You Better Recognize, Fool

From Lyle Spencer (Angels’ website):

What is it going to take to sign Mark Teixeira? Imagine the numbers he can produce with a full season and multiple years for the club. This is the protection for Vladimir Guerrero they have been talking about the past few years.
– Trent C., Placentia, Calif.

This is something — maybe the only thing — Angels loyalists can agree on: Tex is a perfect fit in an Angels uniform, batting third in front of Guerrero. They responded beautifully to each other in the 54 games (plus four postseason games) they were linked in manager Mike Scioscia’s lineup. Getting Teixeira back in No. 25, however, will not be easy.

The Angels will stretch the limits of their budget to bring him back. What those limits are, I don’t know. I can only guess that they’ll go as far as six years in the $120 million range. He’s 28, in his prime, playing a relatively low-risk position. He rarely misses a game, causes no problems and is about as upbeat as they come. This guy is as worthy of a megadeal as anybody.

The Red Sox, Orioles and Diamondbacks are among those presumably interested, but the wild card, as always, is the Yankees. With the deepest pockets in sports, they can offer Teixeira more than anybody else. Then it becomes his decision, if the Bronx is where he wants to be.

But the Yankees’ biggest need is on the mound. There are some starters — starting with CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett — who will command huge dollars on the open market. There’s also the gentleman with Bronx roots: Manny Ramirez. You have to believe he’d love to pull on pinstripes and torment his old club to the north in the brand new Yankee Stadium. It’s going to be fascinating watching all of this play out.

This is a good summary of the Yankees’ offseason, by Spencer. At this moment, Teixeira is a priority, but he is not the top priority, as pitching is certainly the primary need for the Yankees. With that said, Teixeira is no side story, and he is still, of course, a very valid option for the Yankees, and one that they will certainly consider (and that’s an understatement).

Spencer also notes two things that may be particularly interesting to those who have been following the always interesting Teixeira saga: 1) the Red Sox are still interested in him, meaning that they would have to move Mike Lowell, which is easier said than done, in order to sign Teixeira and 2) Manny Ramirez, a possible Teixeira consolation prize, would be one hell of a signing for the Yankees, huh?

Nobody Beats The Viz… Except For The Police…

Former Yankee, Luis Vizcaino, was arrested for suspicion of DUI in Tampa, “early” today. I hope when they say early, they’re referring to last night (after 12), rather than this morning. This is already a sad situation but that would make it look a lot worse.

The MLB needs to address its hazy yet very apparent alcohol problem. Players think that they’re invincible because they’re on TV and make millions of dollars. I don’t know the specific policy teams have with this type of thing, but I hope there are, at least, some stiff financial penalties served (by the teams) when these situations arise.

Rox Looking To Move Holliday

Apparently, Matt Holliday could be on the move this winter, although his buddy Garrett Atkins might be the best candidate for a trade. Holliday is a solid player and the Rockies would normally be rewarded with a king’s ransom for his services. However, I doubt that they’ll get the players they want unless Holliday agrees to sign an extension with the team he is traded to, and when you’re dealing with a Scott Boras client, that’s highly unlikely. He will be a free agent after the 2009 season and will probably test the FA waters, so I can’t envision too many teams seeing him as a worthwhile commodity, especially if the Rockies are looking for top pitching prospects. Why not just wait until he hits the open market?

The Yankees will certainly inquire about Holliday, but I doubt interest will develop any further than that.

Fine, We’re Leaving…

From the NY Times:

WASHINGTON — Randy Levine, the president of the Yankees, told a Congressional hearing Friday that if the city had not issued tax-exempt financing for the team’s new stadium, it would have left town.

“It’s been no secret for many years” that the team would move if it could not save tens of millions of dollars on financing with tax-free bonds, Levine told the House subcommittee on domestic policy. He added: “There was no shortage of suitors. We see ourselves as a paradigm in professional sports.”

Levine refused to be specific about the other suitors, but when asked after the hearing if New Jersey has wooed the Yankees in recent years he said, “Absolutely!”

It’s easy to say that they would leave now (a hijacking, if you will), especially after receiving so much financial support from the city of New York and its taxpayers, specifically. The team would be nothing without the city and that’s just the way it is and will always be.