Tex and the Nats...

[HalfSmokes]

You need XM - Christmas perhaps? 

I don't drive enough to justify it - I commute via foot and metro

[tomterp]

I don't drive enough to justify it - I commute via foot and metro

My unit is transferable to my house, where I have a docking station all setup for it.  Car, house, boom box, anywhere.

[sportsfan882]

Still no news?

This crap needs to end already. So sick of it.

[eagleskins]

Yeah
Berkman, Morneau, Howard, Miggy, Fielder, Delgado, Lee, Adrian Gonzalez

Those are my top 10. Probably in that order, or close to that order

Morneau is the best.  I would put Tex about 4th. 

[We Won?]

this was posted an hour ago. I'm assuming no one's up.

In baseball circles, Henry's e-mail to the media Thursday night - "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" - was taken not as a definitive statement, but as a gambit to offset agent Scott Boras's negotiating strategy.

Sources believed the "other offers" might not exist, contrived by Boras to hike the Red Sox offer. The Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals did not increase their offers to Teixeira as of Thursday night, sources said. Los Angeles Angels general manager Tony Reagins indicated to the Los Angeles Times that the team had not increased its original offer, reported by various outlets to be for eight years and $160 million.

The Yankees seemingly would be the most likely team to surpass Boston's offer, but when asked Thursday night where the new offer was coming from, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told the New York Post, "Not us."

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2008/12/20/are_teixeira_negotiations_numbered/

[DCFan]

Looks like we have the highest offer on the table.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/angels/la-sp-angels20-2008dec20,0,7666664.story

The general feeling around baseball Friday was that Henry's statement was a negotiating ploy, that the Red Sox are still very much interested in signing Teixeira and are essentially calling Boras' bluff.

If Teixeira has a better offer, it is likely from the 102-loss Washington Nationals, who were reportedly told by Boras that their offer would have to outdistance the others -- probably by a significant amount -- if they expect Teixeira to sign with them.

The Red Sox, who have a history of contentious negotiations with Boras -- see Daisuke Matsuzaka (2006), Johnny Damon (2005), Alex Rodriguez (2003) -- don't believe Teixeira wants to sign with the Nationals, and they're not about to raise their offer to compete with them.

Reagins has confirmed that the Angels made an eight-year offer to Teixeira. Though financial terms were not disclosed, it is believed to be worth at least $160 million.

The Nationals' last reported offer to Teixeira was for eight years, $160 million, and the Baltimore Orioles have reportedly made a seven-year offer, which is believed to be worth $150 million.

[natsfan4evr]

Can he just sign with the Red Sox already?
I want to move on to Dunn and Hudson

[daggerrrrrr]

Okay I've been holding my tongue long enough, now i'm starting to get sick of this sh*t. This one guy is taking his sweet time making a decision on where to go(it's not rocket science Mark) while putting the market on hold and keeping us from taking care of other needs. I really feel like this guy is using us, because lets face it this guy cares too much about his image to ever go to the O's or Nats and that's the truth. I say we drop out now and take that money and go get Dunn,Hudson, and Sheets or Penny, it will be better value for our buck. And like Forrest Gump would say, "That's all I have to say about that".

[hisownfool]

Okay I've been holding my tongue long enough, now i'm starting to get sick of this sh*t. This one guy is taking his sweet time making a decision on where to go(it's not rocket science Mark) while putting the market on hold and keeping us from taking care of other needs. I really feel like this guy is using us, because lets face it this guy cares too much about his image to ever go to the O's or Nats and that's the truth. I say we drop out now and take that money and go get Dunn,Hudson, and Sheets or Penny, it will be better value for our buck. And like Forrest Gump would say, "That's all I have to say about that".

Hear. Hear. My concern isn't losing out on Teixeira -- it's that the delay possibly costs us a shot at other player, especially Dunn, who can help us. If we come out of this free agency period without some quality players, I will be really p*ssed!

On that note: I hope that the team is prepared to overpay a bit for the likes of Dunn and/or Hudson if Teixeira, as probably will be the case, goes elsewhere. They must come out of the FA market being able to say that they have improved the team with a straight face.

[shoeshineboy]

Okay I've been holding my tongue long enough, now i'm starting to get sick of this sh*t. This one guy is taking his sweet time making a decision on where to go(it's not rocket science Mark) while putting the market on hold and keeping us from taking care of other needs. I really feel like this guy is using us, because lets face it this guy cares too much about his image to ever go to the O's or Nats and that's the truth. I say we drop out now and take that money and go get Dunn,Hudson, and Sheets or Penny, it will be better value for our buck. And like Forrest Gump would say, "That's all I have to say about that".

First, this stuff is all the agents not the players. Players pretty much do what the agents want them to do. Second, it was Teixiera who said he would like to have a deal done by Christmas, but it is not a requirement. An agent can push for more money all he wants. It is a market thing. At some point, the bids don't go higher, or they go lower, because teams give up. It is risk reward. Thirdly, this should not prevent teams from continuing negotiations with others. Shame on the Nats if they haven't brokered deals with other players. At some point, that actually helps this negotiation, because if you had Dunn and Hudson already lined up, you could give an ultimatum. The point about coming out of FA with quality players is dead on. It would be incredible incompetence for the Nats to not get quality for their money in this buyers' market, especially if they were to use one agent's negotiation tactics as an excuse.

It could be said that this deal is holding up other deals in general, because agents are looking to compare dollars, but I would tend to disagree. CC already signed as have others. The value of certain players is known, the economy is known, and Teixiera is in a class of his own this offseason, so that shouldn't matter. But hypothetically, if the Nats really knew that they had other players of quality ready to sign but wanted to see what Tex was going to get, all the more reason to give the ultimatum to Boras. He either inks for the higher offer, or you get the resolution that lowers the prices overall.

[natsdad]

Deal doesn't need to get done until Feb.
History says Boras likes to extend negotiations to the bitter end because he gets the highest dollar for his player.
So sit back and enjoy.

[MrMadison]

so basically it looks like we are definitely getting played.

no matter what we offer, Boras is going to take it back to the Red Sox and try to get them to match or raise their offer.

Tex has no intention of coming here, Boston is the destination. the only hold up is dollar signs.

let's move on and get Dunn now.  we've made our statement, and there is no point in hanging around in this, only to boost the Red Sox price, if Tex has no intention of giving this team a real chance.

[sportsfan882]

so basically it looks like we are definitely getting played.

no matter what we offer, Boras is going to take it back to the Red Sox and try to get them to match or raise their offer.

Tex has no intention of coming here, Boston is the destination. the only hold up is dollar signs.

let's move on and get Dunn now.  we've made our statement, and there is no point in hanging around in this, only to boost the Red Sox price, if Tex has no intention of giving this team a real chance.

We never had a chance in Tex's mind. Our offers were damn real but they were never intended to be accepted by Boras and Tex.

[MrMadison]

my thought is to make a final offer. 8/200m with a hard deadline.  and then call Adam Dunn, and let Boras know that we've done so.

and then walk away. if he decides to walk with us, then good. if not, we move to Dunn.

[cmdterps44]

We never had a chance in Tex's Boras' mind. Our offers were damn real but they were never intended to be accepted by Boras and Tex.

fixed. Its all Boras right now. Sure Tex is the player, but Boras is holding him from signing and keeps asking (practically begging) for the Sox or Angels to increase there offer. Hes beginning to look like a begging piece of crap.

Tex wanted this done by Christmas

[Obed_Marsh]

Cart meet horse. The real story will come out after he signs someplace. Given the reliability of public information during negotiations any of the suggestions here could be in the works right now.

[DCFan]

There's always the chance that the Sox have gone as high as they're going to go but are waiting for us to get frustrated and drop out leaving them as the last one standing.  Poker is also being played amongst the competing teams.

[sportsfan882]

fixed. Its all Boras right now. Sure Tex is the player, but Boras is holding him from signing and keeps asking (practically begging) for the Sox or Angels to increase there offer. Hes beginning to look like a begging piece of crap.

Tex wanted this done by Christmas

Dude, Tex was never going to play for the Nationals under any scenario. It just would not make any sense. Why would he come here over Baltimore, Anaheim, Boston, etc?

[BerkeleyNat]

my thought is to make a final offer. 8/200m with a hard deadline.  and then call Adam Dunn, and let Boras know that we've done so.

and then walk away. if he decides to walk with us, then good. if not, we move to Dunn.

This.

[deeznatz]

Does anyone see Boras' recent statement that the 195 million sum was "inaccurate?"

IMO, this looks to me like Boras backpeddling a little bit after the Sox played hardball.......I think it bodes well for the Sox.  Clearly Washington is just a fallback opportunity where he can really cash in is the Sox don't pony up.  At this point, it might not even be worth it....I mean i don't want the Lerners and nats to look totally foolish forking over ridiculous sums just to get this guy.

The big news of the day is that the Lerners look as though they have changed their tune regarding building this club and spending.  I feel good, no matter what happens.

[MrMadison]

Dude, Tex was never going to play for the Nationals under any scenario. It just would not make any sense. Why would he come here over Baltimore, Anaheim, Boston, etc?

and now the "I told you so" begins.

meh.

[wpa2629]

Does anyone see Boras' recent statement that the 195 million sum was "inaccurate?"

IMO, this looks to me like Boras backpeddling a little bit after the Sox played hardball.......I think it bodes well for the Sox.  Clearly Washington is just a fallback opportunity where he can really cash in is the Sox don't pony up.  At this point, it might not even be worth it....I mean i don't want the Lerners and nats to look totally foolish forking over ridiculous sums just to get this guy.

The big news of the day is that the Lerners look as though they have changed their tune regarding building this club and spending.  I feel good, no matter what happens.

+1

[KnorrForYourMoney]

There's no freaking balance in this league.  If anyone wonders why I prefer the NFL, this is exactly.

[sportsfan882]

and now the "I told you so" begins.

meh.

No one will answer that question because there is no answer. Why would Tex come play here over Boston, Anaheim, Baltimore, etc? We aren't attractive to FAs at this time especially a big one like Tex that is signing what could be the final contract of his career.

[sportsfan882]

There's no freaking balance in this league.  If anyone wonders why I prefer the NFL, this is exactly.

QFT. NFL > All