19 December 2008

Well That's Certainly Unexpected....Or is It?

The news of the day has to be this interesting piece out of Boston. In it, Boston Red Sox owner John Henry has basically come out and said there will not be a switch-hitting gold glove caliber 1st baseman under the team tree this year. This will probably be the most referenced quote of the day so get used to reading it:

“We met with Mr. Teixeira and were very much impressed with him. After hearing about his other offers, however, it seems clear that we are not going to be a factor.”

I'm assuming there just might be some truth to the Nationals rumors and the money must be in the $200 million dollar range. Or as the article suggests, publically announcing the fact that you're not in on the bidding is just a part of the negotiating process.

Yeah, right...

There will defiantly be a LOT of angry Red Sox fans on the internet this weekend. And there probably should be. The biggest deal they've worked out this offseason has been the Theo extension.

Sure, they got some crap arm from what basically amounts to a company softball team in Japan, in the process pissing off all the major Japanese teams -- and then they gave up their best defensive outfielder for a, at best, serviceable option out of the pen in the 6th or 7th inning. Now this. The guy they've been fawning over and drooling on since October has little interest in playing for what they're offering. Ouch!

This is also the same day they're all coming across this picture on the internet too. I wonder what's so funny?



To be honest, I feel for the Red Sox fan today. Maybe I'm just in the Christmas Spirit, but the Red Sox really didn't need Tex in the first place, so their fans can't be that upset. To me, Youkilis is THE GUY to have at 1st. I hate him, yet I respect the shit out of his ability. And to get Teixeira they'd have to move Mike Lowell (probably one of the better clubhouse guys and leaders in the game) or move Youk to LF. What they have is good enough already. And I don't really know how much better another #3 hitter makes that team.

Expect the hard push for Adam Dunn in the coming days/weeks. He fits that team perfectly and is the prototypical big, fat, slow, cumbersome, white guy who smacks singles off da' Monsta' and clogs the basepaths they've coveted for years. He can play left and first in a pinch though and is enough of a role player to fit that clubhouse and put up his numbers.

The Red Sox have,under the Theo regime at least, an organizational philosophy that they stick to in situations like this. They are ever-hesitant to lock someone up long term and rarely budge from the value that they give a player. Look at the Johnny Damon situation in 2005 for clues. This team isn't going to change its approach for any single player. I do admire them for that. And you should too, especially when we sign Pettite for $12-13 mill.

Take heart Sox fans. There's always Manny....

3 comments:

R.J. said...

I wouldn't celebrate just yet. John Henry is capable of doing a little dance to get what he wants too. If Tex wants to be on the East Coast and wants to win, who says he won't go back to Boston and say he'll play there for less than what the Angels or Nats have offered? If Beltran can do it, Tex can too.

Anonymous said...

I don't know. There doesn't seem too many more dance steps to take.

The most telling thing you said was the word "if". What motivates Teixiera anyway? We know what motivates Scott Boras, and what motivates the majority of his agents by proxy. But what motivates Mark Teixiera?

Does he want to win? Boston would be a good place to start, but wouldn't Anaheim probably give him the best opportunity to win? Especially if they offer the most money?

In that situation, I think Tex wants the East Coast like C.C. wanted the West Coast.

R.J. said...

Of course it's all just a big "if" right now. We really don't know, but I guess the point to my post was don't count the Red Sox out yet.