Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

The bandwagon of people in New England clamoring for the Patriots to sign Cam Newton to a long-term deal is basically empty today after yesterday's awful performance. If Dallas or Washington offered anything in terms of a draft pick - I'd be fine with cutting bait and trading him.. Long been critical of the F-35 program. Recently though I'm starting to think the fighter may have turned a corner. If Trump is re-elected wouldn't be surprised if the cost overruns get under more control too... Had to mute Mark Teixeira on Twitter because of all the Depends ads. Normally I'm amused by Yankees' players pissing themselves but enough was enough... Can't wait until November 4th because then I'll finally be free of all the articles and posts about the importance of early voting... You could make the case that Khabib Nurmagomedov is the greatest MMA fighter of all-time.  I certainly would ague otherwise. Will be interesting to see of Khabib remains retired... 

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I wonder how much of Stamps.com's success is due to being an early supporter and advertiser on podcasts... I know it's a serious problem for many but I'm still amused by fact that Yankee "great" Mark Teixeira is the new spokesperson for Depends. Next up A-Rod as spokesperson for Valtrex? One can only hope... I would honestly like to see a Caddyshack III starring Amy Schumer (just so we can get the title of the worst movie of the decade out of the way early)... Why is it "happy as a clam?" Is it because clams don't have brains or feelings?... Whiskey Smoothie would be a good name for a band (or slang for hangover related diarrhea)... Eddie Van Halen has died. RIP to the best guitarist I ever saw in person... I like Dan Wetzel but his argument that it isn't necessarily politics that's causing low NBA ratings was disingenuous. The word China never appeared in the article nor did the fact the NBA will let you have jerseys that say "Black Lives Matter" but not "Blue Lives Matter" or "All Lives Matter." Politics is the number one reason NBA numbers are down and why they will not rebound... 

Red Sox vs Yankees 2014

Tonight is the first match-up between the rival Red Sox and Yankees in the 2014 season. Here's a the first of four position by position breakdowns between the two clubs.

Catcher - Brian McCann was the premiere free agent catcher this past offseason and was a big signing for the Yankees. So far he's been a disappointment with just a .328 OPS (-7 OPS+ - YIKES!). McCann will eventually hit but this start may be a preview of what the end of his contract may look like. In Boston AJ Pierzynski was signed to replace Jarrod Saltalamachia and AJ has gotten flack on talk radio for his lack of plate discipline. Yet even though Salty has a decent .827 OPS to start the season (to AJ's .720 OPS) but it's Salty with 13 K's who may be the one with plate discipline issues. Even with his slow start knowing McCann can break out at any time - I'm going to call this a draw.

First - This was supposed to be Mark Teixeira vs Mike Napoli but Teixeira is hurt (again). Now it's Napoli (.942 OPS) vs Kelly Johnson (1.037 OPS) - who do you think can maintain that level of hitting? Edge Red Sox.

Second - It used to be Dustin Pedroia vs Robinson Cano and now it's Pedroia vs Brian Roberts. Edge Red Sox.

Shortstop - Hall of Famer to be Derek Jeter is on his farewell tour. The Red Sox counter with Xander Bogaerts who is ranked by most as the second best prospect in baseball. I'm going to call this a draw out of respect to Jeter's accomplishments but in reality I think even Yankee fans would admit they would rather have the Xander-man (in your head did you hear John Sterling when you read that?).

Mark Teixeira

It is interesting to note the decline of Mark Teixeira at the plate over the years. Tex may be lucky that A-Rod takes the spotlight off him. Take a look at the numbers:

2008 Age 28 Angels - 1.081 OPS
2009 Age 29 Yankees - .948 OPS (12.3% YR/YR decline)
2010 Age 30 Yankees - .846 OPS (10.8% YR/YR decline)
2011 Age 31 Yankees - .835 OPS (1.3% YR/YR decline)
2012 Age 32 Yankees - .807 OPS (3.4% YR/YR decline)

Teixeira has been declining every year. He's approaching replacement level with his bat. At his rate of decline he'll probably reach replacement level in 2014 but here's the thing (actually three things) - Teixeira is a notoriously slow starter. If he gets off to a slow start in 2014 will his fans or even Yankee management still show him the encouragement he might need to get going? Kevin Youkilis got off to an awful start in 2012 and he really couldn't turn it around till he was shipped out of town. Teixeira is under contract by the Yankees until 2016. He will make $22.5 million per year for every year until his contract expires.

As a Red Sox fan - the cherry on top is the fact that the Angels used the compensation pick from the Yankees for signing Teixeira to draft Mike Trout.

Kevin Millwood and Scott Boras

So today Mark Teixeira dropped Scott Boras as his agent. Big deal. Teixeira got his big pay day and doesn't really need to worry about anything until after the 2016 season when Teixeira may even decide to call it quits. Kevin Millwood meanwhile sits at home unemployed because Scott Boras can't seem to find him a major league job.

Even Javy Vazquez who will be 35 and last year posted a miserable 5.32 ERA for the Yankees got a job paying him $7 million this season pitching for the Marlins. Millwood will be 36 this season and posted a 5.10 ERA (nothing to brag about certainly) against the same competition Vazquez faced (even better competition actually when you consider Millwood had to pitch against the Yankees while Vazquez did not).

Millwood has been an innings eater and there are usually jobs for pitchers who can normally be penciled in for 190 innings. No job for Millwood though. Is Boras to blame? I know I praised Boras for getting that big contract for Millwood with Texas back in 2006 but now I think that overall Millwood has been ill-served by Boras.

I say this for three main reasons:

1. Boras really screwed Millwood with his phantom 4-year offer from mystery teams after the 2003 season which left Millwood with a 1-year deal with the Phillies as his only option.
2. Millwood has made about $89 million over 14 seasons while Vazquez (a similar pitcher) has made over $92 in 13 seasons (plus another $7 million this year). Could a replacement level agent have made Millwood more money in his career?
3. Vazquez has a job and Millwood does not.

Maybe Kevin Millwood should fire Boras and hire the folks who represent Javier Vazquez? Maybe he should have done that a long time ago.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I hope I'm wrong about this but I have Let me just go on record as saying that MLB overall first draft pick Bryce Harper is giving off serious Todd Marinovich type vibes... Mott's Apple Juice advertises on TV that each cup has 2 servings of real fruit but never says that fruit is apples. I find that strange... I’ve said it before but every time I see Helen Thomas – a voice in my head goes “Who’s that trip tropping over my bridge”... The Shortest Possible Game of Monopoly: 21 Seconds... I wonder if the Yankees are looking to hook up Mark Teixeira with a fat chick on the next road trip? A slumpbuster is a slumpbuster - right?... Studs Terkel never learned to drive. Helen Thomas never learned to stop hating Jews... I wonder if Bill Hall will get to pitch for the Red Sox in this series against the Indians?...

Quad 1st Basemen

I've been thinking of 1st basemen recently. This off-season all the talk in Boston was about the Red Sox making a play for the Padres' Adrian Gonzalez. Alex Speier points out why a deal for Gonzo is unlikely. I think Alex misses a very big point - Adrian Gonzalez isn't even the big trophy among young 1st basemen anymore. The new BMOF (Big Man on First) is Joey Votto. Compare the two:

Gonzalez 2010 - 10 HR / 33 RBI / .275 BA / .855 OPS
Votto 2010 - 11 HR / 35 RBI / .321 BA / .986 OPS

Adrian Gonzalez is 28-years old with 86 HR the past three years and has a $5.5 million club option for 2011. Joey Votto is 26-years old with 60 HR the past three years and who will be eligible for arbitration for the first time after this season. Votto will probably cost the Reds more in 2011 than Gonzo will cost the Padres. If the Red Sox are to deal top prospects for a 1st basemen - it will more likely be for Votto who would be under team control longer than the 1-year Gonzo would have.

Both players fall short in comparison to current Red Sox 1st basemen Kevin Youkilis who has 12 HR, 38 RBI, a .320 BA and an OPS of 1.064. Exactly why would a 1st baseman be a priority for Boston again?

More interesting to me is this player comparison:

Player A - 8 HR / 34 RBI / .215 BA / .698 OPS
Player B - 6 HR / 17 RBI / .211 BA / .716 OPS

Player A is the Yankees Mark Teixeira while Player B is the Rangers uber prospect Justin Smoak. It should be noted that Teixeira has had double the plate appearances that Smoak has had this season. Smoak was drafted the year after the Rangers traded away Teixeira. I just find the juxtaposition interesting.

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

As bad as David Ortiz and JD Drew have been for the Red Sox - Mark Teixeira has been equally bad for the Yankees. By going 1-4 yesterday - Teixeira RAISED his batting average to an even .100... Most recent no-hitters by team. Of all the great Braves pitchers in the 1990's - it was Kent Merker who got their no-no. Not pictured - New York Mets, San Diego and Tampa Bay... Livan Hernandez (2-0) hasn't allowed an earned run in two starts this year for the Nationals. Why can't the Mets get pitchers like that?... Could the Angels be a trade partner for the Red Sox? Brandon Wood has been awful so far this season at 3rd base (hitting just .088) and the Angels could use a guy like Mike Lowell as insurance Wood doesn't completely crap the bed. Plus Lowell could spell Kendry Morales at 1st and Hideki Matsui at DH. The Red Sox probably wouldn't even be compelled to eat as much as Lowell's salary as they would have with the Rangers. Just a thought... The Red Sox have the same record as the Kansas City Royals... Going into yesterday's 20 inning marathon the Mets team ERA was 4.30. After giving up just 1 run in 19 innings their team ERA dropped to 3.63...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Joe Montana couldn't have handled this any better... Albert Pujols is on pace for a MLB leading 373 total bases - makes you appreciate the amazing 406 total bases Jim Rice had in 1978... Selection of strange signs and bizarre translations from around the world... Besides Angels fans and fantasy baseball geeks - who knew? Kendry Morales of the Angels has a better OPS than Yankees Mark Teixeira (.931 to .927) and despite Teixeira having more HR Morales is out-slugging him by 33 points (.581 to .548)... Right now I would have to give the AL ROY to Toronto's Ricky Romero (10-4 and 3.53 ERA). Weiters and Price? Not so much... Cool technology - How to Transcribe a Whiteboard with Your Cameraphone... How close is the AL East race? The RedSox and Yankees have played almost the same number of games and have almost identical records home (both 35-17) and road (Y 28-25 and RS 27-25) and vs lefty (both 22-13) and righties (Y 41-29 and RS 40-29)... I think if you had to give out the NL ROY right now - then it would have to go to JA Happ (7-2 / 2.93 ERA) of the Phillies although an excellent case could be made for the Cubs Randy Wells... Heh Heh - Tiger Woods Farts His Way To Yet Another Win

The George Washington Interview

Today A Large Regular is lucky enough to have been granted an interview with one of the if not the most important person in US history. President George Washington.

ARL: Thank you so much for joining us today.

GW: No problem Chris. I've long said, "Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company." I've decided to bend that rule to associate with you today.

ALR: Ummm... thanks I guess. Today is an important anniversary in your personal history and also of course in the history of the United States. It was on this day back in 1783 that you resigned as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army.

GW: Chris, Chris, if I wanted to speak about history I would have given this interview to someone who knows history. Like Betsy or the guy over at Boston 1775. I came here to talk sports.

ALR: Of course, of course. Well jumping right into it. Who do you like in tonight's Poinsettia Bowl?


GW: I will tell you right now that Ben Franklin likes Boise State because he's a big fan of gimmicks and gimmick plays. I, on the other hand, know the importance of a good defense and TCU has one of the best defenses in the country. It should be noted that both of TCU's losses came on the road. They just barely lost to Utah at Utah and also lost 35-10 to Oklahoma at Oklahoma. This game is at a neutral site and there's good reason why Boise State is the higher ranked team but TCU is still favored in the game by 3 points. Many people have pointed out that Chris Peterson has had extra time to prepare for TCU's defense but the same is also true of TCU. They have had extra time to prepare for Boise's offense. I recommend taking TCU and giving the 3 points.

ALR: Changing gears. Where do you think Mark Teixeira will sign?

GW: Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder. I don't think Mark Teixeira will have such virtue. Is Teixeira a German name because at this point he seems to be no better than a Hessian mercenary to me. I weary of the entire situation. Let me just add that Mark Teixeira's next big hit in an important game may well be his first. A compiler of statistics is what he seems to me.

ALR: OK - going back to football. Tomorrow's Hawaii Bowl pits Hawaii against Notre Dame. Who do you like?

GW: Chris I believe that you should let your heart feel for the afflictions and distress of everyone, and let your hand give in proportion to your purse. Has anyone been more afflicted this year than Notre Dame fans? I have never been a fan of Popes or Popery but I do have compassion for the Golden Domers. That said - you should never bet with your heart and the amount of my purse that I can risk because it would make me feel good is very low. These two teams have met only twice before with Notre Dame winning both games but by only a combined 7 points. It is interesting to note that Vegas started out with Hawaii as a 1.5 point favorite but the line has moved to Notre Dame giving 2 points. In my eyes this game comes down to whether the Fighting Irish can pressure Hawaii QB Greg Alexander and turnovers. My heart tells me to take Notre Dame in this game but my head tells me not to risk too much.

ALR: Thank you so much for joining me today.

GW: My pleasure Chris and a Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Thanks for Nothing

I pick on SI's Jon Heyman because sometimes he deserves it. For what he wrote in today's Hot Stove New Tracker he deserves it. Let me address two specific quotes:

Things appear to be heating up in the Mark Teixeira talks, and baseball people believe now that Teixeira will have a new team before Christmas.

Two things - first anyone who follows baseball knows that most top free agents are signed before Christmas because both the player and the team signing them don't won't these things hanging over their heads during the holidays. That's common knowledge and common sense. Second - who are these "baseball people"? The hotdog vendors at Yankee Stadium? A couple of other sportswriters you spoke with over beers? Are these the same baseball people who told you that the Yankees would offer Bobby Abreu arbitration or the ones who told you A-Rod was close to signing with the Giants?

Second quote:

The Red Sox, disappointed when they failed to make a deal with Teixeira late last week, are still viewed as the favorite by most executives on other teams, though it's not known whether that's inside information or guesswork.

See - right there is the problem. Heyman can't tell the difference between inside information and guesswork. His readers don't have that problem though. It's clear that just about everything Heyman tosses out there is guesswork and not inside information.

Mark Teixeira

Here are some things to ponder while waiting for Mark Teixeira to announce where he will be playing for the next 8 to 10 years.

- Teixeira was huge for the Angels after being traded for. In 54 games he hit a blistering .358 with an OPS of 1.081. He also hit .379 with a 1.130 OPS in 30 home games for the Angels. He clearly was comfortable hitting for the Angels.

- If the Angels fail to sign Teixeira then that means that they traded Casey Kotchman and prospect Stephen Marek for just 54 games of Teixeira. The Angels have added incentive to make sure they didn't lose Kotchman for just a rental.

- In his career Teixeira has played 19 games at Fenway Park and he has hit an anemic .194 with a lousy .637 OPS in those games. I know that screams out "SMALL SAMPLE SIZE" but you have to think that psychologically Teixeira does not have fond memories of hitting at Fenway like he does at Angels Stadium.

- The Red Sox have made it clear that they will not go to a 10-year commitment for Teixeira. What they have in effect done is tell other teams, "Hey if you want to knock us out of the running - just go the extra two years on the deal." The Red Sox don't normally comment during a negotiation unless they have a reason. Here the reason seems to be that the Red Sox are not as serious about signing Teixeira as is being made out. If the Red Sox were truly serious there would be no comment from anyone until the deal was done.

What this points to in my mind is the Angels getting Mark Teixeira signed to a mega deal that will probably be 8-years in length with 2 option years.

Player Comparison

Here's another interesting player comparison. Take a look at these minor league numbers of two slugging first basemen:

Player A: 48 G / 171 AB / 10 HR / 28 RBI / .316 BA / .994 OPS
Player B: 41 G / 133 AB / 5 HR / 30 RBI / .316 BA / .962 OPS

Player A is Mark Teixeira and the numbers are from when he was a 22-year old at AA Tulsa.

Player B is Red Sox prospect Lars Anderson and the numbers are from last year at AA Portland. Anderson will be 22-years old next year. Here's something to note from the linked page:

Upside potential: All-Star-caliber first baseman that will contend for batting titles and RBI crowns, with plenty of homers to boot.

That's a description of Mark Teixeira. And that description of Lars Anderson is perhaps the main reason why the Red Sox won't be signing Mark Teixeira.

Player Comparison

Here’s an interesting player comparison between two All-Star first basemen with Gold Glove caliber fielding. Both went to college and both had played all or parts of six seasons in the big leagues before the age of 29.

Player A: 904 G / 3414 AB / 566 R / 989 H / 203 HR / 676 RBI
Player B: 821 G / 2921 AB / 582 R / 973 H / 186 HR / 623 RBI

Player B had been to 3 All-Star games, won 2 Gold Gloves and won a batting and RBI title all before the age of 29. Player A has been to one All-Star game and won 2 Gold Gloves. We are talking about two very, very comparable players here.

Player A is Mark Teixeira who is currently seeking a 10-year contract through his agent Scott Boras. That contract would tie a team to Teixeira for better or worse until age 38.

Player B is Todd Helton who signed a 9-year contract with a one-year 2012 team option (or $4.6 million buyout) in 2003. Essentially Helton’s contract was 10-years in length. Essentially Helton signed his long-term deal at the same age Teixeira is seeking his.

Seeing how comparable the players were up until their age 28 seasons – it would stand to reason that Helton could serve as a preview of what to expect from Teixeira. Oh and if you want to discount Helton due to the Coors Field effects also keep in mind that is probably more than off-set by the fact that Helton remained very healthy in the first 5-years of the contract (averaging better than 151 games per season). Many people view Helton’s contract as an albatross that the Rockies have had to carry these past few years. Will Teixeira’s contract be viewed in the same light a few years hence?

Buyer beware.

Peter Gammons Interview

Excellent interview with Peter Gammons by the Fire Brand of the American League. Two things I want to comment on:

They look at Teixeira at age 28 and see a star who can produce for an easy eight years, then figure out what to do with everyone else. I don't think they're in the mode of refusing to be outbid; they never work that way. But with the age of Ortiz and Lowell, to put Teixeira in with Youkilis and Pedroia in their primes would give them offensive predictability.

Spot on. See if you can get Teixeira first and then figure out everything else from there. The days of "Vince Coleman? Where would we play him?" are over.

This ownership looked around and saw there's no land for a new park, and they've done a brilliant job marketing Fenway and the Red Sox brand. There is a limited ceiling to revenues, but I can't believe they will not remain in the top 3-5 in revenues even with the $2500-a-seat tickets at the new Yankee Stadium. How about those tradeoffs to give Mayor Bloomberg his luxury box.

The scarcity of seats at Fenway is a huge plus for the Red Sox ownership in terms of NESN revenue. The local TV revenue they don't have to share with other teams. This makes them very profitable. The Red Sox have the best of all worlds here. They get to play the keepers of the public's trust by not just keeping Fenway but making it even nicer - a Disneyland-like destination for baseball fans and they also get fans to make NESN part of the basic cable package at every cable operator so every cable viewer in New England basically has to pay for it.

New York Mets

Recently I took a look at what contracts will be coming off the books and what the needs will be for the 2009 New York Yankees. It is interesting to note that the New York Mets will also have a lot of money coming off the books and even more interesting - their needs for the 2009 season will be almost exactly the same as the Yankees.

Here's the contracts coming off the books after this season for the Mets:

- Carlos Delgado has a $16 million option or a $4 million buy-out. Hmmm - I wonder which they will choose? Because the Marlins are paying $4 million of Delgado's contract this year - the Mets will only be saving $8 million toward the 2009 payroll.
- Pedro Martinez is in the last year of his contract which will pay him $11 million this year. The Mets may get a deal done to bring him back but I'd guess that's 50/50 so I'm counting this money.
- Moises Alou his $8.5 million will be coming off the books.
- Orlando Hernandez his $6 million will be coming off the books.

That's $33.5 million trimmed off the payroll. That also leaves the Mets with a big hole at 1st base and a need for another top starter.

To fill their 1st base need - look for the Mets to make a major push for Mark Teixeira. I'm guessing that Teixeira will ignite a bidding war between the Yankees and Mets with the Braves acting as the hometown discount darkhorse.

The Mets will also probably make a play for CC Sabathia but unlike the Yankees the Mets already have an Ace in Johan Santana. So I don't expect CC Sabathia to be the top priority for the Mets. Especially since they could bring back Pedro Martinez and still have a rotation of Santana, Oliver Perez, John Maine, and Pedro plus a couple of youngsters.

The need for a starter is secondary. This emphasizes the need at 1st and points to the Mets getting involved in the bidding for Mark Teixeira in a big way. It should be interesting to see what New York team will over pay for Teixeira because overpay they will.

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

Brad Wilkerson had me fooled. I thought he'd be productive this year. Now he's hitting just .185 in 15 games for Toronto and now I'm thinking that there is probably at least one pitcher on the Blue Jays who could do better than that... There are 15 1st basemen in baseball who had a better OPS than Mark Teixeira going into the night's action, 18 who had more HR, and 8 who had more RBI but it will still be Teixeira who will cash in big at the end of the season... Ex-Red Sox outfielder David Murphy leads the AL in doubles with 19. Thanks Eric Gagne! (Then again - Murphy probably wouldn't have gotten a chance in Boston.)... Dan Uggla may be the most under-rated player in baseball... Only 3 of the top 21 HR hitters in baseball are from the American League so far this season. I wonder why that is?... Johan Santana had only 7 wild pitches all of last season. This year with the Mets he's already matched that number. I'm guessing that's just part of the problem he's running into in New York...

The New York Yankees

The Yankees are poised to have a significant turnover in their roster from this year to next. They have 7 big contracts that could be coming off the books after this October. The players include:

Jason Giambi - $5 million buy-out or $22 million club option. So if they do the buy-out they still save $16 million over 2008 costs. Buh-bye.
Bobby Abreu - $16 million. I don't think he'll be back but I could be wrong.
Andy Pettitte - $16 million. Very well could be back as insurance against the youngsters continuing to stumble. If the Yankees fail to land a top free agent starter - then he'll definitely be back if he wants to pitch.
Mike Mussina - $11 million. Buh-bye.
Carl Pavano - $1.95 million buy-out or $13 million option. So if they do the buy-out they save roughly $9 million over 2008 costs. Buh-bye.
Kyle Farnsworth - $5.5 million. Baseball's answer to the hockey goon.
LaTroy Hawkins - $3.75 million. God awful. Buh-bye.

Combined those 7 players equate to $71.75 million (after buy-outs) that could be coming off the books after this season. If those players were let go then that would open holes in RF, 1st, a couple of starter positions and a couple of bullpen positions. What free agents would be available to fill those slots?

The big target would be Mark Teixeira and I'm guessing Scott Boras will squeeze Hank Steinbrenner for a Jason Giambi type deal. If they fail to land Teixeira then they may have to go with a young player or convert Matsui or Posada to a 1st baseman.

The other big target (pun intended) will be starter CC Sabathia. Look for Steinbrenner to throw Johan Santana money at CC (and if Sabathia's appetite for money is anything like his appetite for food then Cleveland can probably waive bye-bye to CC). Best case scenario for the Yankees is a rotation of Sabathia, Wang, Chamberlain, Hughes and Kennedy.

So the Yankees could possibly spend $44 million or so on Teixeira and Sabathia and still have about $27 million available to fill in the rest of the holes with marginal free agents and young players from the farm system. If the Yankees fail to land at least one of these two targets then they could be in a world of hurt next year.

Two things to note and neither item should be overlooked:

First - with that many aging veterans in their "walk" years the Yankees will probably be faced both with injuries and with an elevated level of selfishness in the clubhouse for the rest of the season. The selfishness is only natural when you think of how pampered and self-centered most millionaire athletes are in the first place. There could be lots of sniping in the clubhouse and the problem could spiral out of control with no Joe Torre father-figure around to keep it in check. Don't discount this factor in what looks to be a 3rd place finish for the Yankees in the AL East this year.

Second - the Yankees biggest rivals - the Red Sox - have no such issues. The Sox will just have to deal with a new contract for Jason Varitek and Varitek has made it clear he wants to stay in Boston.

Hot Stove Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous hot stove baseball thoughts and observations.

The biggest item on the Red Sox offseason "to-do" list is to sign Mike Lowell. I think in spring training they could have gotten a 2-year $20 million deal done but now it will probably be at least 3-years and $40 million. Here's what I wrote about signing Lowell back in April:

One final note - if the Red Sox let Mike Lowell's contract lapse into free agency then they run the risk of being used as a pawn by Scott Boras in his attempt to get A-Rod an even bigger payday. Signing Mike Lowell before the end of the season lets them avoid that circus.

Edgar Renteria traded to Tigers. I like this trade for both teams. The Braves acquire a couple of top prospects and the Tigers fill their top need at short. By shedding Renteria's contract the Braves now have close to $20 million (Renteria's contract and Andruw Jone's money) to sign Mark Teixeira and fill the hole in centerfield. I admit that my first thought when I saw this trade was that the Braves would bring back Marcus Giles at a reduced price and move Kelly Johnson over to short (similar to the Rangers moving Michael Young to short when A-Rod was traded) but that was silly. Giles may have been a fan favorite but his time has past. More likely the Braves will hand short to Yunel Escobar... I just don't see Joe Torre going to the Dodgers. He could easily make as much doing advertisements in New York and occasional talks to business groups as he would make as manager of the Dodgers. Why would he want the headache?

Teixeira to the Braves

It looks like it's official - the Rangers are trading Mark Teixeira to the Braves for a package centered around catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and shortstop prospect Elvis Andrus plus two more prospects.

This trade could be the proverbial "win-win" situation for both teams.

For the Braves it gives them a solution to their black hole at 1st base. Not only does Teixeira have perhaps the best power bat available this trade-deadline - he also brings with him Gold Glove caliber fielding. With Teixeira in the line-up - the Braves are pretty solid 1-7 in the batting order. This puts Atlanta in a very good position to win either the NL East or the NL Wildcard.

Next year Texeira will probably get at least $12 million through arbitration but Atlanta will probably be losing at least that much when Andruw Jones goes the free-agent route. If Andruw Jones does leave as a free agent - then the Braves will get two top draft picks in compensation and they get to reload the farm system once again to make trades like the one for Teixeira possible. It should be noted that given the facts that Teixeira went to Georgia Tech and the Braves have Mike Hampton's contract coming off the books after 2008 - the Braves should not be ruled out re-signing Teixeira long term.

In the deal the Braves also got lefty reliever Ron Mahay. That helps strengthen the bullpen and again makes the Braves a formidable opponent down the stretch.

From the Rangers perspective - they had to trade Teixeira. They could not afford to risk keeping him and having him get injured. In Saltalamacchia and Andrus - the Rangers got the Braves' two top prospects (according to Baseball America). It is also rumored that the Braves will be including pitching prospect Matt Harrison in the deal. If true then that would be Atlanta's top 3 prospects according to Baseball America. How could the Rangers hope for more than that?

Two things to consider. From the Rangers position - I'm not sure how confident I'd feel about still wet behind the ears GM Jon Daniels dealing with the master of the trade John Schuerholz. In all the deals that Schuerholz has made the only prospect I can think of that went on to become a star is Jason Schmidt. That has to make Ranger fans at least a bit nervous. From the Braves position - I'm still not sold on Teixeira being the great hitter everyone cracks him up to be. Teixeira has almost a 60 point difference between what he hits at Arlington and what he hits on the road. His OPS is over 100 points lower on the road than it is at home. That has to be a red flag. At least the Braves have a one-year audition to see if Teixeira really can hit outside of Arlington (facing NL pitching should help there).