Manny, oops I mean, Many Questions Remain

Question of the day:

Why is it considered shrewd negotiating when the owner of the Boston Red Sox publicly fires off e-mails indicating they're no longer a factor in Mark Teixeira bidding? And when a spokesman within the Anaheim Angels organization says basically the same thing, the Angels are officially out of the race. Why is that?

The Red Sox are clearly the media darlings this millennium. They know no wrongs. When they "say" they're out of the Tex race it's seen as a coy strategy for dealing with a snake of an agent in Scott Boras. When they break a gentleman's agreement with the Japanese Nippon league, it's heralded as a new way to get talent. When they spit in the face of history and tradition by making a mad marketing cash grab by adding alternate jerseys, caps, and logos it's viewed as a progressive and unique maneuver.

And now that Anaheim is "out" of the Teixeira race, Boston will no doubt emerge as the desired destination. And if they do sign him, no matter what the cost, it will be considered a BIG get despite the fact that they don't need him. It will also be considered a moral victory when The Little Baseball Club That Could stares the big greedy agent/bully down and gets their man. That only happens course once they find a buyer for a 36 year-old 3B coming off of hip surgery or move the best 1B in baseball, Youk, out of town.

I still think this market is based on need. Anaheim needs Teixeira the most. Therefore they should get him despite the rampant rumors and assumptions that say otherwise.

The big problem is everyone in the media is trying to get the story. And they're missing it big time. The story isn't where Texireira goes. It's all based on who gives him the most money. Boras and Tex expect a certain amount of money to come their way over a set amount of time. No one has approached that amount yet. Why would teams drop out now? Why not get creative with opt outs or lower the deal to 5 years with a greater annual salary? It's called a negotiation for a reason. But the thing is the media only thinks that one team, Boston, is really negotiating.

A lot of this has to do with the notion that Teixeira want to play on the East Coast and reporters are running with this concept as if it's gospel truth and as if C.C. Sabathia and his "West Coast preference" never existed. You can't get a straight story on the numbers either. All teams involved have as little as 150 mill or as much 180 mill on the table. And Washington is out there ready to drop 200 mill in some stories. I don't think anyone's got a clue at this point, me especially, and anything could happen between now and when Mark Teixeira actually signs.

In other news, Holy Shit!!! Manny says we offered him a 3 year deal worth about 75 million dollars. I'd link it, but the paper of question is the Dominican Republic based Impacto Deportivo. I can't speak or read Spanish, so I linked the story that broke on MLB TradeRumors. Impacto Deportivo has a spotty record with breaking news like this so take it all with a grain of salt.

I'm pretty salty about it myself. All I can really say is "No Fucking way"! Damon in CF is a recurring nightmare I still have and Manny would get lost in the vastness that is Yankee Staduim's LF. I'm telling you, any offense we gain is lost defensively. While we win the 14-7 blowout game we still lose the 3-1 pitching battle, even with C.C. and A.J. The best thing for us going forward is a better defense, not a more potent offense.