I am very confused by a comment made on Jim Cramer's blog at thestreet.com regarding RIG. In the blog he states:

"RIG's got contracts out until 2012 that have gigantic day rates. These are hard contracts to get out of, but I have to believe that some of them have been rented by the ubiquitous hedge funds hoping to scalp a gain and sell them to others, and certainly some are just rented by gunslinger companies that are running out of money at these prices."

Can someone decipher "rented by the ubiquitous hedge funds hoping to scalp a gain and sell them to others" for me? How could a hedge fund affect a long-term contract between RIG and an oil producer? As I understand, a contract is a contract and unless the company in that contract files Chapter 11 or otherwise, they are on the hook for the day rates. Is this not true? Scanning RIG's day rate schedule, there are some very big names in the oil business with a lot of cash that don't seem likely to go under during this downturn. But maybe I'm blind to some fact.

BTW, I'm not looking for short term advice here. I'm investing for the long term and RIG seems like a good long-term play. Maybe I'm wrong...