Is this offseason a bust without Mark Teixeira?

by Randy Booth on Dec 19, 2008 9:04 PM EST in News Comment 35 comments

While Scott Boras and Mark Teixeira figure out how to bleed teams for more money, the Red Sox are "apparently" out of the running for Teixeira. Notice the quotation marks. With the Red Sox devoting so much time to Teixeira, would we consider this offseason a failure of the Sox can't sign the Gold Glove first baseman?

Mark Teixeira: future Sox?It seems like the Red Sox have done nothing but chase down the biggest free agent on the market. We know that can't be true, but it certainly does seem that way. Where's assistant GM Jed Hoyer? Hopefully he's trying to figure out the Sox' catcher situation, or adding another starting, or trying to grab some bullpen arms, but we haven't heard anything period.

Say the Sox don't sign Teixeira. Where does that leave them? Entrenched in a lot of time devoted to a contract that wasn't good enough. It's been about a month since TeixMania started and yet there is still nothing to show for it.

It would probably different if some deals were made over this course of time. If the Sox were to sign John Smoltz or Ben Sheets or Derek Lowe, then this might be easier to swallow. But there's nothing. No catcher, no starting pitcher, no bullpen arms. Just a lot of infatuation with Teixeira.

I think people will be pretty upset if the Sox don't sign Teixeira. But not just because Teixeira doesn't become a Sox, but because of everything that has gone into it. We've heard for weeks that the Sox have been in the lead for his services and now it seems like they couldn't be any further.

It's possible to salvage this situation though, and it's simple: go make some moves. Don't make moves for the sake of doing so, but make the moves that are necessary. Obviously there's work to do in the catching department. Odds are Jason Varitek is coming back, so let's nail that down. There's also a gap in the rotation -- let's fix that, too.

The front office doesn't want to make any harsh moves, but if Teixeira falls through then something's got to happen. They can't just sit back and perhaps get burned again. The Nation is waiting for something and it has to be good.

Don't let this offseason be a bust. There's still time to make it a good one ... with or without Mark Teixeira.

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That's twice in a row

Last season it was Santana. We HAD Santana, and now we HAD Teixeira.

Mother---- him and John Wayne!

by MerryGoByeBye on Dec 19, 2008 9:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I think the whole thing is a pre-emptive counter-bluff by the Sox against Boras.

Clutch: A measurement of how much better or worse a player does in high leverage situations than he would have done in a context neutral environment. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/glossary/

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Dec 19, 2008 9:28 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I don't think it's pre-emptive

And I don’t think it’s a bluff. From everything I’ve seen reported, the Sox made the biggest offer by between $5-15M and Boras said they’d have to jack it up another $15-20M. There’s absolutely no reason for the Sox to outbid themselves. If some other team is dumb enough to do so, the Sox will be fine with Youk and Lowell.

by RSNexile on Dec 19, 2008 10:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

agree

no need to pull a Yankee move and outbid your own offer by 20 million to get a guy to come to New York.

by SoxAcumen on Dec 19, 2008 10:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Not saying we should.

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Dec 19, 2008 10:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm saying that it will keep Boras from staying with this plan if no other team bites.

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Dec 19, 2008 10:24 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No

Teixeira and Santana were luxuries for the Red Sox bc of the production coming up from our farm system.

Both would of been nice but there are other fish in the sea.

I agree with the post above, we very well might get Teixeira still but the irony if he signs with the Nats for the most money and pulls an A-Rod.

Personally, I hope he signs with the Nats, gets his money and lives in the NL East basement never to see the post season again. Then everyone can see just how horrible an agent Scott Boras really is….

by SoxAcumen on Dec 19, 2008 10:13 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I would think it would take significantly more money for him to sign with the Nats

Maybe an extra $20 mil over 8 years. And who are we to second guess that? I mean that money could do a lot of good for a lot of people in his family and beyond. I’m sure Tex wants to win, but is he willing to pay $20 mil to win? Hell, I’d probably take the money, especially to go play at home. What if the Sox were in the midst of a bunch of down years? I would still want to play for Boston, especially if they offered more money. We act like taking more money is some kind of sacrilege. It’s not.

by BTLove on Dec 19, 2008 11:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

These are all the same arguments

people made with A-Rod to the Rangers and we all saw how that worked out. IF Teixeira goes to the Nats for the most money and he is happy with losing for 8 years, then fine, but I just do not want to here about him in 3 years which we will.

And Boras will be back to try and orchestrate a deal from Washington to Boston bc his client is unhappy and crying about losing all the time.

IF the Nats are actually paying 8yrs/195 million over the Red Sox’s 175 million, well have fun losing Mark.

If it was me and my choice was 195 million or 175 million and 8 years of experiences that only a few people have in their life time, i’m taking less money. Playing in Fenway, in Oct. for a World Series is a priceless experience. Ask any athlete who has won a championship how much that experience is worth to them.

by SoxAcumen on Dec 20, 2008 12:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No Tex

and if they don’t get a real catcher. (Don’t tell me Vtek is worth it because he isn’t) then this offseason will be a major downer. That doesn’t mean that they can’t have a good season it just means they didn’t do anything exciting this off season.

Baseball is God's sport! All Truth Goes Through Three Stages 1.It is ridiculed 2.It is violently opposed 3.Finally, it is accepted as self-evident. kinesiologist

by E5 on Dec 19, 2008 10:13 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

agree on the catcher

but i think the Sox should play hard ball with the Rangers. Buchholz is worth more than any of their catchers. No need to overspend/trade.

by SoxAcumen on Dec 19, 2008 10:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

TEIXEIRA

is TEIXEIRA worth all the money???

TEIXEIRA is an excellent fielding 1st baseman and as a switch-hitter has above average power and can hit for average as well as run the bases. Plus TEIXEIRA is only 28 – just getting into his prime beisbol years. BUT IS HE WORTH MORE THAN 20+MILLION-DOLLARS FOR 8-10 YEARS? TEXAS where TEIXEIRA played and ATLANTA and for that matter the LA ANGELS – are hitters parks for the most part and are his numbers ‘booted’ from those locations? IS TEIXEIRA WORTH ‘TOP’ ECHELON MONEY? WE SHALL SEE WHERE MARK TEIXEIRA ENDS-UP AND THEN JUDGE HIS ENSUING YEARS OF PERFORMANCE!!! Where is the ‘recession’ in BEISBOL salaries?

by Zyskandar on Dec 19, 2008 10:13 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

That was quite loud.

OverTheMonster.com

by Randy Booth on Dec 19, 2008 10:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Do we get insurance for our eardrums when we sign up for this blog?

Or is that a Yankee-only thing?

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Dec 19, 2008 10:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

In ref. to originating post

Interesting take. Why the league seems to be sitting back and waiting? There are quite a lot of moderate free agents out there who still don’t have a home and no one is doing much wheeling / dealing.

If the Sox spend on other needs now, this puts them in a bit of a quandary when (or if) Tex decides that he’s narrowed down his choice between the Sox and one other team. How much room do the Sox leave themselves to haggle (for Teixera) if they go out and get a catcher and another arm? I don’t know, I’m not in the front office. Maybe someone else can chime in with some $ info.

" When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir? " - John Meynard Keynes

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Dec 19, 2008 10:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Waiting for economic plan of the government to be settled?

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Dec 19, 2008 10:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

heh?

" When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir? " - John Meynard Keynes

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Dec 19, 2008 11:28 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Regardless if Tex goes to the Sox or not

If there is one story to watch this year in baseball, it’s going to be the AL East. Sox, Skanks and Rays. It’s going to make for some great match ups.

" When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir? " - John Meynard Keynes

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Dec 19, 2008 11:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The Rays will suck

Shields throw it like a girl, Kazmir IS a girl, Garza will go batshit and start throwing at the ump, Pena will remember why he sucked in the first place, Longoria will trip over the base and die, CC will quit baseball to pursuit a career as a Vegas dancer and Blowjob Upton will come back to Earth mightly.

Actually, none of this is gonna happen, but one can dream… Oh, and for some reason I had to google “Blowjob” images with safesearch on, and got one of the best pics ever:

So fucking true…

Mother---- him and John Wayne!

by MerryGoByeBye on Dec 21, 2008 5:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Hahaha

Well, I will appreciate for you to keep my zingers out of your mouth!

by BoSox415 on Dec 21, 2008 8:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Creepy.

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Dec 21, 2008 9:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Creepy is not the word here, dude

Mother---- him and John Wayne!

by MerryGoByeBye on Dec 21, 2008 10:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Don't know about Bay...

but, Lester and Paps are both year-to-year guys, IIRC. Youk is due for his soon.

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Dec 20, 2008 11:28 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I can tell you this.

[In $millions]
The Red Sox 25-man roster for 2008 was paid $133.39
We dropped $20 from Manny, $8 from Schill, $9 from Tek, $3 from Kotsay, $3 from Timlin, $2 from Cora, and about $5 from Coco.
We picked up $7.5 from Bay, Beckett and Pedroia each get another $1, and Youk and Pap are in for some raises through arb.
According to some very advanced calculus, that leaves us at about $102 after arbitration without signing any FAs. I think we’re ready to break out the checkbook. Let’s assume we sign Tek for $7, and another bullpen arm for $2 (both likely moves). That puts us at $111, leaving a whole $22 to spare before we even match last year’s payroll. Will we spend that on Tex? Will we in stead invest it in a SP (Smolts? Sheets? Lowe?) and a solid 4th OF? I assume we’re still trying to get a young C, right?

by Schulz on Dec 20, 2008 1:43 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Those numbers seem awful low.

I thought we were closer to $200

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Dec 20, 2008 11:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

yeah……..this isnt done, the sox management is in the process of embarrassing the hell out of scott boras and so far its pretty awesome, unless somebody decides to give them 200M.

by spinz on Dec 20, 2008 1:46 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

help me out

how do you embarrass The Great Satan? Not trying to be sarcastic, just want to try and understand it.

" When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir? " - John Meynard Keynes

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Dec 20, 2008 2:30 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

by causing the media to endlessly speculate that hes lieing about offers from other teams, and that he got his bluff called :P maybe he wont be embarrassed, but it could lead him to lose some businesss.

by spinz on Dec 20, 2008 3:17 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs