O's vs. Yankees for Teixeira?

[El Gordo]

No matter how much money you had available, $25+ million a year for Teixeira would be beyond the extreme of stupidity. I can't even allow myself to imagine that Orioles management would be capable of that.

The more I think about it the more I think the MFY's wont be going after Tex. They will be spending on SP. Sabathia, Sheets, Burnett or Lowe. Plus they may be trying to resign one or both of Pettite and Mussina. They have to find a place to play Matsui and Posada. Posada at 1B would make sense with Matsui DH. I don't think they will pick up Giambi's option. They are stuck with trying to find a place for Damon, Matsui and Posada to play. They will also be looking to upgrade in CF and C. I don't think 1B will be as much of a priority. It may be that the main competition for Tex is the Mets.

[RShack]

I know the players quoted were anonymous, but I doubt a newspaper printed quotes that didn't come from actual sources. Well, unless it was the LA Times making up names for the Grimsley affidavit.

These were newspaper quotes? Or was it "I knew a guy who knew a guy who heard that..." ? (I don't know.)

Why is Cox's purported personality behind closed doors "evident" while Teixeira's is "rumorama"? It seems to me the levels of evidence of these things are quite similar.

Much longer track record, all the allusions and rumors being consistent, no conflicting stories about it (that I'm aware of, anyway).

Not just, "back when he was in TOR, a couple guys said..."

[mweb]

Considering he signed Belle away from the Yankees, I'm pretty confident he'd go the extra mile to get Tex. Tex on the Orioles is a big part of the legacy he's counting on, no matter what the cost. I doubt Tex will see 25 million a season though. A 8/160 or 10/200 contract may be very likely...

Way too much for him.

[geschinger]

[/b]

Way too much for him.

Not if he's counting on it being a big part of his legacy. Making a decision that rivals Tom Hick's mistake in its idiocy would certainly do a lot to further cement Angelos legacy as a terrible owner.

[mweb]

Not if he's counting on it being a big part of his legacy. Making a decision that rivals Tom Hick's mistake in its idiocy would certainly do a lot to further cement Angelos legacy as a terrible owner.

Indeed. But at least in this case, PA is overrating the same guy that the OH is overrating. So most on the OH and general public will support him in the short term for it.

[Sports Guy]

Indeed. But at least in this case, PA is overrating the same guy that the OH is overrating. So most on the OH and general public will support him in the short term for it.

I agree...We could sign Tex to an 8/200 deal and many on here would be extremely happy.

[Old#5fan]

From a Buster Olney chat:

Please, PLEASE, PLEASE Mr. Angelos don't get into another bidding war with the Evil Empire. Remember how that worked out with Albert Belle? IMO that is what prompted the 10 plus years of losing. I can just see it now, the bidding war ensures, Tex becomes and Oriole at some record setting price and he has a generative hip, and produces a season and a half before medically retiring. (I shudder to think about it.) Let the frigging Yankees make that mistake this time. There are other big bats out there.

[Sports Guy]

Please, PLEASE, PLEASE Mr. Angelos don't get into another bidding war with the Evil Empire. Remember how that worked out with Albert Belle? IMO that is what prompted the 10 plus years of losing. I can just see it now, the bidding war ensures, Tex becomes and Oriole at some record setting price and he has a generative hip, and produces a season and a half before medically retiring. (I shudder to think about it.) Let the frigging Yankees make that mistake this time. There are other big bats out there.

The Albert Belle contract was a good one that turned out bad because of his hip.

Our 10 years of losing started with Thrift and the awful decisions he made and guys like Beattie and Flanny just continued that tradition.

[Cubsfan]

The Yankees will not pay more for Tex than they are giving to A-Rod. Just imagine what that would do to the Yankee clubhouse. As long as the contract stays below 25 million a season, the O's will be in it...

If the O's want to pay Tex anywhere near $25 million, I'm sure they can have him. Tex is good, but certainly not that good.

[ElToro75]

Tex is a decent ballplayer but he's not going to be a one man draw. Sure, signing him will get people excited and they might sell a few thousand more season tickets and there will be a short term bump. But for the long term all that matters is winning. If acquiring Tex means tying up too much of the team's payroll resources in one player then the team will suffer and they won't win. Tex + a non winning team doth not equate to an attendance boom over the long haul.

I wasn't implying that Tex would be a one man draw. I said:

The stadium won't be 1/2 full if we sign Tex. I'm sure that if Angelos is going to shell out that kind of money, he's planning on a boost in attendance. Take that and what MacPhail has already done so far (and will do this off season) and I'm fairly certain that attendance goes up.

I'm pretty sure that we will do more in the off season than just solely focus on Tex and if he signs with us then we are done.

[YankThis!]

Okay, I'll ask the question one more time. Someone please give me any example of Angelos getting into a bidding war for a FA that he didn't live to regret? I think all these machinations about a packed stadium in April 2009 and paying out 20% of our payroll for one player (a 1B, no less) is really cute and all, but nothing I've seen from Angelos or Steinbrenner leads me to believe Tex will be wearing an O's uniform--assuming the Yankees want him. If we are bidding against any other team, be it the Mets, Red Sox, Angels, etc., I think we actually have the advantage because (a) our payroll is currently so low and (b) I think Angelos is ready, able, and willing to field a $110 million payroll so long as the team is contending. Assuming a juggernaut like NYY isn't in the Tex sweepstakes, I seriously doubt that Tex gets more than $18 per in this economy at this time.

[TinCup]

Please, PLEASE, PLEASE Mr. Angelos don't get into another bidding war with the Evil Empire. Remember how that worked out with Albert Belle? IMO that is what prompted the 10 plus years of losing. I can just see it now, the bidding war ensures, Tex becomes and Oriole at some record setting price and he has a generative hip, and produces a season and a half before medically retiring. (I shudder to think about it.) Let the frigging Yankees make that mistake this time. There are other big bats out there.

As a small aside, there are now (and have been for awhile) TWO "evil empires"...one slightly up US-95 north, and another further up 95 north in that state near Maine and Canada!

[Old#5fan]

The Albert Belle contract was a good one that turned out bad because of his hip.

Our 10 years of losing started with Thrift and the awful decisions he made and guys like Beattie and Flanny just continued that tradition.

Correction, our 10 years of losing started with Angelos getting into a bidding war with the Yankees, and overpaying for damaged goods in Albert Bell, it then deteriorated even further with Thrift, and the awful decisions he made and guys like Beattie and Flanny who just continued that pattern. However, it all started with the Belle fiasco which convinced Angelos to stop paying extreme almounts for top players and instead target the medicore talented and priced FA's like Marty Cordova, and Omar Daal. Thrift, Beattie, and Flanagan were just doing the owner's bidding. The Belle fiasco started the nightmare of losing as the catastrophic event that preceded it all. Nobody will ever convince me otherwise.

[YankThis!]

The Albert Belle contract was a good one that turned out bad because of his hip.

Our 10 years of losing started with Thrift and the awful decisions he made and guys like Beattie and Flanny just continued that tradition.

How paying $13 million a year for a guy with a permanent hip disability who refuses to retire is not a train wreck of a FA signing is beyond me. Albert Belle's contract is probably why Angelos wouldn't go the distance with Moose and it certainly displaced a lot of payroll that could have been spent on quality talent for a long, long time. The trail derailed on that one.

[TinCup]

Apropos of Albert Belle, did the O's know in advance of signing him that he had a degenerative hip issue? :scratchchinhmm: