The worst possible outcome

[Burg]

Listen, if we offer that much and he walks that is fine.

its on him. We didn't mistreat him, we didn't insult him, we didn't lowball him.

We didn't jerk him around with BS stadium tours and fancy crabcakes. We made our case and he chose to go another way. Fine, good for him. I will boo him mercilessly and he will miss out on the chance to play for his hometown team, something I sure he dreamed about growing up here.

But if he is going to walk away from that money, there is nothing you can do about it. I don't think it says anything about us as an organization or as a team. When he makes a choice its on him.

Damn right.

There is only so much you can do. If we put 200M on the table and he turns it down then Tex is dead to me. I will find zero fault with the Orioles in this scenario.

He has every right to go to the Red Sox. I also have every right to boo him mercilessly for being a member of the pink-hatted "Red Sox nation".

[The Wedge]

I agree with those posters who say if Teix takes a smaller offer to go to the Redsox, that's on him. I disagree with those same posters who don't think that situation is a "worst possible outcome" for the franchise, this city.

This franchise has already seen lower lows than not signing a free agent first baseman to an inflated contract.

[Birds08]

Just saw that Belkast was still extremely optimistic in the Part III thread, and that we've made a big offer and it's basically up to Tex. (Sorry, I know I'm late seeing that..) But as long as one of the OH insiders is optimistic, I think there's reason to be optimistic. Think positive, people, come on didn't you all read The Secret? :laughlol::rofl:

The problem is that we don't know whether the optimism is based on how big our offer is, or based on some knowledge of Tex's thoughts and the other competitve dynamics. I tend to think its the former, although I obviously have no idea. Just knowing we have the biggest offer on the table, if we do, doesn't necessarily make me very optimistic.

[Enjoy Terror]

Belkast's optimism didn't seem in any way related to the information he posted.

[Fan4Life]

This franchise has already seen lower lows than not signing a free agent first baseman to an inflated contract.

And this sutation will put a stamp on whether the confederate money era is over, or not. With hope as high as it is, with a REAL commitement from the FO and ownership, to fail will be awful IMO.

[TonySoprano]

It depends what he signs for with the Red Sox. If they beat our offer, then I see no problem. If the offers are very similar, then I see some problem but it's not huge egg on our face. If our offer is obviously better, that's very, very embarassing.

I think it's a fairly safe assumption that the Red Sox aren't going to a ten-year deal on this one. My gut tells me they aren't going to $200 million either. The dollar amount is the key because the Red Sox rumored offers are above $20 mil per annum. If he gets way more money up front than he would with the Orioles, that's as good as an opt-out clause to him because it lets Boras play this game again a few years sooner.

[PlumOriole]

Did I miss something? Nothing has changed that I have read. Sit tight and see how it plays out. I've never seen an OH insider be as confident about an outcome as Belkast. Especially with almost everyone else pointing in another direction. I cannot wait to see how this plays out but in the mean time, I'm not going to jump off a cliff with ever negative report.

[The Wedge]

And this sutation will put a stamp on whether the confederate money era is over, or not. With hope as high as it is, with a REAL commitement from the FO and ownership, to fail will be awful IMO.

No it won't. Don't delude yourself. Winning will end that era.

[Birds08]

I think it's a fairly safe assumption that the Red Sox aren't going to a ten-year deal on this one. My gut tells me they aren't going to $200 million either. The dollar amount is the key because the Red Sox rumored offers are above $20 mil per annum. If he gets way more money up front than he would with the Orioles, that's as good as an opt-out clause to him because it lets Boras play this game again a few years sooner.

I agree. I have no doubt the Red Sox probably will offer less than the O's, but it may be a shorter deal with more $/year. I think if winning is his main consideration he will go to Boston, and if its money he will come here, unless WAS is offering significantly more.

[wildbill1978]

If we made a real offer and he doesn't take it, that's on him. Doesn't even register in the laundry list of "worst possible outcomes."

See the problem is two-fold.

First, lets just say he signs with the Red Sox this week. Unless Andy comes right out and says that the O's offered the 10/200 deal and he turned it down, it is always going to be hearsay and rumor. No one will know what we offered. I mean heck we don't even know if the 7/150 deal was offered...nothing has been confirmed. So we really won't know how hard the front office tried to bring him here. Lets just say for argument sake that nothing actually happened this past weekend, and the last time that Andy talked to Boras was at the Vegas meetings...again how can we say that the front office did everything they could? I am not saying this is the truth, but with the front office being so quiet, unless Tex is at the podium with an O's jersey on, I don't think we will ever know how hard the office tried.

Second, to the non-die hard fan...none of this matters. The ones that don't read the boards, but who might listen to talk radio, and the local sports news...what have they heard? They have heard this whole time the O's are out of it...that the O's potentially offered a contract, but haven't made a big push to get them...these are the fans that the O's need to win back. If we want to ever see 2.5 million fans, or <gulp> 3 million fans ever again, these are the fans that the O's have to win back. The die-hards are going to the games every year whether Tex is here or not...they might go to fewer games, but they are still buying tickets and go. The people that listen to talk radio are going to hear or make their own conclusion that PGA wouldn't do what it took to get Tex here, and he doesn't care about the team...that's what they will hear and believe because that's what the media feeds them. My father is this type of fan. He listens to WBAL, and the other sports radio stations, and all he hears is that "local guy" is going to the Red Sox, and that Angelos won't do what it takes and he only wants to make money.

I guess this is why I am so frustrated at the local and national media. They take one stance; the locals say, he isn't coming here so deal with it and move on, instead of covering why he should come here; the national media says, The O's aren't on the same level as the Sox and Yanks so they are immaterial, so lets ignore them...You hear this enough, and that's what the people are going to believe.

I just think that unless Tex signs with the O's that a majority of the people out there are going to find a way to blame PGA, and just use it as another reason to ignore the team...and to me this is the worst part. I can get over him going to the Red Sox, but I am going to be really disappointed over the hit that the team will see by not signing him.

[Fan4Life]

No it won't. Don't delude yourself. Winning will end that era.

Winning is a by-product of having players that produce. Not "having the ability" to attract players like Teix doesn't shorten the time frame between being thought of as losers and gaining respect.

[The Wedge]

Winning is a by-product of having players that produce. Not "having the ability" to attract players like Teix doesn't shorten the time frame between being thought of as losers and gaining respect.

The other FA's we've landed over the past decade have really gone a long way haven't they. And you'll never convince me that Teixiera is really that much of a FA signing that his presence is an attractive prospect in and of itself.

[Sports Guy]

Tex going to Boston or NY is way worse than DC.

Having to face him over and over is much worse than him playing on MASN..Hell, that would help the Orioles because it should boost MASN ratings, which is money in the Orioles pocket.

[geschinger]

Winning is a by-product of having players that produce. Not "having the ability" to attract players like Teix doesn't shorten the time frame between being thought of as losers and gaining respect.

The track record of buying the most expensive players in the FA marketplace to go from loser to winner is not a good one. I don't think it has too much of an impact on how quickly the team can win.

[Pedro Cerrano]

I agree with the OP. We're back to the Confederate Money days if we make Tex an unbelievable offer and he signs elsewhere (particularly for less money).