Red Sox Owner John Henry last week addressed the "several ongoing controversies" surrounding the team and became the "first to acknowledge publicly" that MLB is looking into the July trade with the Padres for P Drew Pomeranz in exchange for P Anderson Espinoza, according to Michael Silverman of the BOSTON HERALD (8/22). Henry responded to all questions by email. Asked if he was satisfied the Red Sox received all medical info on Pomeranz from the Padres, Henry wrote, "This is being investigated by MLB so it would be inappropriate for me to comment." Concerning the MLB punishment on the Red Sox' international signings, Henry replied, "As best I can tell we were singled out, but the fact is we were guilty of a practice that is against the rules. Therefore, you have to take responsibility and cooperate as much as possible. And we did. The result was a very severe penalty despite our cooperation. I would hope others will now refrain from this practice given the penalties." Asked about the role Red Sox President & CEO Emeritus Larry Lucchino has with the organization, Henry wrote, "Larry is still in the Red Sox suite for most of the home games and maintains his office at Fenway with support staff. He's been busy through the transition. He has traveled, continues to work with us on strategic issues and has taken on important roles outside of the organization." Asked about how team President Sam Kennedy is doing, Henry wrote, "Sam is doing very well. He spent years preparing for this role as did the organization. This was in many ways the longest transition I've ever seen. [Lucchino and Kennedy] are completely different people, but it's basically the same management staff. There were changes as there are in any transition but those, too, were anticipated" (BOSTON HERALD, 8/22).
