Teixeira’s Options

Boswell explores the mind of and options facing Mark Teixeira:

Three things matter to Teixeira, who has a clean-cut, almost corporate, image: family, business and winning. His dilemma: He can’t get all three in the same place. Boston is 400 miles from Severna Park. But the Nats and Orioles are 400 miles from the World Series. Which team can negate the distance and how? The Red Sox can’t move Boston south. But the Nats and Orioles can claim that their position in the standings will move north.

Interesting article, but I think Boswell oversells the appeal of the Nats and Orioles and dismisses the Angels far too quickly. If I were a betting man, I’d say Teixeira stays in Anaheim. There he has the same shot of winning he has in Boston, with little of the pressure and none of the historical baggage the Red Sox represent for him. If the Angels’ money is close, I think he stays put.


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MooseinOhio
15 years ago

If Texiera follows his heart he heads to the mid-Atlantic with either the Orioles or Nats as he grew up in the area.  If he follows his desire to win and be back east he head to Boston (or the Yanks) as none of the other teams have the same winning track record (Angels cannot seem to win in playoffs).

However if he follows the Scott Boras playbook he accepts the largest contract offer – period.  How many big name Boras clients haven’t taken the deal with either the highest per year value or total package value? 

Also wouldn’t be shocked to see the Sox overpay for Varitek and match the best per year dollar contract (not length) on Texiera as Boras could claim victory on both fronts.

Matt Sullivan
15 years ago

Honestly, I can’t see Texeria going to Washington or Baltimore unless the money difference is really drastic. Both organizations are poorly run and can’t do much to move up in the ranks by one signing. Boston and LAA are both perennial contenders and well run from the top down.

If I were Boras, I wouldn’t take the top dollar from Bal. or Was. unless they gave an opt-out clause a la the Sabathia deal. Otherwise his client might be lost in obscurity for a decade. I would guess that the prominence of playing for a contender has a dollar value to a player in the long run (endorsements, bonuses, etc).

Jose
15 years ago

Matt why should Boras care that his client will play in obscurity for a decade? he will probably be done as a player after 10 years, he is getting the money now.

henry
15 years ago

i think if boras wants the highest total money package that the yankees are his best bet.yes,i’m a yankee fan,but the periphial monetary advantages of playing for the most storied(and vilified)franchise are greater than the other clubs.advertising has more than doubled jeters worth and visibility.teixeira’s unblemished(so far) image would put him well out there with madison avenue if he produces on the field as he has in the past.
as a fit with the yanks he would upgrade the fielding stats for the rest of the infield,(jeter again)provide power and stability to the line up that swisher can’t provide.

Aaron
15 years ago

Yeah, but is Tex a True Yankee? I would like to see him back with the Angels, and he won’t have remotely the media crap that he would back east. Not even close. Also, I’m pretty sure the Angels won a World Series a few years back, I’ll have to check.

rufuswashere
15 years ago

One of my (very few … ok, only) inside sources tells me that the Sox are ready to outbid everyone with their offer, a la Dice-K. 

They (the Sox) have lots of money, and will use it when necessary.

Aaron
15 years ago

Can we cite to SOSH now?

tadthebad
15 years ago

And the Sox have won two, both more recently than the Angels.  I didn’t argue that the Angels can’t win.  I argued that they reduce their chances of winning based solely on their style of play.  I didn’t think that was even in dispute around here.

APBA Guy
15 years ago

Wow, I loves me some speculation. But that’s Boras’s art, to get teams bidding against each other. It’s even better when those teams are really bidding, and not just an invention of his.

Still, it’s extremely effective, and I think his goal is to hit the trifecta, namely most money, chance to win, close to home.

That would suggest the Yankees because folks, NYC is not that far from Severna Park (3.5 hours by car, even less by helicopter)

And the Yankees are staying “informed” of the progress of the Texeira talks.

But remember that Tex went to college in Georgia, because it was a better baseball program than the University of Maryland or any of the other local schools, but that’s still only a day’s drive from Severna Park, kind of like Boston.

Bottom line, Sawx, then Yankees, then Angels.

tadthebad
15 years ago

I keep hearing this argument, that the Angels have the same shot at winning as the Red Sox, and I couldn’t disagree more.  Even forgetting that the Sox have beat the Angels like a drum throughout their playoff history, the Angels style of play is simply not as conducive to winning as that of the Sox…haven’t we been presented with enough data over the years to draw this conclusion?  I’m not saying the Sox will definitely win and the Angels won’t, and there’s also the matter of competition within the division wherein the Sox face far stronger opponents.  But it seems clear to me that by not, oh I don’t know, calling for a suicide squeeze with only one out and subsequently torpedoing their chances of winning, the Sox will hold that edge as long as Scioscia is calling the shots.

Mark Tex
15 years ago

Tex will sign for the most coin. Come on, he’s a Boras client and maybe the poster boy for being a Boras client…

Rally
15 years ago

“oh I don’t know, calling for a suicide squeeze with only one out”

Why the qualifier “only one out”?  With one out, that is the ONLY TIME you would ever call for a suicide squeeze.  With nobody out you don’t try it because you have too many other options to score.  With 2 out you don’t do it because the batter has to be safe at first for the run to count.

“haven’t we been presented with enough data over the years to draw this conclusion?”

No, not in the least.  Maybe you should have paid more attention to the team that kicked the Red Sox butts.  Tampa Bay plays a very similar style to the Angels, complete with Scioscia’s former right hand man, Joe Maddon.

bob
13 years ago

Boras client and maybe the poster

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