John Henry Responds To Marlins' Lineup Complaint With Verbal Jab On Twitter
BOSTON (CBS) -- Things are getting a bit heated down in the Sunshine State.
Last week, the Miami Marlins were "outraged" by the Red Sox bringing a lineup of mostly minor leaguers to a spring training game in Jupiter, Fla. The Marlins sold tickets to that game at a premium price, under the belief that the defending World Series champions would be taking the field. Marlins officials were reportedly so upset that they contacted the league and demanded some sort of investigation to the Red Sox' violating a rule.
Reportedly, Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington apologized to the Marlins for the lack of star power in the lineup, but the Sox' principal owner wasn't in much of an apologetic mood.
John Henry took to Twitter, where he let loose a scorching burn -- and with 86 characters to spare.
"They should apologize for their regular season lineup," Henry tweeted.
They should apologize for their regular season lineup.
— John W. Henry (@John_W_Henry) March 8, 2014
The comment was, of course, a dig at the Marlins, who went 62-100 last season and haven't made the playoffs since their 2003 World Series win. The Marlins franchise has come under much scrutiny for using $500 million of public funds to finance their ballpark, only to sell off their big-name acquisitions (Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, Heath Bell) the following year. A Miami Herald article estimated the final price tag for Miami-Dade County will be as high as $1.2 billion.
The Marlins ranked 29th in MLB in attendance last year, averaging just 19,584 fans per game and drawing 1.59 million fans for the season. Ownership hoped to draw more than 2 million fans per year as part of their proposal for the new stadium, which drew 2.22 million its first season in 2012.
Henry himself is a former owner of the Marlins, though his time in charge in Florida was not always a smooth ride. Based on his tweet, it's clear he's enjoying his time with Boston a little bit more.
Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here, or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
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