Tex and the Nats...

[MrMadison]

but the Angels, frustrated by their negotiations to re-sign Mark Teixeira, have now engaged Sabathia's representatives in serious discussions.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/ny-spyanks275943858nov27,0,534759.story

[PatsNats28]

If the Angels get Sabathia, the Yanks will go for Teixiera.

[Nat of the Living Dead]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081201&content_id=3696712&vkey=news_was&fext=.jsp&c_id=was&partnerId=rss_was

After losing 102 games this past season, the Nationals go into the annual Baseball Winter Meetings with one goal in mind: Improve the offense, which finished near the bottom of the Majors in almost every category.

Unlike previous years, the Nationals are willing to spend a lot of money to get what they want. Free-agent first baseman Mark Teixeira is their top target, and the team could spend most of their time from Dec. 8-11 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas trying to convince the switch-hitter to come to the Nation's Capital.

The team is looking for a first baseman because of Nick Johnson's history of injuries and Dmitri Young's health record.

A Scott Boras client, Teixeira is one of the most high-profile free agents this year and the Nationals will have to break the bank to acquire his services. According to one baseball source, Teixeira is looking for a deal that is more than Miguel Cabrera's eight-year, $153.3 million deal that he signed during Spring Training last year.

According to published reports, Teixeira has received offers from various clubs. It's not known if the Nationals are one of those teams that has made an offer. General manager Jim Bowden declined to talk about the club's intentions prior to the Meetings.

So it looks like we are still in this. Whether or not we stay, that is another story.

[Minty Fresh]

the team could spend most of their time from Dec. 8-11 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas trying to convince the switch-hitter to come to the Nation's Capital.

On behalf of the entire board, I am hereby declaring my birthday (12/08) wish to sign Mark Texeira.

You are all welcome.

[blue911]

the team could spend most of their time from Dec. 8-11 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas trying to convince the switch-hitter to come to the Nation's Capital.

I get a bad feeling that Bowden will lose John Lannan at the craps table.

[spidernat]

I get a bad feeling that Bowden will lose John Lannan at the craps table.

Damn! That's going to break some hearts around here. But I'd be fine with that if it got us something significant in return. No player is bigger than the team, IMO, and I would be willing to part with any and all players if it meant we'd have a better shot at winning the pennant. 

[Evolution33]

I get a bad feeling that Bowden will lose John Lannan at the craps table.

Craps might be too smart of a game for Bowden. He will somehow manage to lose Lannan to a slot machine.

[HalfSmokes]

Craps might be too smart of a game for Bowden. He will somehow manage to lose Lannan to a slot machine.

Nah, Bowden will be too busy at 'ranches' to bother with gambling

[blue911]

Nah, Bowden will be too busy at 'ranches' to bother with gambling

 

He'll have a hard time passing that off on the expense report.

[tomterp]

Great article about Tex from SI:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/lee_jenkins/12/03/teixeira.boras/index.html

[The Chief]

As a nerd, this bit amuses me:

"There are more than a billion megabytes of storage here," Boras says.

Either he's never heard of a petabyte, or he just assumes most people wouldn't know what a petabyte is (which in fairness is probably true).  Alternatively he could've said "over a million gigabytes" or "over a thousand terabytes." But I guess those numbers don't sound as impressive.

It's kinda like saying I have a thousand cents in my pocket.

More to the point, yes, very interesting article.  Here's hoping Teixeira is headed for DC.

[MrMadison]

Give the Man his years and Money. please.

[PANatsFan]

As a nerd, this bit amuses me:

Either he's never heard of a petabyte, or he just assumes most people wouldn't know what a petabyte is (which in fairness is probably true).  Alternatively he could've said "over a million gigabytes" or "over a thousand terabytes." But I guess those numbers don't sound as impressive.

It's kinda like saying I have a thousand cents in my pocket.

More to the point, yes, very interesting article.  Here's hoping Teixeira is headed for DC.

some day hell be asking for petabucks for his clients - fool better learn

[saltydad]

It's kinda like saying I have a thousand cents in my pocket.

Man, talk about getting blueballs.!

[UpperDec]

Intersting note in Rosenthal's column today:

Teixeira, meanwhile, continues to be a target of the Nationals, whose owner, Ted Lerner, has spent extensive time with the player's agent, Scott Boras, according to major-league sources.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8896650/CC,-Burnett-in-no-hurry-to-make-decisions

[tomterp]

Intersting note in Rosenthal's column today:

Teixeira, meanwhile, continues to be a target of the Nationals, whose owner, Ted Lerner, has spent extensive time with the player's agent, Scott Boras, according to major-league sources.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8896650/CC,-Burnett-in-no-hurry-to-make-decisions

That's pretty interesting.  I didn't expect to hear that.  Good in a way, because Boras can put the hypnosis on ol' Ted and he'll have that checkbook out and signing a down payment before he realizes what's happening.

[blue911]

That's pretty interesting.  I didn't expect to hear that.  Good in a way, because Boras can put the hypnosis on ol' Ted and he'll have that checkbook out and signing a down payment before he realizes what's happening.

So Scott Boras is really Screaming Jay Hawkins?

[tomterp]

It's said that Boras seems to almost hypnotize the buyer into agreeing with him, a la Tom Hicks in Texas.  Whips out that binder on A-Rod, and the rest is history.

[houston-nat]

It's said that Boras seems to almost hypnotize the buyer into agreeing with him, a la Tom Hicks in Texas.  Whips out that binder on A-Rod, and the rest is history.

Maybe he's just really really boring, and in the half-slumber half-please-go-away that ensues, the owners go, "Alright alright enough already! Tell me where to put my name." just so they can get the hell away from Boras and his binder.

[Bags]

The fact that it's Ted talking to Boras that much, as opposed to Mark, Stan, or Jimbo, could be significant.  Maybe he's offering an ownership share of the team (might as well, lol) or a stake in a future development project once the economy settles down (as someone on the Nats board suggested they do).

I have a good friend who's a certified hypnotist who is a big baseball fan (and a local DJ), he auditioned for the Nats PA Announcer job in '05, and he currently is the 'On-Field Host' (like Clint) for the Southern MD Blue Crabs games.  The Lerners could use him to turn the tables on Boras and have him convince Boras/Tex that they should sign with the Nats.   

[PANatsFan]

The fact that it's Ted talking to Boras that much, as opposed to Mark, Stan, or Jimbo, could be significant.  Maybe he's offering an ownership share of the team (might as well, lol) or a stake in a future development project once the economy settles down (as someone on the Nats board suggested they do).

I have a good friend who's a certified hypnotist who is a big baseball fan (and a local DJ), he auditioned for the Nats PA Announcer job in '05, and he currently is the 'On-Field Host' (like Clint) for the Southern MD Blue Crabs games.  The Lerners could use him to turn the tables on Boras and have him convince Boras/Tex that they should sign with the Nats.  

Does he hypnotize his radio audience

[Bags]

Yep, they can't change the station...  No, actually he's a former nightclub DJ and now works events, weddings, etc. and has run his own DJ school.  He also is, or has been until recently, the PA guy for Bud's Creek/MIR (Maryland International Raceway).

[MrMadison]

looks like Boras is trying to get the Yankees to jump in the Tex sweepstakes to drive the price up.

By Tim Dierkes [December 5 at 10:48am CST]

According to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times, Yankees GM Brian Cashman was in Washington yesterday to meet with free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira.  The meeting came at Scott Boras' request, and Boras was present.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/12/cashman-met-wit.html#comments

not trying to stir up any insane and absurd feelings of hope(cause who wants that? negativity is so much more realistic), but I think the fact that they were in Washington for this meeting is somewhat interesting.

[tomterp]

looks like Boras is trying to get the Yankees to jump in the Tex sweepstakes to drive the price up.
 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/12/cashman-met-wit.html#comments

not trying to stir up any insane and absurd feelings of hope(cause who wants that? negativity is so much more realistic), but I think the fact that they were in Washington for this meeting is somewhat interesting.

Boras was meeting with Lerner, and Teixeira was visiting his family.  I haven't seen thus far where Tex met with the Nats directly, but it may well have happened.

[MrMadison]

Boras was meeting with Lerner, and Teixeira was visiting his family.  I haven't seen thus far where Tex met with the Nats directly, but it may well have happened.

perhaps Lerner said something that Boras didn't like, so he called the Yankees as a hardball tactic? *shrug*

sort of like "look man, we can always go to the Yankees, they'll pay what we want".