Teixeira Set to Sign?
Is today the day we’ve all been dreading waiting for? Could be.
According to multiple reports, free agent savior slugger Mark Teixeira is set to announce where he’ll be playing for the next 8-10 years. And here’s a hint: it’s probably not Camden Yards. And if you believe the press (which I don’t), it could very well be Fenway. Or, you know, somewhere else.
Assuming this is true, I’m going to go ahead and get out in front of it: this is not a big deal. It sucks, and it kind of hurts, and it’s definitely frustrating. But for the Orioles to not spend close to $200 million on a single player is really OK. They have more pressing needs than “power hitting first baseman”, and I can’t be convinced that any of us would care too much if ‘Ol Tex didn’t hail from the same town where I went to high school (I sort of knew his sister back then).
Nothing about The Plan is altered by Tex not coming here. Nothing is changed regarding the long-term health of the franchise. Nothing is changed regarding our chance to be competitive sometime within the next 1-3 years.
My feelings are as hurt as anyone’s, but now is very much the time to step back and be dispassionate. Difficult though that may be.
While I agree with your assessment that Tex not signing here will not alter the “plan,” I nonetheless feel that failing to sign him is a huge setback, even if only from a psychological perspective.
This franchise needed to make a huge splash, and signing Tex was the perfect opportunity. I made business sense, and it made sense on the field.
Yes, the team can move on and continue of its laborious path toward respectability and then greatness, but. . .every time Tex does something splendid for the BoSox, we’re all going to be reminded of what might have been.
Tex, you shoulda been here. . .
I completely agree, Rick, with the psychological angle of it. And I don’t mean to discount the fact that perceptions matter. That’s why I’m pleading for dispassion, because things still look pretty damn good if we stick to on-field/organizational issues. “Pretty damn good” being, of course, a relative statement.
I’ll be perfectly happy if he somehow still ends up here, but it’s time I think to focus on overall improvement instead of the addition of one very-very-good-but-not-elite player.
Are you guys enjoying the double Mark Teixeira IQ ads over to the right?
I wonder if his IQ really is 125. Higher? Lower? What do you think?
I disagree. I think the Orioles, if he ends up elsewhere as is widely expected, really blew a big chance to make hay here. I think that if they, as reported, only made a seemingly token gesture that they wanted Tex it looks bad on Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis extensions. And then it looks bad on the eventual Matt Wieters and Adam Jones extensions. And so on.
It’s another case of a primetime free agent going elsewhere, except this one probably would’ve liked to come to Baltimore for a change. How could we convince anybody else except middling veterans to be an Oriole if they can’t even convince Mark Teixeira to play for his favorite team?
And if you think first base isn’t a hole for us, I’d like you to meet 39 year old Kevin Millar. He’s the guy wearing a Boston Red Sox santa hat in the corner. He sucks at baseball nowadays, but he really, honestly wants to be the Orioles everyday first baseman again.
Now, I don’t doubt that the plan rolls on, and that Teixeira represented probably a 6 or 7 game win margin over Kevbo, hardly enough to make a difference. I hope that in a couple years our rotation looks deadly (in the good way) and we’re competitive once again on the arms of our big three. And I’ll still watch the Orioles and root for them, because I love baseball and I’m not a quitter. But in 2009, I can’t honestly think of any other reason to watch the Orioles.
Disheartening isn’t the right word.
I have to disagree with you overall Neal, although I do understand your point, of course. In terms of fan perception, this is a HUGE deal. Just sit back and watch the backlash. It means a ton to a lot of people. I didn’t think this club could do any worse with its general fan base (outside of us hard-cores on here), but here we go…
I don’t think you’re necessarily wrong, Andrew, and I’ll admit that I might be spinning this one a bit. But I really believe that if we take emotion out of this equation, losing out on Teixeira is not that big of a deal. Realistically I know it’s impossible to take emotion out of anything, but what’s the alternative here?
Oh, hey, and I stick to my original point. I’ll be angry and hurt by this only if:
1) We don’t sign Teixeira
and
2a) We get no explanation from MacPhail as to why
or
2b) We get a poor explanation from MacPhail as to why
I certainly understand the idea that this wouldn’t be the best use of our money (I disagree with it, of course…but I understand and appreciate the argument), and I can live with it. What I can’t live with is being treated as a fanbase as if we need no real explanation why the guy we’ve all been clamoring and hoping against hope for didn’t even get a real opportunity to sign here (if that’s the case).
@sci: there’s that, yeah.
I’m just trying here. Trying to keep this one in perspective.
@AooR: completely agree about the explanation.
@Neal:
“Rationalization is the process of constructing a logical justification for a belief, decision, action or lack thereof that was originally arrived at through a different mental process. It is a defense mechanism in which unacceptable behaviors or feelings are explained in a rational or logical manner; this avoids the true explanation of the behavior or feeling in question.”
Of course I’m rationalizing. Nice detective work.
The thing is, we have only what’s in front of us. The reality of not signing Teixeira combined with a desire/willingness to remain a fan of the team. And also the fact that it’s sports and I’m not going to let sports ruin my holiday.
Also, go back and read my original post where I openly admit that it “sucks”, “hurts”, and is “frustrating”.
I enjoyed baseball (and sports in general) a lot more when I wasn’t following every single move, reading every article (rumor site, blog, etc), analyzing TV revenue, FO competence, marketing, team payroll. Stupid offseason crap.
Damned internet.
There’s something to be said about less information and just enjoying the game.
“Hey dear, I just read in the paper the O’s signed Mark Texiera! Awesome! What a surprise! Can’t wait till April!”
OR
“Says here the O’s didn’t sign this Mark Texiera kid. Would have been nice. I heard he was good. Still, can’t wait till April!”
I guess ignorance IS bliss.
Happy Holidays. And lets not forget why we love what Bill Simmons calls the toy store of life – the cheerleaders.
“It sucks, and it kind of hurts, and it’s definitely frustrating. But for the Orioles to not spend close to $200 million on a single player is really OK.”
Does it suck or is it OK?
pick one.
It’s also worth pointing out that most (if not all) of today’s speculation stems from that one Washington Times report. If you scan the Google News stories, pretty much everything cites that report as the source of the “imminent decision” rumor. We’ve already seen several times how wrong such reports have been in the past, so I won’t be surprised if this thing continues to drag on past christmas.
“Does it suck or is it OK? pick one.”
Getting broken up with sucks, but it will be okay. Losing your job sucks but it will be okay. Scraping your knees on the pavement sucks but it will be okay. Backing your car into a phone pole sucks but it will be okay. Losing out on Mark Teixeira sucks but it will be okay.
Had enough yet?
So when is it NOT gonna be OK?
…when Tex is a mother-fucking yankee
Well.
I am literally shaking with anger…not nessecarily at anyone except God, who is allowing Mark Teixeira to be a Yankee. I feel utterly hopeless. I honestly don’t know what to do right now except drink heavily.
I’ll be back when I regain consciousness, probably sometime in 2 weeks or so. This will be an epic Christmas bender.
I was prepared for the worst, and I wasn’t going to let Mark Teixeira ruin my Christmas (and my birthday, which is in fact the day after tomorrow)…but he did.
The mother-fucking Yankees…
So when is it NOT gonna be OK?
when the orioles dry up and fall off the al east like an autumn leaf it’ll be sorta not ok
Just like the yankees to swoop in almost out of nowhere. Hopefully that 8 year commitment with the supposed no-trade clause ends up biting them in the ass a few years down the line. At least its not the pink hats, but you had to figure it’d be one of the two bandwagon teams.
I agree with the viewpoint that many people have expressed, which is that this isn’t that big of a deal in terms of smart rebuilding.
We all REALLY need to get together sometime and hit the sauce somewhere.
Ouch.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3790141
Unbelievable. But not really. Baseball is a farce. Tex is a mercenary, just like everyone else. Fuck this…
Andrew, wanna watch some bowling?
The Yankees have the FOUR highest paid players in baseball. If that doesn’t tell you all you need to know about the utter absurdity of this sport, I don’t know what would…
wake up people
Big Ben, you’ve been right all along. Who can support a sport like this? I am awake.
and as much as i love football NO sport meant as much to me as baseball did
If this doesn’t say put a Cap in place, I don’t know what does. Yes, the Rays went to the series last year blah blah blah, but this is as bad as believing that a manufacturing economy will save the state of American finance for the next century.
Eff that ess.
All I can do is laugh. I mean, the fucking Yankees swoop in at the last minute? You couldn’t script it any better (worse). It is a farce.
Eff Teixeira for real, though. Everyone talked about him going “home”. Well, he did go home. No better place for him than exactly where he’s at.
I can honestly say I feel more relieved than anything else. It’s a complete clusterfuck, but thank god it’s finally over.
Go get some pitching Andy.
Time is no longer on your side.
Do something.
I’m with Neal for the most part. I feel the pain, but AooR, my man… don’t let this ruin your Christmas, brother. It’s a sport. I’m looking forward to getting away from the message boards, the rumors, the Hot Stove for a little while and spending some time with my family and my girlfriend.
I’m keeping the faith in MacPhail. A lot of people won’t, and I’m not going to go blue in the face trying to argue against it. Maybe they should have offered the bank for him. Maybe Angelos held Andy back. Maybe vice versa. But whatever the case… like Neal said, I’m glad it’s over. Let’s move on.
Let’s get some pitching, let’s maintain interest in the young pitchers. Let’s look forward to Matt Wieters. For God’s sake, let’s sign Nick Markakis. That’s the one area that worries me. I feel like he wanted to wait and see if we landed Tex before signing an extension. If it’s the one thing that stops him from going long-term with the O’s, then yes, it’s fair to jump on Andy MacPhail over this one. But he seemed interested in signing an extension before Tex was a topic, so let’s hope he still has interest. If not, then God help us, because if we can’t keep our home-grown players, we’ve got nothing.
To answer the question and the critics (Chris, BBM, etc): like DtM said, not keeping our core emerging talent is the point at which it becomes too much and not OK.
Not signing Teixeira to a bloated deal? Eh. Failing to keep at least most of the young stars (Markakis, Jones, the pitchers, etc)? That would be a problem for me.
You do have to laugh. Beyond ridiculous, and very appropriate for a Boras negotiation. I’m not really that mad at the O’s here (just a little mad), although I still do think they lead the fans on every time. Why even pretend like you’re going to sign these guys? They will really pay for it here with attendance next year. It will be ugly.
The system is absurd. One thing this proves beyond a doubt is that you have to tie up your young stars early or you’re screwed. They WILL become Yankees or Red Sox if you don’t lock them up early. It’s just a fact. So, as we’re all saying, lock down Markakis ASAP or you’ll regret it.
I’ll tell you what’s going to be funny…
Tex in a pope-mobile when he shows up to Camden Yards in April for Opening Day in the wrong uniform.
I was honestly in a fit of blind anger for a good couple seconds after seeing “Texiera”, “Yankees”, and “agree” in the same sentence, but I’m just glad this whole drama is over.
The Yankees overpaid for a second 1st baseman and have a ridiculously huge payroll in a time when everyone (even the most spendthrift and debt-ridden) is cutting back and looking for ways to stop hemorrhaging income by cutting out luxury goods.
It may not happen for another 3 years, because the bottom of the deflationary period may not come for another year or 2, but following the trough there will be Zimbabwe-esque hyperinflation and all sport leagues (MLB, NHL, NBA, NFL…it’s already killed Arena Football) will be forced to contract in size & salary. I myself can’t wait until the NHL lops off the gangrenous limbs that are the Sunbelt teams.
Don’t mean to detract from sports into economics/politics, but I guess I just wanted to say that we really shouldn’t feel so bad about the Os being cautious about their balance sheet during the popping of the Easy Credit Bubble and the subsequent realignment with reality.
Dan, baseball is everything to me. It’s stupid but true. I’d give anything to be able to play it for just a day.
If you’re Nick Markakis, why would you sign an extension? You don’t know when the Orioles will be any good, let alone able to compete in this broken system. So why sign an extension when you can wait 3 years, get more from the Yankees or Red Sox and know for sure you can compete? He ain’t from here, what does he care? Heck, being from here doesn’t really mean anything I guess.
This is the system’s fault. It is broken.
Baseball is a cruel sport, there’s no doubt about it. Well, baseball itself isn’t cruel.. like AooR said, it’s the system that’s cruel.
This offseason just became all about Nick Markakis real effin’ quick. It’s sign or die for the O’s right now. Also, there’s no way Roberts is going to stick around. And if Roberts is gone and Tex isn’t here, Markakis is suddenly feeling real lonely. He’ll want out real fast. He’s got a kid on the way (already) and he knows he can make legit money to secure his family.
When do I get my refund for the last 18 months I’ve paid for MASN though my Comcast bill?
F*cking charlatans.
Wasn’t it just a couple of weeks ago, Drew, that you were publicly claiming the ball was in Teixeira’s court and that he was a rat fink if he didn’t sign here?
In fact, I basically agree with everything you said in this post.
Take of your Radio Guy hat for a minute — the one that alters your brain chemistry and forces you to stoke the fires for more hits/listeners.
Now: do you really believe he was ever serious about considering playing in Baltimore?
Also: new main page post is up on this issue, where we can continue the conversation.
Also: I’ll give you $36 out of my own pocket to compensate for that MASN bill if that’s really what this is all about. It’d be a small investment if it forced you to strengthen the depth of your analysis.
Yes, I wrote that and said that about Teixeira coming here.
That’s when the Orioles were EVIDENTLY going to actually try to sign him instead of making him an $18 million offer and then feigning interest from that point forward.
And Teixeira DID employ the scummiest guy on the planet to represent him and there’s no doubt his character has to be questioned because of that.
But there’s no way you can fault him at this point – the Orioles didn’t really want him. They made that very obvious with their offer and their participation thereafter.
As for the $36, it’s merely symbolic. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US should be refunded all the money we’ve paid out since MacPhail took over…he hasn’t spent any of it.
The depth of my analysis is this:
Simply…we have been lied to enough. Enough is enough.
No further analysis necessary.