Mark Teixeira is a good baseball player. Might he be a great baseball player? Sure. Is he worth $25 million a year? No. Is he worth $22 million a year? Manny wasn't worth $22 million a year and Teixeira is no Manny. Will he get his money? Unfortunately. Do I wish it was a different team that was so disconnected from the reality of Teixeira's worth that they'd be willing to pay for him? Absolutely.
You could cry tough economic times as a reason for not going for Teixeira and you'd probably have a leg to stand on. The reality is: television ratings for baseball are down across the board. Fewer sets of eyes means less ad revenue. Moreover, Red Sox fandom may have reached it's saturation point. I don't pretend to know how much money they brought in last year but, short of dowsing for new revenue streams, that may be it. Who else could they get to part with their money, though? They've made inroads into the Asian market, Jason Bay's presence seemed to pique the interest of Canadian newspapers, but who else is there? I suppose that women make up a sizable portion of the population not particularly interested in baseball but selling 'baseball for women' would not be an easy task.
Or it might just suck in that the 'getting' of Mark Teixeira comes at the expense of Mike Lowell. When Manny left I felt like I'd been dumped. When Trot made his way in from right field that last rainy time I felt like I'd had my heart ripped out. When they kick Mike Lowell to the curb for this guy, it's going to be hard. (And if he takes Mikey's 25, I won't go all Yankee fan LaTroy Hawkins/Roberto Clemente/Paul O'Neill on him but it'll be salt in the wound.) I understand the need for a big bat in the lineup. I do. If Teixeira was something really, really special, then I could stomach it. I guess. But I adore Mike Lowell.
Thinking about it makes me grumpy, though. So instead of continued depressing rumination, high hilarity: the Season Two Premier of Flight of the Conchords.
Blerg. It doesn't seem to want to work properly.
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