Do the Red Sox recieve preferential treatment from Bud Selig and the suits at MLB? Just a few weeks ago, the Sox were granted an extension to negotiate with Curt Shilling promting this response from Mike C:

It was disconcerting to see Bud Selig extending the deadline for the trade to Saturday. I know that the trade was completed on Friday, and now Theo Epstein is being heralded as the genius du jour. But it seems that Bud is incapable of going out of his way to help his cronies in Boston.

Whether it’s laundering a player in baseball-owned Montreal before turning him over to the Sox (Cliff Floyd) or rescuing a player from a contract he’s already signed with a professional Japanese team so that the Sox can sign him (Kevin Millar), the commish just has to get involved in John Henry’s business. Epstein, who may not be old enough yet to rent from Avis in some states, apparently is a genius who still needs to have the training wheels on his bike.

Now, MLB appears willing to help the Red Sox land Alex Rodriguez. According to The Boston Globe:

In a breakthrough that could hasten a historic swap of baseball’s only $20 million-a-year superstars, Red Sox principal owner John W. Henry has scheduled a high-stakes meeting this week with Alex Rodriguez and his agent, Scott Boras, about restructuring the MVP shortstop’s extravagant contract to clear the way for a trade involving Manny Ramirez, industry sources said yesterday.

Henry and Rodriguez recently held at least a preliminary discussion after the Sox received permission from commissioner Bud Selig to waive a rule prohibiting teams from discussing business with players under contract, according to a highly placed baseball official.

…One reason Selig may have approved such a rare negotiation between Henry and Rodriguez is Major League Baseball’s preference for A-Rod, one of the sport’s most magnetic personalities, to escape the obscurity of Texas and play on the big stage in Boston.

Peter Gammons reports that this deal is about Rangers owner Tom Hicks, and Boston’s owner John Henry, along with Alex Rodriguez and his agent, Scott Boras. Clearly, A Rod is going to have to bend