Mark Teixeira. Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

Far from out of the running for Mark Teixeira, the Red Sox are believed to have raised their bid right to their final number on their trip Thursday to visit with Teixeira. While that Boston bid isn't known, baseball people believe the Red Sox were intending to stop bidding at about $180 million over eight years, perhaps a little bit more than that, maybe as much as $184 million.

Their offer, whether it was $180 million or slightly more than that, is believed to still be on the table.

The Red Sox's honchos likely were hopeful to bring Teixeira back to Boston when they embarked on their trip to Dallas. And while they may feel slightly less positive about their chances, they are still considered alive, along with the Nationals, Angels, Yankees and Orioles.

Boston people, who didn't respond today to emails, surely were also disappointed to hear they don't have the high bid. But their strategy is a very disciplined one. They say they will not go beyond their targeted number, and apparently they are at that number now.

But that doesn't mean they're out. When Red Sox owner John Henry issued a cryptic email late Thursday night saying they "are not going to be a factor'' anymore, baseball people are certain today that comment was almost universally misconstrued to mean they were dropping out of the derby. But Henry apparently didn't mean that they weren't going to be a factor in acquiring Teixeira; instead, all he was saying is that he was no longer going to be a factor in the escalating bidding war.

Henry suggested that Teixeira's agent, Scott Boras, told them there was an offer or offers higher than theirs, without naming the team. The Angels, Nationals, Yankees and Orioles are the other teams believed to be in the bidding. It isn't known which team or teams may have bid higher than the Red Sox, and without knowing, Boston insists it's not going any higher.