Tex and the Nats...

[natsfan4evr]

Wait, did he call us losers?

[blue911]

Wait, did he call us losers?

The Yahoo piece was written by Gordon Edes (Who?) a hack for the Boston Globe and Yahoo.

[UMDNats]

Not to get back on the topic of "ESPN hates the Nats", but if there is anyone who is more misinformed, unresearched, and just copies opinions from all the other major media sources, it's the jokers are Yahoo.

Yea, Yahoo just posts rumors and stories from other media outlets

[MrMadison]

However, Washington has put secondary plans into motion. If they fail to land Teixeira, the Nationals will ramp up efforts to land Adam Dunn and Orlando Hudson.

this from Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

[MrMadison]

Not to get back on the topic of "ESPN hates the Nats", but if there is anyone who is more misinformed, unresearched, and just copies opinions from all the other major media sources, it's the jokers are Yahoo.

Yahoo as a whole, not just in sports, sucks.

so glad I found GMail, no more using their shoddy web mail and instant messenger.

only thing I use Yahoo for is to look at stats.  and that's only because I'm too lazy to decide on another place to go for that.

[blue911]

Yahoo as a whole, not just in sports, sucks.

so glad I found GMail, no more using their shoddy web mail and instant messenger.

only thing I use Yahoo for is to look at stats.  and that's only because I'm too lazy to decide on another place to go for that.

I think BB-R has the best stats, especially the splits and game log features.

www.baseball-reference.com

[HalfSmokes]

Still better than ESPN reporting on every thing after its broken but still claiming to have the best reporters in any given sport.

[2k6nats]

Isn't there some rule that if a free agent is offered some x amount of money more from Team A than from Team B, he must sign with Team A?  I remember someone saying something like this about the Francisco Cordero signing by the Reds over the Brewers last year.

[MrMadison]

Isn't there some rule that if a free agent is offered some x amount of money more from Team A than from Team B, he must sign with Team A?  I remember someone saying something like this about the Francisco Cordero signing by the Reds over the Brewers last year.

no. that's just pressure from the MLBPA.  CC got the pressure to take the Yankees offer as well.  cause the MLBPA only really cares about getting the players the biggest contracts possible. nothing else that a player could possibly consider(winning, location, etc.) really matters to them.  they want all the players to simply take the most money, no matter where it comes from.

[HalfSmokes]

Isn't there some rule that if a free agent is offered some x amount of money more from Team A than from Team B, he must sign with Team A?  I remember someone saying something like this about the Francisco Cordero signing by the Reds over the Brewers last year.

No, but the Union pressures them to bump up salaries for Arbitration guys and to help set a higher market- essentially peer pressure is the only rule.

[Minty Fresh]

no. that's just pressure from the MLBPA.  CC got the pressure to take the Yankees offer as well.  cause the MLBPA only really cares about getting the players the biggest contracts possible. nothing else that a player could possibly consider(winning, location, etc.) really matters to them.  they want all the players to simply take the most money, no matter where it comes from.

It's gonna take a special player like Mark Teixeira who is willing to say, "I don't care that __________ offered more money, I want to play in ___________ and as my representative union, you're supposed to have my best interests in mind.  Go freak yourself."

[HalfSmokes]

It's gonna take a special player like Mark Teixeira who is willing to say, "I don't care that __________ offered more money, I want to play in ___________ and as my representative union, you're supposed to have my best interests in mind.  Go freak yourself."

He benefited from players taking the most cash when he went trhrough arbitration, and he's benefiting now that he's looking to make 9 figures; the only kind of player I could see taking signifigantly less money without being a hypocrite would be a guy like longoria who never went through arbitration.

[blue911]

It's gonna take a special player like Mark Teixeira who is willing to say, "I don't care that __________ offered more money, I want to play in ___________ and as my representative union, you're supposed to have my best interests in mind.  Go freak yourself."

We need to get Lewis Black involved in the process.

[NatsAddict]

Angels or Red Sox for Mark Teixeira?
It’s a choice of two
Sean McAdam By Sean McAdam / Red Sox Beat
Friday, December 12, 2008 - Updated 10h ago

LAS VEGAS - For now, the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles have their proposals on the table and can offer free agent target Mark Teixeira the opportunity to play close to home and, likely, for more money than any player in baseball history not named Alex Rodriguez.

But eventually, it’s believed [EDIT: By who?  The author?], the Nationals and Orioles, having been used to spur greater financial commitments from other teams, will drop out of contention and Teixeira will be faced with a more narrow decision - choosing between the Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the team with which he finished the 2008 season.

It seems probable that the two teams will offer strikingly similar packages, though agent Scott Boras may attempt to get a concession from one (opt-out clause? one more guaranteed year?) to gain a bit of leverage in the negotiations.

“I think both [EDIT: which teams did the "baseball official" include in "both"?] teams already have a good idea of what it’s going to take to get this done,” said a baseball official yesterday as the annual winter meetings wound down at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino. “There aren’t going to be any surprises.”

That said, Teixeira will eventually - perhaps as soon as this weekend - be faced with a choice: Where does he want to spend most of the remainder of his major league career, Boston or Anaheim?

Each club has its benefits - and relative demerits - which will factor into the process.

Anaheim provides Teixeira with familiarity, since he spent the final two months of the regular season there, having been dealt to the Angels by the Atlanta Braves the week of the trading deadline.

That gave Teixeira time to get comfortable with the facility, teammates, organization and manager Mike Scioscia. If he returns, there will be no orientation period necessary and few adjustments necessary. This is a significant edge for the Angels, since Teixeira already knows what to expect and routine is critical to most players.

Southern California also affords Teixeira a superior lifestyle choice. After being traded to Anaheim, he rented a house in Laguna Beach, with its short commute to the ballpark, and reportedly enjoyed the experience, though Angels sources worry that the first baseman’s wife, Georgia, prefers to live on the East Coast.

Then there’s the laid-back approach to playing on the West Coast. While the Angels are well supported, annually drawing more than 3 million fans to Angel Stadium, the atmosphere is more relaxed and criticism of players is rare.

The Red Sox, of course, offer some selling points of their own, not the least of which is geographic proximity to the couple’s families. As a member of the Red Sox, Teixeira will play three series in his hometown of Baltimore and his family will be a short plane ride away. His wife, a native of Atlanta, would also be closer to her hometown. [EDIT: So in DC, he'd be even closer to his home than he would be from Boston, and would visit Atlanta for at least 3 series per year - DC > Boston in this argument.]

While the Angels offense is prolific, it can’t match the lineup the Red Sox could boast with Teixeira as part of it. Think of the damage a batting order that features Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz , Teixeira and Jason Bay could do. Moreover, while Angel Stadium is a offensive-neutral ballpark, Fenway would be a better fit for the switch-hitting Teixeira, despite the spacious right field dimensions.

Finally, there’s the intensity that Fenway can offer. A mid-May game against Kansas City carries with it almost a playoff-like atmosphere. If Teixeira is as competitive and driven as those who know him suggest, this could be a huge selling point. After six seasons in the majors, in three cities across both leagues, Teixeira has appeared in just four playoff games and yearns to experience winning.

Both the Angels and Red Sox expect nothing less than a spot in the postseason every fall. But of the two, only the Red Sox can offer October energy on a nightly basis.

Decisions, decisions.

Boston Herald

[hammondsnats]

yeah i was gonna post that mcadam story but i didn't want to waste time and give him free pub.  more red sox self loving = makes me sick.

[MrMadison]

Jerry Crasnick:

The Nats envision Mark Teixeira as a milk-drinking, run-producing franchise cornerstone for years to come, and they've expressed their interest with a reported $160 million offer. The flurry of Manny Ramirez speculation in Las Vegas was fun. But with Elijah Dukes, Lastings Milledge, Josh Willingham and Austin Kearns in the fold, do the Nationals really need another right-handed-hitting outfielder?

[houston-nat]

The problem is that it's a message board, and these guys could be complete and total liars.

They can't be. They have to get their "sources" vetted by the moderators. I know because yesterday I registered and pretended to be a new source with some secret hot-shot stuff, but everyone told me to talk to the admins before they'd buy it.

[PANatsFan]

They can't be. They have to get their "sources" vetted by the moderators. I know because yesterday I registered and pretended to be a new source with some secret hot-shot stuff, but everyone told me to talk to the admins before they'd buy it.

But then you put your trust in the moderators - look at Chief Bacsik

[houston-nat]

Boston Herald

He sounds like he has no insider knowledge at all but was asked to write an analysis. I've done that before for classes. Fairly transparent BS job though; even I know that there are better phrases than "it's believed" to imply that you know something important.

[houston-nat]

But then you put your trust in the moderators - look at Chief Bacsik

Hey, the first two times I registered here Chief thought I was a spambot and deleted me. That's why I missed the first couple weeks of the season

[blue911]

Hey, the first two times I registered here Chief thought I was a spambot and deleted me. That's why I missed the first couple weeks of the season

Chief isn't too bright. We put up with him cause he's cute.

[hammondsnats]

Gammons Alert!

On Mike and Mike he said he thought the Nats would be good suitors for Manny Ramirez, but they are very zoned in on landing Teixeira (with Dunn being backup plan).

[UMDNats]

Gammons Alert!

On Mike and Mike he said he thought the Nats would be good suitors for Manny Ramirez, but they are very zoned in on landing Teixeira (with Dunn being backup plan).

Seriously, as much as I love Gammons, Manny would make NO sense. He's not a team-first guy, which is the LAST thing you need on a rebuilding team. Plus, he's an OUTFIELDER, and we have Kearns, Dukes, Milledge, Willingham...why would we take PT away from the future for 2 years of douchebaggery by Manny? He'd probably act like he owns the team.

[HalfSmokes]

The only reason that Tex makes sense is his age, he'll still be in is prime when our young guys start to enter theirs. Manny is just too old to fit.

[hammondsnats]

Seriously, as much as I love Gammons, Manny would make NO sense. He's not a team-first guy, which is the LAST thing you need on a rebuilding team. Plus, he's an OUTFIELDER, and we have Kearns, Dukes, Milledge, Willingham...why would we take PT away from the future for 2 years of douchebaggery by Manny? He'd probably act like he owns the team.

Well he thought we'd go after him, but that was before the Nats became legit contenders in the Teix sweepstakes.  So it sounded like that was what Gammons thought before the winter meetings. He thinks Manny really isn't a good fit anywhere, except for probably the Dodgers.