Toeing the Rubber

I’d like to know why so many Boston sports writers (and Boston sports fans) are using the “If you say that the front office didn’t screw up you’re in denial” or “If you say you didn’t want Teixeira on your team you’re lying” arguments against any Red Sox fans who aren’t devastated that Mark Teixeira is in New York.

To me, this is akin to saying “If you don’t agree with my opinion, you’re stupid”. Way to connect with people. folks.

I could have taken or left Mark Teixeira. I know he’s a good player (although, I’d like to know when he became the best player in MLB? He’s not, folks. He really isn’t. So to the people who keep telling me I’m in denial or lying, I tell you to stop over-hyping this guy in the name of Sox bashing.) but I wasn’t champing at the bit to get him. Let’s see, we’ll move Youk back to third, find a team where we can ditch Lowell, carry the one…it just didn’t mean that much to me to get him. We were a healthy Josh Beckett away from the World Series this year - I don’t look at the Red Sox and think “Holy hell!!!! Theo hasn’t done ANYTHING this off-season, we’re DOOMED!!!!”. Good for you if you do but stop trying to drown me with your negativity.

Remember the off-season of 2003?  Sure you do.  Everyone and their brother had us signing Alex Rodriguez including, for a time, Alex Rodriguez, right?  Back then, I was a regularly posting member of the Red Sox Fan Forum over at redsox.com.  The place was abuzz for weeks with talk of getting ARod.  I forget the specifics, but wasn’t the plan back then to trade ARod for Manny Ramirez and then trade Nomar Garciaparra for Magglio Ordonez?   I HATED this idea, long before it all went south.  And there were many, MANY people willing to voice the same opinion over at redsox.com.  Then once everything fell through and Slappy ended up with the Yankees, from out of the woodwork came the people taunting those of us who didn’t care.  “Oh you have to say that to make  yourself feel better about your team screwing this up!” was a common refrain.  No, I said it because I didn’t want to lose Manny and Nomar for ARod and Magglio.  Don’t care now and didn’t care then if people thought I was choosing loyalty to players over improving the team (which, in a sense, I guess I was.  I just never liked ARod - never - and there are some players I never want to have to root for - he’s one of them).

Mark Teixeira isn’t one of them, though.  Never really had anything against him, but I like the way this team looks (for the most part.  Have I mentioned that we need a catcher?  I’d much prefer Theo sign a starting catcher right now.  Seems kind of an important piece of the team that is currently, well, MISSING right now.) and I didn’t see the need of signing a Teixeira just for the sake of doing so.  Wouldn’t have been too upset if they did (although the ultimate loss of Mike Lowell would have been greatly upsetting) but, again, really not devastated that they didn’t.

So the Sox didn’t get Teixeira and the Yankees did.  I’m not giving up tickets to the Red Sox games in protest, that’s for sure.  If anything, it’s nice to (once again) have a bit of a “bring it on” attitude in regard to the Yankees.  Rivalries are fun and the Steinbrenners just kicked it up a notch again.

But, seriously Theo, a catcher.  A catcher would be good.

Cheers, Mike!

Usually, when I prepare for a post like this I read every article or blog that covers it so I either have information to use or to ensure I don’t copy whatever someone else has written.

This time, I’m flying solo.  The idea of reading any of the whining I know is coming in regard to Mark Teixeira makes my eye twitch.

I’m not sorry the Sox didn’t get him.  I’m truly not.  But reading people bash the front office because the Yankees decided to throw a ridiculous contract at yet ANOTHER free agent isn’t how I want to spend my evening.

Wait, I lied.  I read Red’s take on it.  My favorite subject line of the day.  And, actually, Denton’s view (also over at Surviving Grady) is one I share:

Wherever he lands, it will be his 4th team in just his 7th big-league season, not to mention the non-signing with the Red Sox back in the 1998 draft. I don’t know how he’s done it, but Teixeira has avoided any and all criticism for doing exactly what guys like A-Rod, Pedro and Clemens have done: pimping themselves out to the highest bidder.

So you have the understanding that I’m not exactly broken up about the Yankees signing Teixeira.  I don’t see this as a failure by Theo/the Front Office.  I don’t think they were outsmarted or outmaneuvered.   Cashman is determined to buy up all the free agents this off-season and that’s what he’s doing.  Why this surprises anyone is beyond me.

I don’t live in a cave, I know Teixeira is good.  But he’s not a good as the contract he got and no one will convince me that he is.  With this acquisition, the Yankees will employ the four highest paid players in Major League Baseball.  They just came off a season where they finished behind the Red Sox and the Rays - so why are people acting like Cashman’s spending spree is an oddity?

I received an email this afternoon from a Yankee fan who used to comment on my blog more regularly (read:  when they weren’t in third place).  He was gloating about Teixeira and became defensive when I wouldn’t take the bait and join him in a flame war.   “Don’t pretend that you aren’t heartbroken that Cashman shoved it up Epstein’s ass” is a direct quote from one of his messages to me.  I didn’t even bother to respond because that idea is just too funny to me.  All Cashman did was show MLB that the idea of building his team around young and homegrown talent is out the window.  The decision has been made that the only way to win it all is to buy it.  Now, I don’t have much of a problem with that, bring the players in who you believe will make your team successful…except for one small issue:  the Yankees have been “buying” for years and all they have to show for it these past 8 seasons is a bunch of AL East Champion banners.  Color me unimpressed.

I’m proud that our front office has created limits for themselves.   They set a number and stuck to it (and held to their resolve to not give out no-trade clauses) and Boras couldn’t force their hand.  The Yankees are definitely a better team for having picked up Teixeira, but the Red Sox aren’t a worse team for not getting him.  That’s good enough for me.

Now let’s work on the catcher situation, eh Theo?

Photo from WBZ.com

I don’t know that I’ve ever read Brian MacPherson from the Union Leader before, but if this article is any indication, I’m not missing much.

Okay, that’s a bit harsh.  MacPherson isn’t a terrible writer, just a stereotypical member of the New England sports media looking for trouble where there most likely isn’t any.  His article today is nothing but a whinefest about how horrible the Red Sox (specifically Theo and Tito) are to their players.   Listen, I can give  you a laundry list of players who I felt got the shaft by the team.  But it’s a personal feeling and in no way takes away from the fact that I understand the team does what it does, ultimately, for the betterment of the organization as a whole and it’s not anything personal.  MacPherson seems to be taking fanboyishness to a new level today:

WHETHER OR NOT the Red Sox sign Mark Teixeira this week — or next week or the week after — Theo Epstein and Terry Francona are going to have some serious work to do.

They’ll have some work to do with Mike Lowell, first of all. He signed a team-friendly contract just a year ago, turning down more years and bigger money elsewhere, but he became trade bait as soon as the Red Sox began courting Teixeira.

It’s not just Lowell, though. They’ll have work to do with Kevin Youkilis — and Josh Beckett, and even Dustin Pedroia.

The Teixeira negotiations have sent a message to everyone who wears a Red Sox uniform: We don’t care who you are. You are expendable.

Is he for real? He thinks these players don’t know that baseball is a business and the teams they play for will do whatever they can to sign players who will help the team win?

He thinks that, after the season he had physically, Mike Lowell didn’t know this would possibly be happening?

And Kevin Youkilis is on record as having said:

If we add a guy like Mark Teixeira to the team, that would be great,” said Youkilis. “You never know - I might be the guy traded (to make room). But I don’t mind it; I get to play baseball for a living.”

MacPherson is right. Youk sounds pissed to me. (Shout out to SG for the heads up on that story.)

MacPherson gives no reason Beckett will need to be “worked” with and he goes on to admit that Pedroia doesn’t have to “worry”.   Hell, though, he even throws Jason Bay into the mix.   He needs to be concerned that the Red Sox have no loyalty to their players.  He brings up Bronson Arroyo.  You remember Bronson.  He was traded in 2006.  Red Sox stuck a knife in his heart when they traded him (and got suck in return).  It was shitty and  many people thought so.  Funny, though, how it hasn’t stopped players from signing with the Sox.  Funny how it hasn’t affected the success of the team.

Here’s how MacPherson ends his piece:

Baseball is a business, sure. But when your product is your people, you have to treat them a certain way.

I, actually, don’t entirely disagree with this.  But here’s the thing for me, loyalty goes both ways.  The Red Sox treated Manny like a God and he gave them the finger.  They made really good offers to Pedro Martinez and Johnny Damon and were told “we’re going where the money is”.  There is practically NO loyalty in baseball (Bronson Arroyo aside) but to blame it solely on the owners (and, in this case, the entire Red Sox front office) makes no sense to me.

I often say that if I were GM, John Valentin would have been the shortstop until he shattered into a million pieces.  This is one of the many reasons I’m not a general manager of a baseball team.  I’ll tell you what, I don’t want to see Mike Lowell go anywhere.  He’s been great for this team, he seems like a genuinely good guy, and in a time when he could have taken advantage of the free agent market, he, essentially, took a discount to stay in Boston.  I think it would stink on ice if he got booted just because someone younger and shinier came to town.  But as much as I would hate it, I understand it.  And so do the players - I’m guessing more than I.

Baseball is a business.  It’s lousy, but true.  And it’s probably the first thing these guys learn about baseball once they hit the bigs.  This isn’t news to anyone.

Mmmmmike Lowell

Ian Browne is reporting that the  Boston Herald is reporting that the Red Sox extended Mark Teixeira an 8-year offer.

That sound you hear is the collective scream of the Mike Lowell Estrogen Brigade…and my dad.  My dad has a huge man-crush on Mike Lowell.  (My mother is a member of the brigade and I don’t know what the hell she’ll do when Lowell is no longer a Red Sox player.  Let’s not mess up Christmas, okay Theo?)

But before folks get their undies in a bunch (whether excited about the prospect of Teixeira on the Sox or upset at the prospect of losing Mike Lowell because Teixeira is on the Sox), let’s see where the Herald got their information from:

Er.  Um.  There doesn’t seem to be any indication of where Michael Silverman got his information.  Not even a “sources who prefer to remain anonymous” line.  Not any mention of “sources” at all.

Just this:

.

The Sox have made an offer, the biggest and longest yet for this current ownership group. The offer is believed to be for at least eight years, with ownership and baseball operations cognizant that Teixeira, 29, represents the safest bet they can make for at least this year and next to shore up the heart of an aging lineup.

So it’s done. We’re writing about it like the offer has been made and been made PUBLIC that the offer is out there.  If so, why is the Herald being credited as the source for this story?

We all know that the Sox are interested in Teixeira and we all know that they will, at some point, be making an offer.  But here I go nitpicking again.  How can Silverman get away with writing the above without crediting any source - and expect people to just believe him?  And why would MLB.com pick up the story and run with it?

How do you get SO specific as to say “The Sox have made an offer, the biggest and longest yet for this current ownership group.” and then not tell people where this information came from?

This whole thing just makes me tired.  Let’s talk about something else.  Like how I’m going to have  nightmares about Daisuke Matsuzaka messing up his pitching arm in the WBC.

Weeee.  There’s something to look forward to.

Matt Clement in the Sox dugout in 2007 - Photo by Kelly O'Connor

I’ve been fond of Matt Clement ever since he was with the Red Sox.  I never liked the backlash he got because he was hurt, and I never believed he was a “head case”.  I felt woefully alone in my appreciations for Matt.  Nonetheless, I’ve tried to keep up with his career.  So I was happy to find out that he signed a minor league deal with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Well, at least it APPEARS that he has.  JP isn’t giving anything away just yet.  The Jays were also looking at Carl Pavano.  Their rotation could be interesting come 2009.

And speaking of free agents who have played for the Red Sox…I was just asking around about what was going on with Alex Cora and now we have an answer - sort of.

.

While not as pressing, the Mets’ top target to replace Damion Easley as a backup middle infielder also is becoming clearer. Team insiders acknowledge Alex Cora is the No. 1 target, with Nick Punto also on the radar, although the Twins and Phillies are pursuing Punto. Cora, 33, hit .270 with nine RBI in 152 at-bats for the Red Sox last season.

He’s the Met’s “No. 1 target”?  Well, I’m glad someone is interested in him since it seems the Sox aren’t.  And better the Mets than the Yankees, right?

And how about Derek Lowe?  Now that they’ve signed CC Sabathia, the Yankees are becoming “more attractive” to him.  Well of course they are, if the rumors are true that the Yanks offered Lowe four years and over $60 million.  I have to admit, for $60 million, I’D work for the Yankees.  I’m not proud.  Or rich.

Finally, please God save me from Curt Schilling.  His response on his blog to someone who didn’t agree with him?  “I’d gladly doff that cap to punch someone like you in the mouth.” The majority of his responses to those who don’t agree with him are insults (or, in this case, threats).  I don’t understand the point in writing about something so inflammatory if you can’t handle simple debate.  Not insults to Curt (which I’m all for blowing people like that out of the water) but just dissenting opinions.  Yes, it’s his blog and he can write what he wants, but resorting to insults (and, again, a physical threat) absolutely takes away from anything he thinks he’s accomplished with his blog.  The comments over there are moderated, so he has the power to just not publish comments that set him off so.  But it seems he’s publishing them all (and good for him for that) but almost as if he’s doing it JUST to get his retorts in.  We have different styles, we two.  I choose to try and NOT antagonize my readers.

A very wise person once told me that interacting with the commenters on your blog is a bad idea because there will, ultimately, come a time when your basest instincts come out and you’ll come across sounding like an idiot…or worse.  I think Curt’s blog is proof of that.  I’m all for fiery discussions in the comments section, but I’m against letting my blog turn into a breeding ground for flame wars.  It’ll be interesting to see what comes up once I’m writing at WEEI.com.  Like Curt, I don’t suffer people I believe to be fools easily.  But my approach to them is quite different than his.  I AM inspired by the fact that this is happening at WEEI.  I worried some of my creativity (and control over my own blog) might be squelched once I got over there (for no reasons other than my own concerns - Rob Bradford hasn’t said anything to encourage my thinking that).

I’m MUCH less controversial than Curt is.  It should be a cakewalk for me. 

In news about a current Sox player, Nolan Ryan is coveting Clay Buchholz.  I think we should sic Curt on him.

Totally pimping my soon-to-be new online boss:  Rob Bradford has a video blog (along with Lou Merloni) today from the winter meetings in Las Vegas.  Check it out below.  Interesting stuff, but the most interesting is the revelation that word is Clay Buchholz is NOT on the table.  Nope, the front office wants to keep the kid around.

This pleases me, but doesn’t surprise me.  Kelly O’Connor was already talking about this before Rob and Lou ever made it to Vegas.  Hearing it from Rob just verified what she had already told me.  It’s nice to have friends who are wicked smaht. 

Of course, now I’ll be worrying about the future of Justin Masterson for a while now.

Junichi Tazawa - AP Photo/Kyodo News

Well, I suppose I should write “Welcome to Portland” since that’s where he’ll be starting.

Did anyone see the clips from the press conference?  Theo looked really uncomfortable.  He usually does at pressers.  I don’t think anyone told him that he’d have to make public appearances an awful lot of the time when he initially took the GM job.  He seems to absolutely hate it.

I haven’t seen a clip of this, but Ian Browne quotes Theo as saying (among other things):

“He’s only 22 years of age. He has a relatively fresh arm and he’s getting better. He’s trending upwards. We think he will be a good match for our development system.”

“22 years of age”? Did Theo really say that? Who talks like that? Is “22 years old” so tough to get out? I call shenanigans on Ian Browne until I see a video clip of Theo saying this.

I’m always happy to see the team pick up another pitcher, so this pleases me.  I’m going to have to try and get up to Portland, at some point in 2009, to see him pitch.  It’ll be quite different than seeing Matsuzaka pitch in his first season with the Red Sox.  I wonder if the media will follow Tazawa around the way they did Daisuke?   And, man, what kind of culture shock do you go through coming from Japan and going to Maine?