Odds and Ends: Teixeira, Pujols, McLane

If Drayton McLane would hire a GM with common sense he wouldn't need a salary cap. No doubt the Dodgers would like a salary cap right now too but if their GM didn't sign overrated players to stupid contract they wouldn't need one either. Basically a salary cap wouldn't do anything besides help billionaires keep from spending their money stupidly, save them from themselves so to speak.

What Drayton ought to do is quit interfering with the team. He's wanted Miguel Tejada for a long time, and was behind overpaying for Carlos Lee. I don't blame Ed Wade. The incompetent Tim Purpura is another. He and is staff couldn't draft good talent if it hit them in the face.

I agree that Lars Anderson could make it very easy for Boston fans to forget Tex.

Let's say next season, after Bay walks, the Red Sox sign Holliday, move Lowell, bring up Anderson, and add a big time catcher with the Lowell money.

Then you got a core of Holliday, Ellsbury, Youkilis, Pedroia, Lowrie, Anderson, Ortiz, Drew and whoever you land to play catcher.

The Tex situaion isn't necessarily that bad, because it kind of nudges the Red Sox towards staying young.

A young core of Pedroia, Youkilis, Ellsbury, Lowrie, Anderson and Reddick is damn good.

As for the highest paid player ever thing, obviously whoever beats A-Rod's 10/275-300 will be a position player.

I wanna say Pujols could do it, because he deserves it talent-wise, but he'll already be 31 going into his first season of his new contract, and I'm just not sure if any team would want to give 10+ years at $25M+ to a first baseman.

I feel like the first guy to beat an A-Rod contract is going to have to be someone who hits free agency at a younger age, like Rodriguez did when he was 25 back in 2000.

Obviously it would take an extremely special player to land that deal. Off the top of my head, the only guys who could possibly get that type of deal at some point would be B.J. Upton, Hanley Ramirez, Justin Upton, Matt Wieters, Grady Sizemore, and maybe guys like Matt Kemp, Jay Bruce, Rasmus, Maybin, Longoria, Snider, Braun, Markakis, etc.

The players will never allow a salary cap but the owners could push to limit contracts to no longer then 4 years.

Second they could eliminate no trade clauses.

Third get rid of draft pick compensation all together.

I think a more interesting piece would be the evolution of the red sox front office. The two bad contracts everyone is always talking about with this management group are drew and lugo. Both were players they were always interested in much like teixeira. Those two guys hit the market and they made sure they got them and overpayed in the process. They could have done the same thing with Teixeira here but they decided they had built a solid enough base they were comfortable letting one of their long time targets go if the price was not right.

"I think a more interesting piece would be the evolution of the red sox front office. The two bad contracts everyone is always talking about with this management group are drew and lugo. Both were players they were always interested in much like teixeira. Those two guys hit the market and they made sure they got them and overpayed in the process. They could have done the same thing with Teixeira here but they decided they had built a solid enough base they were comfortable letting one of their long time targets go if the price was not right."

I feel like the comparison between Drew/Lugo and Teixeira isn't really fair.

Drew and Lugo were good players coming into free agency, but neither player was seen as a star or a cornerstone. They were really just considered role pieces, final pieces to the puzzel.

Teixeira on the other hand would've been a mainstay in the middle of that lineup for a very long time, and his track record coming into free agency couldn't even be touched by Lugo or Drew.

the top 5 most likely Albert Pujol destinations:

5: Nationals/mets/braves

4: Angels-

3: Cubs- dlee is gone, we'll need a 1B.

2: Redsox

1: Cardinals

the viva el birdos thing about pujols was good reading. i've been thinking for a while now, and moreso after tex signed, about what happens to pujols. i didn't know about the club option for '11, i thought he was a FA after '10. that option is for 16 mil, can't see the cards not picking that up. however, the piece makes a good point, that the cards aren't the type of organization that can a)afford to commit that amount of payroll to one player, and b) even be willing to do it. some of the posters over there brought up a good point: with the yankees, at least in theory now that they've signed tex, out of the running for albert, who can afford to pay him? as crazy as it might be to consider it, i can see the cubs putting together a crazy offer for him. derrek lee is gone after '10, as is lilly. i don't think they'll sign him, but if you start to think about it, figure the yankees will be set at first base for a long time and albert won't be a DH. the red sox will definitely be in on him since lowell be gone and youkilis will undoubtedly move to third. i would say he'll probably end up in boston, because i don't think the cards will commit the money to him. he's got the elbow problem right now, he will need tommy john at some point, and the cards very quietly have been indicating payroll cuts. there was an article the other day about them not expecting much more than 3 million fans, and that town is baseball-crazy, more than anywhere else. budweiser isn't what it used to be, and i know bud doesn't own them anymore, but they are a major source of revenue for that team. i'll say it now, 2011 is his last year in st. louis.

If the Cubs signed Albert Pujols, as a fan of the Cubs, I'd probably tear up.

You're talking about one of the single greatests hitters ever.

The guy batted .357 with pitchers trying to pitch around him.

He's never posted an OPS+ under 150, an OBP under .394, a BA under .314, a SLG under .561, and he walks a ton and hardly ever strikes out.

Albert Pujols IS the perfect hitter.

"It means they decided not to go beyond a financial amount, years, or both. If that is your point about being 'financially responsible', they did that."

No. I was clearly refering to specific isolated out of context incidents that happened two years ago. Of course that is what I meant.

"I wonder if the jaw dropping talk would happen if those three went to three different teams."

Of course not. I cannot remember the last tiem the best position player and pitcher signed on the same team. Let alone for record contracts. Not to mention they signed second best pitcher as well and might be still in the mix for arguably the second best hitter out there. Of course this is jaw dropping.

scribbletone - why is it that the red sox need to add a superstar going into next year? It seems pretty clear to me that they do not have to do that. My point is they viewed teixeira like you do but when it came time to get him they decided they had put together enough other pieces of the puzzle that if he did not fit they piece they carved out for him then they were fine without him. You overpay out of need not just because someone would be a good player for your team. The sox had no need to overpay.

"Of course this is jaw dropping."

That is exactly my point. The REAL issues would not be disscussed if the Yanks did not gobble up the players as they did. In other words, business as usual and the rest is talk.

I cannot see a team that is not the yankees paying a player like arod is during seasons in which the player is over 40. I actually cannot see a team that is not the yankees paying a player more than arod unless the economic climate changes drastically.

Why do all of these post-teixeira deal stories conveniently ignore the most obvious question for the red sox. Why pay more than you want to for a player you do not really need? It seems hypocritical to see all this bashing of the yankees moves yet at the same time everyone is searching for ways to bash a team with a big payroll for being finiacially responsible. Which one is it? If you got the money spend it or do not overpay? Some people need to make their mind up.
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walkoff: I'm not coming at you sideways or anything, but people make it seem like the Yanks blasted all the other teams out the water. That 10 mil extra, spread out over 8 years, is only 1.25 mil more than what Boston offered. If given the opportunity to make one final counter offer (as opposed to going back and forth) do you really think Boston would've passed?

Wao I'm happy for the Boston fans that have a 1B in the minors that is guarantee to be a really good player and hit 35-40 HR and drive in 100-120 runs in the ML once he make it.

Also, people need to understand:

Teams that are NOT spending, that actually have it, are actually WORSE for baseball than a team like the Yankees that have the money, and choose to spend it on the product they put on the field.

I actually consider to Cards to be in this group if they don't do anything this offseason. I'll probably get yelled at for it, but its how I feel. They had a 2006 WORLD SERIES at a brand new stadium!!! What free agents have they signed since then? Adam Kennedy? Kip Wells? Joel Pinierro? I just think they need to sack up and get a player. I am a Cubs fan, and honestly, the product the Cards tried to compete with last year was pretty much crap. Its great for baseball when the Cards and Cubs are both good.

Ok, sorry, I had to get that out.

Aduncaroo you are right. A lot of teams just try to het by with some come back players every year and pocket the money instead of spending a little more.

If the people are going to pay 2500.00 for front seats, you want to see CC or AJ pitching not P. Byrd or R. Wolf.

I'm not knocking Boston but since people are quick to take shots at the Yanks line up here we go:

Lars Anderson is a true talent but can you really say that he can replace Teixeira's production when he's never played above AA?

Ortiz: He's 33 years old and has been bothered by nagging injuries? Which Ortiz will you have next year? The 07 version or the 08 version minus Ramirez' protection?

Bay is a solid hitter but he heads into FA next year. How can Boston be sure they won't be overbid, especially with the Angels in need of offense, missing out on Tex this year and maybe losing Vlad next year?

Pedroia and Younks are locks for the next few years.

Lowell. In adition to questions regarding his health he's also 35 yrs old and his 2007 MVP year was clearly head and shoulder above what he has ever done in his career.

Drew is oft injured, has an unloadable contract and in his 2 years in Boston has avg 15 hrs and 65 rbis. He's a complementary player at best that at times can carry a team for a few weeks.

Lowrie is a doubles machine but only hit .258/.339 and a lifetime .280 minor league hitter. What can you realisticaly expect from him?

Ellsbury has the potential to be a great leadoff hitter and has great speed and a great minor league pedigree but his obp sucks and up until Aug 31st was only hitting .267.

How concrete is that line-up going into 2009 and beyond?

i see the cards front office as trying to sell their fans that last year's team was not overachieving, but just fell short of 2 very good teams. the brewers are weaker, and the cubs, as it stands, are the class of the division, if not the whole league, and are primed to get better, depending on who they get to play right field. the cards probably feel their team isn't as good as last year, though i guess they finished right where most of us thought they would. it just took them a whole lot longer to get there. anyway, the cards are going into next season saying "look, we faded last year, but we're one year more mature, and we should have carpenter back healthy." i don't buy it, and a lot of cards fans i know aren't either. their history is to build pitching staffs on the cheap, and they will continue to do so. larussa's tired of it, and duncan can only work so many miracles. if that team wanted to spend it's money, it could, but it won't. they've had some bad luck recently with the mulder trade and the carpenter injury, so i don't see them doing much of anything. they locked up lohse, which i guess was a pretty fair deal, i see them going into spring training pretty much as they stand now. they'll finish 3rd or 4th, and larussa will split. i don't know where he'll go, but it won't be back in st. louis should they struggle this year.

Pujols will sign a monster contract. I don't see 10 years but he could easily get more than $30m/season.

People earlier thought that Manny might get $25-30 this off-season. If that's Manny's potential that Pujols is going to far surpass that. Younger, great clubhouse guy, better hitter, amazing glove. Pujols is just amazing.

I agree w/ you to an extent bjsguess but I bet you Pirates, A's, Royals and Indians fan would much rather pay an extra 50 bucks to go a game if their owners field a better team.

"Lars Anderson is a true talent but can you really say that he can replace Teixeira's production when he's never played above AA?"

I never said Anderson would replace Teixeira's production in 2009. But considering that Tex was signing a 8-10 year deal, I think that within 2-3 years, Anderson may be able to come close to Teixeira in terms of offensive production.

"Ortiz: He's 33 years old and has been bothered by nagging injuries? Which Ortiz will you have next year? The 07 version or the 08 version minus Ramirez' protection?"

Even if Ortiz never again reaches his peak of 2004-2007, he's still a very good hitter. Last season he posted a .264/.369/.507 line with all of those injuries, as you said. Assuming that he's at least slightly healthier next season, Ortiz should at least be good for a .275/.380/.540 season, which as we all know is extremely good.

"Bay is a solid hitter but he heads into FA next year. How can Boston be sure they won't be overbid, especially with the Angels in need of offense, missing out on Tex this year and maybe losing Vlad next year?"

I have no idea what this has to do with anything. Bay is an extremely good hitter that went unnoticed for a while in Pittsburgh, and I don't see how his FA status should affect his on field performance in 2009.

Either way, the Red Sox will likely go after Matt Holliday next offseason far harder than Bay, assuming both guys reach free agency.

"Lowell. In adition to questions regarding his health he's also 35 yrs old and his 2007 MVP year was clearly head and shoulder above what he has ever done in his career."

Lowell's 2007 season was actually arguably his third best offensive performance, behind 2003 and 2004 with Florida.

He may be 35 next season, but a 103 OPS+ while playing with some injuries really isn't that bad, especially considering that Lowell is a brilliant defensive 3B.

Lowell is a very good player, he's just a tad overpaid.

"Drew is oft injured, has an unloadable contract and in his 2 years in Boston has avg 15 hrs and 65 rbis. He's a complementary player at best that at times can carry a team for a few weeks."

He has also posted OBP's of .373 and .408, while playing good defense in right, and he really looked much more comfortable last season in Boston.

I feel like when you're picking out issues with each player in Boston's lineup, you could practically do that with every player in baseball. You're really not being fair in your evaluation of their players.

I'm not saying I'm surprised, as a Yankee fan I would expect you to look down on Red Sox players, but I'm just saying you may be a tad biased.

"Where payroll becomes an issue from a fans perspective is when it comes to watching a game. How affordable are the Yankees going to be in their new stadium and $200m payroll? How many families of 4 can take everyone out to the ballpark 3 or 4 times during a season?"

I agree with this...and I just said that teams not spending anything compared to what they make is WORSE than what the yankees are doing. I never said that I think the yankees spending is actually good for baseball...I'm not really sure where I stand on that yet. I think the big market teams should be spending 120 mil+ but I'm not sure how high the ceiling is.

I personally believe that there should be a salary cap, but only if there is a salary floor. Most people don't understand how rich people like the Twins owner is, and how the Steinbrenners aren't as rich as many of the owners around baseball. At least they put their money into their team, while the Twins trade Johan and get very little in return, saying that they can't afford to pay him. Its sad. I'm sure that the Twins fans would have rather paid an extra 5 bucks a ticket this year and had Johan and a central division title, and who knows, maybe more.

"are they really going to go into next season with schumaker, ankiel and ludwick in the outfield? and wainwright and lohse the top two starters? "

Thats what it looks like. I like Ludwick, but its not like he is going to get better than last year...he was an MVP candidate who has never been able to stay healthy. I think he does well, but more like the .850OPS level, not the .950 from last year. Ankiel is in his last year of being under contract, and is a Boras client. I like him, but he needs to stay healthy as well.

Skip will regress, there is just no reason to believe he will hit like he did last year again.

Wainwright is surely a very good pitcher, and may even be able to pitch like an Ace, although I think a #2 more based in reality. Lohse is a #3, I don't see anything better than that...I could be wrong though. You win by not counting on Carp and having him if it works out...but you will surely lose if you are counting on him to take more than about 50 innings.

Anyway, I have a lot of respect for the Cards, I just am kind of disappointed, as a baseball fan, by their approach after winning the World Series. I think Albert is too, and Tony for that matter, and both will leave unless they change it.

scribble: Maybe I should change my screen name and repost the same comments? My comments aren't biased. I will be the 1st to say I've got concerns about the Yanks line-up as well. Tex acquisition is great because he replaces Abreu at the 3 spot but it does nothing to protect Arod. Matsui, Posada, Swisher and Cano all have to rebound. Nady has to continue to prove last year wasn't a fluke, etc.

With regards to my comments, we were speaking of their offensive line-up, so discussing Lowell's defensive ability is irrelevant. Drew is a very, very good hitter but he has to be healthy and in the line-up to produce. If he misses another 50-60 games next hear then his .900 ops won't help right? Not knocking Boston's team but they really do have a lot of questions, or at least more than people might want to admitt. And with relations to Bay and Anderson, my point is that Tex would've helped long-term, considering that Anderson in an unknown quantity and Bay, as much as people comment that he loves Boston, is not a lock to resign with them, especially since this will be his 1st time on the open market.

And all those wishing and waiting for Holliday, keep in mind. The same guys that were going after Tex this year will be the same one's going after Holliday next year.

Yanks-Losing Matsui, Nady and Damon

Angels-Might not replace Tex's offense this year and have 30++ mil coming off the books and might not want to bring back Vlad.

Giants, Mets, Phillies, Dodgers, Nats, O's, ???

yanksfansice89,

I disagree with a lot of things you said.

But I'm 17, and it's my winter break.

So I'm gonna go get stoned, eat, and do what kids my age do.

We can argue another time, it's a beautiful Chicago winter day outside.

"Either way, the Red Sox will likely go after Matt Holliday next offseason far harder than Bay, assuming both guys reach free agency.

"Lowell. In adition to questions regarding his health he's also 35 yrs old and his 2007 MVP year was clearly head and shoulder above what he has ever done in his career."

Lowell's 2007 season was actually arguably his third best offensive performance, behind 2003 and 2004 with Florida.

He may be 35 next season, but a 103 OPS+ while playing with some injuries really isn't that bad, especially considering that Lowell is a brilliant defensive 3B.

Lowell is a very good player, he's just a tad overpaid.

"Drew is oft injured, has an unloadable contract and in his 2 years in Boston has avg 15 hrs and 65 rbis. He's a complementary player at best that at times can carry a team for a few weeks."

Maybe he remains productive in Oakland but right now I wouldn't go anywhere near Matt Holliday.

Mike Lowell was not overpaid last year, and J.D. Drew was outstanding last year. It was pretty well publicized the issues he was having last year and he went off in '08.

A Yankee fan having just spent the last two years watching Bobby Abreu play, should understand how phenomenal a baseball player J.D. Drew is.

I'll take 135-140 games of Drew, over 155-160 games of Bobby Abreu without hesitating.

The Yankee$ so called fans booo everyone who doesn't perform but they sure as h**l boo the ones that make the most even more. Just ask the likes of A-rod, Big-Unit, farnsworth etc etc they are not the worst but since they get paid the most they get booooed the most.

Ironic since Jocketty just left over a year ago...but that is where lots of teams will have to look for filling their positions. It has became a young mans game again.

The Cards farm overall is good (will be top 10 in BA) but it is pretty bare at starting pitcher which is not good.

Outside of CC I don't see alot of good option worth the money they are getting. I think the Cards are playing it smart. Pujols will be worth the investment. And the Cards will be right there behind the Cubs I think. 2nd place is realistic for them. As long as Izzy is not retained and Franklin pitches in the 7th inning that is.

Drayton McLane wants a salary cap?

Sure. He can have one and fork over his 1.2+ billion dollars.

If you don't want to spend money which you obviously have, then sell your damn team.

Amazing. Owners want a salary cap yet they themselves are worth millions to billions of dollars. Hypocrites.

You can say players just play a game but what exactly do owners do to deserve what they make? Did they ever risk their lives in the army, police force or fight fires? Doctors who actually SAVE lives make crumbs compared to these people.

And the owners are only concerned that they maybe won't make as much money? Money they themselves don't need.

"Ummmmm Abreu and Drew are about equal in LF and Abreu is a much better all around player. What are you thinking?"

Okay man come on, what are you thinking?

Drew is a far superior defensive player at this point, and while Abreu is good, I think we can set his production level now at a line of around .285/.370/.460, with 20 homers and 20 steals. That's quite good, but Drew is better. He's consistently posted very high OBP's, breaking .393 four of the past five season, and .408 three of the past five. He's still posted a SLG higher than .498 in four of the past five seasons, and I think it's becoming pretty clear that 2007 was the fluke, and was simply Drew learning how to play in a city like Boston.

Abreu has declined some over the past couple seasons, while Drew still seems to be a very good all around player.

They are both good players, but I think it's pretty clear that Drew is the better player.

Where Abreu makes up for it is with durability. Abreu is pretty much a sure thing to play 150 games, while with Drew you're probably gonna get 110, but getting up to 140-150 is not very likely.

If Drew and Abreu are both healthy though, Drew is the better player.

Maybe they are equal in LF a position neither of them plays but in RF Drew is def better. You must be looking at some weird stats that say abreu is clearly better 'all-around."

Yank78,
Ellsbury, I like to compare him to Johnny Damon, and if you look at Damaon's first year in the majors and compare it, Ellsbury had a better fisrt full season. Especially defensively.Lowrie the thing that I liked about him, was he solidified SS, and he had a .300 avg. with men in scoring position. Just read previous post.

Abreu has a bad success rate on stolen bases. So his stolen bases barely add anything. If you really think Abreu is even an average fielder I find that quite humorous. Abreu also made 1.66 million more per year avg over those years and is older. Drew has better power, range and most likely OBP.

"I actually consider to Cards to be in this group if they don't do anything this offseason. I'll probably get yelled at for it, but its how I feel. They had a 2006 WORLD SERIES at a brand new stadium!!! What free agents have they signed since then? Adam Kennedy? Kip Wells? Joel Pinierro?"

Aduncaroo- I am from STL but now live in Chicago, and I agree that the Cards/Cubs both being strong is baseball at its best. The FA's you mention were all signed by Jocketty; all bad contracts and he was (I think) rightly fired for them. Mo will evolve the Cards in exciting ways, but they will be far diffrent from the Jocketty era. As Ast.GM he handled the signing of Luddy, now as GM he dumped Rolen for Glaus (looked pretty smart last year), also I really like the Greene trade this off-season, and there was the Losche singing and resigning he overpaid with the resign but he greatly improved in the STL system so I still like it.

The Ft. Office tension is IMHO to be expected, Mo plays a smart game (I think he will improve the team and resign Pujols) and he is ready to get younger. TLR always wants the vet over the kids and the team is moving away from this. I do think TLR's departure will be a big loss for the team and will either be after this season or certainly within the next 3. The long term positive from his loss will be getting a guy in there who is sold on the new model of the team, so I hope that blunts the loss of TLR but I am bracing for taking a big hit at the transition. The lack of activity this offseason is killing all of us Cards fans, but we will still make some moves. Rasmus will be in the starting OF this year in place of Shu and that will be a net plus over the season: Rasmus will be slow out of the gate but have a huge second half as he settles in. He has done this at every level.

With Rasmus, Luddy, Ankiel, Duncan, Mather, Shu, and Bartton and Jay in Memphis we will move some OFs and be fine. I like a late spring training move of Duncan after he proves healthy to Toronto for a lefty relief pitcher; they need a DH and both teams would be dealing from a strength. Someone mentioned the selling of the idea of "a year under their belts" granted most of these guys are older than you like (and Luddy over performed) I like that logic for Ankiel he hasn't always been an OF if you haven't heard lol.

If TLR and Dunc will let the kids play the bullpen looks much better than last year, and I still think we will trade for an impact move there as well (most likely an unsung under the radar type).

We need, and I think will get, a SP so the slim chance of Carpenter would be a nice suprize and not the plan. I hope for Sheets, but expect Wolf now that Penny is gone. Losche came at the 11th hour last year so I think we will see something along those lines this year.

So, if we keep getting smarter and younger we can afford the $$ that Pujols will want, our farm went from 30th-8th in less than six years so progress is being made to allow this plan to happen. The TLR departure in a few years getting the orginization on the same page, looking towards DeWitt selling the team in the next 5-10 years (the signs are there) so that the new owner will be on the hook when this first group of kids will hit free agency, and a better idea of where the economy is going look to set the Cards up for some great dominant years in the near future.

I think TLR can be at his best when he feels he has a weak team (see last year) and in his walk year he will manage his ass off. I think my above moves will happen, and Glaus will go at the deadline (replaced by our 3B depth in the minors) to address a hole to get us to the post season most likely as the WC. The Cubs look good next year, but the clock is ticking. *If Harden and the $126 in LF get hurt, Dempster remembers he is Dempster, big Z stays bi-polar, and the promised new owners by spring training don't have big 2009 shake-ups planned then the good ship S.S. Wrigley could sink faster than the Titanic.

*All of these don't need to pan out just 1-2 might be enough. If not, see you in the NLCS.

Also, my wife is a diehard Cubs fan so I am screwed if I am right or wrong.

the red soxs are not getting holiday
the yankees are going to have some money coming off the books with nady, damon, matsui
we will be looking for a corner out fielder