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Mark Teixeira Signing Reactions

By Joe Pawlikowski [December 23, 2008 at 7:53pm CST]

Here's a quick look at some of the reactions to the Mark Teixeira signing. If you guys find any you find particularly remarkable, hit me up (josephp, Shift+2, riveraveblues dot com) and I'll add it if it adds something. But for now:

RotoAuthority has the fantasy analysis.
Interesting angle from Joel Sherman - he says the team's poor choice of passing on Carlos Beltran taught them to sign Teixeira now. He says they'd prefer to trade Hideki Matsui, among their outfield surplus. The Braves like Xavier Nady and Nick Swisher.
Brewers owner Mark Attanasio suggests a salary cap for the sport.
Gordon Edes calls this a "staggering blow" to the Red Sox and Angels. I'm not sure I would go that far, at least in the case of the Angels. That could be my bias speaking, though.
Jesse Spector of the New York Daily News notes the long-term implications of the deal. He wonders if Teixeira is really a $20 million player (or, rather, a $22.5 million player) and calls into question committing eight years to a position that serves as a transition for older players.
Roch Kubatko got some quotes from Andy MacPhail. "We can't devote that many resources to one player, no matter where he's from," was the telling line. Roch wonders if the Orioles were even given a chance to counter the Yankees offer.
Jeff Zrebiec backs up Roch. Boras didn't give the Orioles a chance to counter. He instead informed MacPhail that Teixeira was going in another direction.
Peter Abraham has learned a lesson from this. "This will also teach me not to believe anything Cashman says about living under a budget."
Tony Massarotti isn't pleased with how this turned out. "Instead, the Sox lost Teixeira for what amounted to about $10-$15 million over eight years, which is chump change for a franchise with an estimated value (including NESN and Fenway Park) or somewhere in the range of $1 billion." He notes also that the Sox had plenty of contracts coming off the books, much like the Yankees.
Over on my home turf, Ben notes the obvious: "What this Teixeira signing indicates though is that a new generation of Steinbrenners is willing to spend what it takes to win just like George."
Keith Law on the signing: "Signing three of the top four free agents on the market is a sign that they have excellent taste, even if they don't seem to have a credit limit."