directory on the team’s website." Speculation "that the ball club was in transition" put Gordon "at the center of a perceived power struggle in which the roles of Lucchino and possibly" Red Sox Chair TOM WERNER were in question. But several Red Sox sources recently "made it clear that Lucchino remains the boss to whom they answer," and that Lucchino's "reporting relationship is still to" Owner JOHN HENRY and Werner. Speier: "Henry’s position as principal owner is secure and unquestioned. If there were a power struggle, then, to whom might Gordon represent a threat?" Gordon "owns a larger financial stake in FSG and the Red Sox than Werner." Because of his background in finance, working with Lightning Owner and former Red Sox investor JEFF VINIK for Fidelity Investments' Magellan Fund from '92-96, Gordon "sometimes gets more involved than Werner on certain financial matters, including contracts and risk assessment." A source said, "Mike has more expertise in his areas than Tom. People know that. But that doesn’t mean Tom’s position as No. 2 can be threatened. John and Tom, that is the culture." Sources contend that while Gordon "is qualified to assume a more prominent role" with the Sox, his "preference is to work with Henry and Werner behind the scenes." Vinik said, "I have no knowledge whatsoever of any kind of power struggle. ... There is no way that he would ever aggressively compete in a power struggle" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/7).
IT'S IN THE BOOK: In Boston, Dan Shaughnessy notes Lucchino "has vaulted back into the No. 3 spot in the club masthead in the Red Sox’ recently released 2015 media guide," wherein a 72-word paragraph regarding Werner’s input into “The Cosby Show,’’ has "been surgically scrubbed from the chairman’s bio" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/9).
