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Did Red Sox botch Teixeira negotiations?

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Any suggestion that the Red Sox could not (and can not) compete for free agents with New York is utter nonsense because the Sox have signed free agents in the past. With Mark Teixeira, the Sox were not nearly as aggressive. The bottom line is that other teams (excluding the Yankees) were in the same neighborhood, which allowed Teixeira to drag out the process. Had the Sox come out of the gate with, say, an eight-year offer for $184 million, maybe they could have gotten the deal done. Maybe it would have taken $192 million. But if the Sox came out strong -- very strong -- and gave Teixeira a short window to accept, their chances might have been better. If Teixeira then had balked, the Sox would have had their answer: Teixeira never wanted to come here. Instead, the Sox left the door open for the Yankees to swoop in, which created an array of issues. Most notably, by the time Teixeira made his decision, CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett both had signed with New York, making the Yankees a more attractive destination; earlier on, that was not the case. By allowing the process to drag, the Sox enhanced New York's position.

Boston Globe

Mark Teixeira, AP Mark Teixeira, AP
December 29, 2008  04:59 AM ET

Yeah man, they messed-up somewhere....... It was really stupid and they do look like idiots, fo sure. No Manny this year at all. Ortiz is really gonna be the BIG Papi....he should lose some gut..... And don't be whining about the Yankees spending money and getting the best that they can....for it does not always work.

December 29, 2008  06:57 AM ET

Worked out great....The Yanks love to spend money on shiny high-profile players...and team Boras-Teixeira loves to make it. I hope the Yanks still suck.

December 29, 2008  07:10 AM ET

Wow, it's amazing that baseball writers aren't GM's since they have all the answers. I love the idea that they just say, well, if it takes 192,000,000 to do it, so what. If a .500 pitcher makes a destination more likable, I question the players desire to go to a certain team.

Does this writer really think that Boras isn't going to use one deal to get a higher deal from another team? Does he really think that a "window" would have worked? In the end, Boras and the yankees had a backdoor agreement, just bring the highest offer to NY and they will trump it.

December 29, 2008  07:33 AM ET

Morning Cat. It will likely go on until opening day because people will pay attention to it.

December 29, 2008  07:52 AM ET

NO. The Don Steinbrenner has deep pockets and the Sox are better served by saving the bucks. The Rays are a low budget winner.

December 29, 2008  08:11 AM ET

It would be easy for someone (like the media and us fans) to say yes to this question. I still feel they could have and should have signed Tex. Something tells me they didn't want him THAT bad. I don't know why, but I just haven't seen the Yankees out-smart the Red Sox once since the Yankees signed Jose Cabrera. Don't laugh! In 20/20 hind sight it's easy to say the Yankees made a mistake but he supposed to be the next Big Unit. I'm looking at this like the ARod deal. The Red Sox were willing to throw ARod everything but the kitchen sink. The Yankees came in and gave him that sink and made the Red Sox look stupid. Until ARod actually put that uniform for real. The outcome of this signing might be the same because I really do not see Tex failing as bad as ARod has, but I think the Red Sox have a different business plan. They have to because Tex is not only a great hitter, but he'd been a perfect fit for the Red Sox.

December 29, 2008  08:14 AM ET
QUOTE(#3):

Wow, it's amazing that baseball writers aren't GM's since they have all the answers. I love the idea that they just say, well, if it takes 192,000,000 to do it, so what. If a .500 pitcher makes a destination more likable, I question the players desire to go to a certain team.Does this writer really think that Boras isn't going to use one deal to get a higher deal from another team? Does he really think that a "window" would have worked? In the end, Boras and the yankees had a backdoor agreement, just bring the highest offer to NY and they will trump it.

isnt that what agents do?

December 29, 2008  08:14 AM ET
QUOTE:

Wow, we had weeks and weeks of speculation of what will be for Teixeira. Does this mean we're going to have weeks and weeks of what could have been now? It's done and over. Teixeira has landed, and now it's time to look forward. I think if the Red Sox had REALLY needed Teixeira, they would have gotten him.Good Monday morning!

Come on don't you want to beat this with a stick until every conceivable angle has been looked at. Got to have some things to talk about since the season doesn't start for 4 months.

December 29, 2008  08:29 AM ET
QUOTE(#10):

Come on don't you want to beat this with a stick until every conceivable angle has been looked at. Got to have some things to talk about since the season doesn't start for 4 months.

Yes, and preferably we would like to beat things with a stick that don't hurt so bad to sox fans!! We need some yankee bashing around here! ;)

December 29, 2008  08:33 AM ET

I'd say that since they didn't get him ... it was well known they wanted him ... that the fact the Yanks got him instead. Yeah, I'd say they botched it ... come on T&R ... this is a BS article, move on ... sorry RSB

December 29, 2008  08:36 AM ET
QUOTE(#13):

I'd say that since they didn't get him ... it was well known they wanted him ... that the fact the Yanks got him instead. Yeah, I'd say they botched it ... come on T&R ... this is a BS article, move on ... sorry RSB

I STILL say this guy is GOOD not GREAT, this is the proverbial mountain made out of a Boras molehill.

December 29, 2008  08:49 AM ET

If you think the Sox botched this up, you're way wrong. As usual, the Yanks were quietly waiting in the wings. I knew all along that they were only waiting to hear that the Sox were the front-runners for Teixeira, so they could outbid them. If the Nationals were close to signing Teixeira for what they were offering (8-10 yrs./ $180mil+), then the Yanks would have let him go to the NL. By the way, I still pick the Sox in '08. Their pitching is still better than the Yanks.

December 29, 2008  09:16 AM ET

The Red Sox will be fine with Lowell for another year and Youkilis for many years. Rather than over pay for a very good player who does not fit they will be able to compete for Mauer, Hanley Ramirez, or whoever might come available.

December 29, 2008  09:16 AM ET
QUOTE:

Well, there's other moves to be made to speculate endlessly about ... when everyone is in their place, and there's still time, THEN we can go back and beat it all to death again. ;)And, spring training begins in February ... the season starts then.

Spring training is just a teaser game don't count. The real fun begins in April. So I'll say it only kinda starts in February better than nothing though.

December 29, 2008  09:21 AM ET
QUOTE:

Wow, we had weeks and weeks of speculation of what will be for Teixeira. Does this mean we're going to have weeks and weeks of what could have been now? It's done and over. Teixeira has landed, and now it's time to look forward. I think if the Red Sox had REALLY needed Teixeira, they would have gotten him.Good Monday morning!

Agreed, the Sox didn't need him as much as the Yanks and it was reflected in their negotiating stance. They already have a gold glove first baseman with offensive numbers that are remarkably similar to Teixeira's.
Not such a good morning for me. Maybe later in the day my back will loosen up & I will be able to tie my boots! Waaaah!

December 29, 2008  09:23 AM ET
QUOTE(#12):

Yes, and preferably we would like to beat things with a stick that don't hurt so bad to sox fans!! We need some yankee bashing around here! ;)

I'm in!

December 29, 2008  09:28 AM ET
QUOTE:

Sorry to hear your back is ailing. Hope it feels better soon.

Thank you. I just put the bottle of Knob Creek from last evening back in the cupboard. I was mighty tempted to hit it, but I will be up on ladders in a couple of hours. I'll double up on my Naprosen and walk around like an old fart for a while.

December 29, 2008  09:31 AM ET
QUOTE(#1):

Yeah man, they messed-up somewhere....... It was really stupid and they do look like idiots, fo sure. No Manny this year at all. Ortiz is really gonna be the BIG Papi....he should lose some gut..... And don't be whining about the Yankees spending money and getting the best that they can....for it does not always work.

They messes up? How, by not kissing his arse as much as he and Boros expected? Screw Teixera and Boros both.

December 29, 2008  09:40 AM ET

I'm a fan of Tex's but I can't say any team should be crowing about the guy at 180 million...

He's a great ballplayer, but at his new wage, don't you *really* want more than the stuff you keep reading about him? The stuff like "good guy, but a quiet guy in the club house", or the "he leads by example" stuff?

He's a terrific ballplayer, but what did the Angels get out of him? They went to the post season, exactly where they were going to go without him and got no more out of it than they did last year. What manager walks in the tying run because Tex just went up to the plate? What pitcher says he needs a shot of Kaopectate because Texiera is playing against them tomorrow?

For a 180 million dollars don't you want a guy that literally throws the team on his back when he has to and ravages the opposition like a Navy destroyer on a three day shore leave in Manilla?

 
December 29, 2008  09:47 AM ET

Oh good....I was starting to get concerned that there may never be another Teixeira thread again.

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