Red Sox CEO/president Larry Lucchino, in an appearance on the Dennis & Callahan Show, discussed his future with the franchise on Thursday morning. There have been rumors that Lucchino, in the last year of his contract, may not return next season, but he made his intent to return clear to Dennis & Callahan.
"This is the place I call home," Lucchino said. "I hope to be here for the foreseeable future. I've got no plans to go anywhere else. I enjoy my working relationship with my partners and colleagues and the challenge that faces us here is a tremendous one. In some ways, and this may sound perverse, it's appealing. We've done things one way, this is our 11th year, and quite a good ride and lots of success. But now there is a fundamental challenge to us, a very real opportunity to get this franchise back to where it should be in terms of on-field success and playoff baseball. And I relish that opportunity. I don't have any plans to go anywhere, no."
The sellout streak at Fenway Park continues, to the ridicule and doubt of some in the media. Lucchino told Dennis & Callahan that he hasn't received any negative feedback from fans regarding the streak, and expects it to continue for the rest of the 2012 season.
"The sellout streak has developed over nine years," Lucchino said. "It's a source of pride, we find for our fans, as well as the organization. But it is what it ends. And it will end, no question about it. I doubt [it will end] this year, because we've sold so many tickets in September. We've averaged 37,600 people, or around there, 37,575, as an average for every game this year. You can quibble about definition, is this a sellout, is that a sellout, but that's an extraordinarily consistent record."
Is there a chance ownership, coming off a couple of disappointing seasons and with a recently lowered payroll, might be in the process of considering selling the franchise, as some have suggested recently?
"Nonsense," Lucchino said. "As I said, they feel the same kind of competitive juices that the fans feel, that I feel. There's an opportunity here to put the team back on the track it was on for a decade. … There has not been one word, one word of discussion regarding that. We are committed, better or worse, we are the guys to kick around."
To hear the interview click on the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page [1]. For more Red Sox news visit weei.com/redsox [2].
Links:
[1] http://audio.weei.com/weei/dennis_and_callahan.htm
[2] http://weei.com/redsox
[3] http://www.weei.com/category/boston/red-sox