Dopes like this globe writer enable henry to keep on keeping on ala Donald Trump.
Fuck your shareholders,i`m doing ok!-g-
DOWNTOWN
Goodbye, Gatsby
By Steve Bailey, Globe Columnist | September 26, 2007
Tear it down, John Henry.
This is the stuff of Boston legend. The man buys the Red Sox and saves Fenway Park, a beloved (or not) New England icon. Now he buys Frank McCourt's house, and is going to tear down the house of the guy who wanted to buy the Red Sox, bulldoze Fenway, and build a new ballpark on the waterfront. Save Fenway and eradicate all evidence of the parking lot baron from Boston. What is not to like?
This is the house Jay Gatsby would have bought if he had mysteriously turned up in Boston rather than Long Island. Huge and showy, it has everything but the green light at the end of the dock, left on waiting for Daisy. It all but shouts, "I HAVE ARRIVED!" Ultimately, this is the house of an insecure man. John Henry is not an insecure man.
When we traded owners - John Harrington, the luckiest accountant in America, for John Henry - it was the best Sox deal since the team acquired Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe for Heathcliff Slocum. Henry is quirky, he's a geek, and like an increasing class of people in this country, he has more money than he knows what to do with. He is, in short, darn entertaining in his own low-key way. And entertainment is the business he is in after all.
With the exception of J.D. Drew, Henry and his partners have been nearly pitch-perfect since beating out the locals for the home team. Most importantly, of course, they have won. The Red Sox have also created a fabulous experience at Fenway; the Sox have by far the most expensive average ticket prices in baseball, but I never walk away feeling cheated. Like everything in life, losing would change everything. (I'm required to disclose here that The New York Times Co., which owns The Boston Globe, owns a piece of the Red Sox.)
The Boston Herald's Scott Van Voorhis reported yesterday that Henry had filed an application with the town of Brookline to demolish the Cottage Street mansion - the 13,000-square-foot main house and a 5,000-square-foot guest house - he bought not long ago from McCourt for $16 million, one of the most expensive home sales in Massachusetts history. With 11 bathrooms, the place has more men's rooms than Fenway Park. But if Henry thinks dealing with the Fenway neighbors is difficult, wait until he starts wrestling with his rich neighbors in Brookline.
The market has not been kind to Henry lately; his investment firm, John W. Henry & Co., has seen its assets shrink by about three-quarters since November. But the volatile market has not dissuaded him from expanding his collection of rich-guy toys, including the biggest yacht in Boston Harbor, the fastest NASCAR team, and now Brookline's Gatsby manse. His pending divorce, however, could be another matter.
John Henry, a farm boy who taught himself the risky business of commodity speculation, has earned his money, and even a spot in our hearts - as long as his team is winning, anyway. He can dock his 164-foot Iroquois behind the Boston Harbor Hotel. He can buy Frank McCourt's mansion, rip it down, and build something else. His success is our success, or so we can pretend. Like Chauncey Gardiner, we like to watch.
Don't, however, come telling us about the difficult economics of operating baseball's oldest and smallest park, Mr. Henry. You've earned your toys. But don't expect us to pay for them, not a single brick.
. . .
Neighborhood news: Friends and others are invited to join me tomorrow night at the annual "Men of Boston Cook for Women's Health" at the Codman Square Health Center in Dorchester. Among the real celebrity chefs: Governor Deval Patrick, Mayor Tom Menino, and Citizens Financial chairman Larry Fish. See menof boston.com or call 617-474-1457 for tickets.
Steve Bailey is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at bailey@globe.com or at 617-929-2902.
© Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company
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