On Opening Day, when Mark Teixeira is announced as a New York Yankee… he is going to be booed unmercifully by the Oriole Park faithful.
If I get tickets, and am in the crowd, I will be booing as loud as anyone.
If I do not get tickets, I will probably be booing at my TV.
However, I think many Orioles fans will be booing for the wrong reasons.
The right reason, is that Tex now plays for the New York Yankees… The wrong reason would be the idea that Tex ‘spurned’ Baltimore.
I am comfortable with where the O’s are as an Organization, and am excited about the core-talent that is being assembled.
I believe the Orioles have assembled their most talented-team in over a decade, and are capable of playing slightly over their heads, and finishing at-least .500 for the first-time since 1997.
I believe the O’s have the ability to a perennial contender, starting in 2010.
That said, I still have problems with how the O’s handled the Teixeira negotiations.
If the O’s had not wanted to do what was necessary to obtain Tex, they never should have entered the bidding. I would not have agreed with that, but I would have respected that. To placate the fanbase by telling them they understood how important Tex was… was wrong.
The Orioles offered Tex 7yrs $145M… $20.7M per year…. That is a large offer, no doubt about it.
However, The O’s were told immediately it was not good enough, when Boras provided a counter-offer at the Winter Meetings.
If the O’s were not going to counter Boras’ counter, the organization should have used that provided opportunity to step out of the bidding… and say to the public… we made our best offer, and it was not good enough. Again, I would not have agreed with that approach… but I would have respected that. Instead, Baltimore Orioles General Manager Andy MacPhail told the press that the offer was flexible, and gave the impression that they would be making another offer.
I can respect the idea that our offer was flexible, and I can respect the idea that Mr. MacPhail believed he would have an opportunity to match any subsequently received offer.
Where I disagree with the O’s approach, is that it when it was clear your offer was in-sufficient, and you were willing to go higher; than you never should have lost-out on Tex, without presenting your best offer.
There was talk that Mr.MacPhail did not want to get into a bidding war… you did not have to get into a bidding war to make your best offer, nothing precluded you from doing so.
My point with this, is that some of the anger towards Tex is misguided. The O’s were the team coming off 11 straight losing seasons, and 68 wins in 2008. If the O’s wanted him, they had to be the aggressor… they had to be offering at least equal, and realistically better money. Instead, the Orioles offered less years, and considerably less overall money.
Tex was open to being a Yankee… and he was open to being an Oriole. He took the far better offer, from the far better team. Mr. MacPhail was quoted as saying that it was too much money to invest in one player. The Yanks got him for 8/180… which equals $22.5M per year… the O’s offered 7/145.. Which equals $20.7M per year… What the O’s are effectively saying is that 1 more year, and $1.8M more per year, was too much to invest in one player.
That is hard to swallow.
In a lot of ways, the O’s have already gotten past losing Tex… the franchise certainly retains a greater deal of payroll flexibility… has added a potential corner-stone in Pie.. Has extended Markakis, and Roberts… have seen the promise of their young-arms in Spring Training.
I am excited to see Brandon Snyder in AA this year, and would enjoy watching him progress to the Majors, and first-base with the O’s in 2010 as a rookie.
There are a lot of positive things to note about the O’s organization right now, and the focus should be looking ahead.
Looking backwards, and worrying about Tex accomplishes little… but the revisionist history that exists around town, saying Tex always wanted to be a Yankee, that the O’s did everything right in the negotiations for him, and that the Orioles would not have resigned Markakis and Roberts if Tex had been signed – is wrong.
28 year-old Gold Glove caliber switch hitters, with a .917 career OPS, and hometown ties are not luxury-items that you can casually dismiss, and say you will do without.
As a non-luxury item, I would have liked the O’s to have treated him as more of necessity.
On April 6th, boo Tex for being a fan of the over-rated ‘Donnie Baseball,’ (Don Mattingly)… boo Tex for being willing to come-home to Baltimore, wearing those horrible Yankee Road Greys… boo the fact the O’s never made their best offer.
Do not boo Tex for taking the most money offered.
On the other-hand, maybe just follow the lead of these guys:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLWoZkm_6Xw
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.