As if Teixeira didn't want to make you puke already

[JTrea81]

Glad your source has informed you that we absolutely did not do anything at all like that.

Oh wait, I'M SORRY...

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081208&content_id=3707266&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp

Teixeira, a native of Baltimore suburb Severna Park, Md., apparently spent most of the tete-a-tete grilling MacPhail about the future of the organization, and the executive said one thing he didn't have to do was sell him on Baltimore.

"That's one thing, in this particular case, that really wasn't [part of it]," he said. "What we had a right to understand -- and what we have an obligation to tell him -- is where we are as an organization, what we're trying to do, how we're going to try to do it [and] how much progress we've made in the last year-and-a-half in that regard."

Doesn't sound like much of a sales pitch to me...

[o'sfan2009]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081208&content_id=3707266&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp

Doesn't sound like much of a sales pitch to me...

Because it's pretty obvious the organization is in shambles and we're not a contender. His mind was made up.

What exactly do we have to sell to him? A Mapquest link of the distance from his Severna Park home to OPACY???

We don't have a new stadium. We don't have much hope for the organization. What did you want us to sell him on, besides Benjamins?

[twoBshorty]

Teixeira is a toolbox. That's all there is to say. "Oh, Mr. Cashman, you're playing my song! :hearts:" Ugh.

[JTrea81]

Because it's pretty obvious the organization is in shambles and we're not a contender. His mind was made up.

What exactly do we have to sell to him? A Mapquest link of the distance from his Severna Park home to OPACY???

We don't have a new stadium. We don't have much hope for the organization. What did you want us to sell him on' date=' besides Benjamins?[/quote']

We could have done the same thing Cashman did. We could have brought Ripken and Palmer and other former Oriole greats to talk to him. We could have offered him more money.

Connelly's article said that we needed to treat Tex like a blue chip recruit early on in the process. The Orioles failed to do that and now look at the result. MacPhail simply does not know how nor does he really want to pursue big time FAs. If you are going to go down, you go down swinging, not looking at strike three...

Cue the marching band; it's time for the Orioles' old college recruiting try.

Tex on the Yankees:

"He put his college recruiting pitch in there," Teixeira said with a smile.

Ironic isn't it?

[o'sfan2009]

We could have done the same thing Cashman did. We could have brought Ripken and Palmer and other former Oriole greats to talk to him. We could have offered him more money.

Connelly's article said that we needed to treat Tex like a blue chip recruit early on in the process. The Orioles failed to do that and now look at the result. MacPhail simply does not know how nor does he really want to pursue big time FAs. If you are going to go down, you go down swinging, not looking at strike three...

Tex on the Yankees:

Ironic isn't it?

Ok, but what exactly were we going to sell him on?

[JTrea81]

Ok' date=' but what exactly were we going to sell him on?[/quote']

Being the next Cal Ripken for one. The hometown hero. Cal should have been used in the process. He's the Orioles ace in the hole...

Heck Cal could have met with him and told him all about being an Oriole. But the Orioles didn't even bother to invite him to help...

They could have given him the Pavano treatment with the new video screens. They could have done so much more in recruiting him that they failed to do because they felt they didn't need to sell him on being an Oriole.

Apparently they were dead wrong...

[Osfan13]

Just another punk front runner growing up. I can't fault him for wanting to be with the team he wanted to be with, but it doesn't mean I'm going to like him.

With Mussina retiring, I now have my new most disliked big leaguer.

If Markakis signs with Boston or New York, will your feelings change?

[o'sfan2009]

Being the next Cal Ripken for one. The hometown hero. Cal should have been used in the process. He's the Orioles ace in the hole...

Heck Cal could have met with him and told him all about being an Oriole. But the Orioles didn't even bother to invite him to help...

Yea but from everything we have heard he didn't want to be THE guy. He didn't want to be Cal. He didn't want to be Superman. Apparently he went to NY because he wanted to just fit right in with the rest of the crowd and let the A-Rods and Jeters and C.C.'s take the spotlight. And how do we know Cal wasn't involved, for all we know?

[BaltimoreTerp]

Being the next Cal Ripken for one. The hometown hero. Cal should have been used in the process. He's the Orioles ace in the hole...

Heck Cal could have met with him and told him all about being an Oriole. But the Orioles didn't even bother to invite him to help...

They could have given him the Pavano treatment with the new video screens. They could have done so much more in recruiting him that they failed to do because they felt they didn't need to sell him on being an Oriole.

Apparently they were dead wrong...

So he's an idiot now, who wouldn't know all of that already?

[JTrea81]

Yea but from everything we have heard he didn't want to be THE guy. He didn't want to be Cal. He didn't want to be Superman. Apparently he went to NY because he wanted to just fit right in with the rest of the crowd and let the A-Rods and Jeters and C.C.'s take the spotlight. And how do we know Cal wasn't involved' date=' for all we know?[/quote']

It was mentioned in several articles that the Orioles never contacted Cal to speak to Teixeira...

I'll see if I can find a reference...

[Moose Milligan]

Being the next Cal Ripken for one. The hometown hero. Cal should have been used in the process. He's the Orioles ace in the hole...

Heck Cal could have met with him and told him all about being an Oriole. But the Orioles didn't even bother to invite him to help...

Bringing in Cal and other Orioles greats is nice, but bringing up the past doesn't make up for a crappy present.

When you have to resort to selling a player on "tradition", a tradition that hasn't been relevant for over 20 years, it says a lot about where your franchise currently is.

When you have to sell someone like Tex on a promise that you don't know if you can deliver, thats a turn off, too.

[bej6789]

Ok' date=' but what exactly were we going to sell him on?[/quote']

The fact that at the end of the day, after he's done trying to bull**** everyone and their mother that he wanted to be a Yankee and it was "easy", that moment when he finally puts on the jersey... he's going to think "what have I gotten myself into."

Beyond being a mercenary, Tex doesn't have a prayer from the start. While players can lie all they want about wanting to win a title is the reason they signed with New York -- the Yankees are fast becoming a no-win proposition. Any slumps, you're done. Unless you win the world series, the season is a complete and utter bust. In the midst of what seems like 180 million excuses, Teixeira's never going to be truely happy in New York. He's not Jeter. He's not Posada. He's not Rivera -- and he never will be. He's going to look around that stadium everyday and see the legends surrounding him. The same uniform that Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Joe Dimaggio and many other legends wore -- and every single day of his career he's not going to approach what they've done. He's right, the Yankees are the most accomplished team in sports history. And they've reached that level with players that epitomize that championship culture. Teixeira never has been, and never will be close.

[JTrea81]

So he's an idiot now, who wouldn't know all of that already?

Sometimes it's nice to feel wanted. That may sound stupid to you but the Yankees have been successfully recruiting FAs for years with their personal touch.

This was the one time the Orioles needed to step up in that regard and they didn't...

[ScottieBaseball]

I get it. Most O's fans probably wanted Tex to sign with the "hometown" Orioles. Even though I didn't think it really make complete sense to go after him (considering the dollars and years it was going to take to sign him), I still wanted him to sign with the O's. But he didn't. Life goes on. Most players don't sign with their hometown teams.

But saying that he's a "punk front runner" growing up? Pulling your son's college application because of this?

Honestly, I'm surprised that you typed this post. It's a bit dramatic.

A. Mt. St. Joe's is a private high school. Teixeira went to Georgia Tech.

B. Tony's entitled to his opinion. It's easy and common to draw the conclusion that he's a punk front runner based on his "dream come true" comments about playing for the O's then jumping ship to the Yankees at the last minute. It's a punk move and reeks of 'front runner-ism'.

C. The comment about pulling his son's high school application was without a doubt tongue-in-cheek.

Looking back on it, YOUR comments are a little dramatic.

[bej6789]

Sometimes it's nice to feel wanted. That may sound stupid to you but the Yankees have been successfully recruiting FAs for years with their personal touch.

This was the one time the Orioles needed to step up in that regard and they didn't...

Maybe the Orioles could've done something different. Hindsight is always 20/20. This Tex saga is over, and quite frankly all of this Yankee "love" he's giving is getting rather sickening. Maybe at the end of the day he actually sold himself on being a Yankee. The Orioles were swimming upstream from the start, it just so happens they were in a river that was too rough to continue. One of these days the decks finally going to be stacked in our favor. It didn't happen with Tex, but something will break our way. Just watch, for no other reason than it seems impossible -- the Orioles are going to turn the corner.