From Mannywood in L.A. to Mannyland in Anaheim?
Joe Florkowski writes on mvn.com that, if the Angels can’t sign Mark Teixeira, then they should go after Manny Ramirez.
He even argues that Manny would be a better fit than Teixeira for the Angels.
What do you think? From Mannywood to Mannyland?
He lists four good reasons for signing Manny instead of Teixeira:
Teixeira has yet another suitor.
The Red Sox have the dough - and they need a hitter.
As the Boston Globe reports, the Red Sox lineup has gotten soft in the middle - kinda like Big Papi after a lax offseason - which means yet another team will probably be gunning hard for Angels’ free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira:
“According to a team source, the Red Sox already have had some internal discussion about free-agent-to-be Mark Teixeira, the most desirable hitter available on the open market and a player for which the bidding will be fierce. Coupled with the strength of Boston’s player development system, the real benefit of Ramirez departure is that the Red Sox will have a truckload of money to spend this winter. All signs point to a spirited run at Teixeira, a switch-hitting, slugging first baseman with the good defensive skills, exceptional baseball acumen, and the kind of discretionary plate discipline that Sox officials so covet.
“The obvious question is where they will put him.”
Money should not be an object for Boston:
“Thanks largely to the contractual erasures of Ramirez and Curt Schilling, the Red Sox will have roughly $40-$60 million to spend this winter.”
What do you think?
The New York Yankees are seen as a major threat to the Angels in their bid to sign free agent Mark Teixeira, but the way one New York columnist sees it the club with close to $90 million coming off the books and a history of handing out huge contracts instead will be focusing on pitching this winter.
Teixeira and Manny Ramirez are secondary to the likes of C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe, the starting pitchers at the top of this free agent class.
Here is Joel Sherman, of the New York Post on the subject: ”Currently, the only way the Yanks intend to chase a major positional free agent such as Manny Ramirez or Mark Teixeira is if they are shut out on pitching and have to consider building in a different way and/or the dismal economy drives down prices (which is possible).”
The Angels have to be encouraged by that news as they try to retain Teixeira, who hit .358 with 13 home runs and 43 RBI in 54 games after he was acquired from Atlanta ahead of the non-waiver trading deadline and batted .467 in the ALDS loss to the Boston Red Sox.
Interesting angle into free agency with CC Sabathia - and, by extension, Mark Teixeira. Will the economy drive the top pitcher and hitter in this free agent class?
It has happened in the past, as outlined by Newsday columnist Ken Davidoff.
The Major League Players’ Association is said to have applied some degree of pressure on Jim Thome a few years back to take a larger contract to keep salaries escalating during tough economic times.
Davidoff writes: ”The one free agent set to make big-time money was Jim Thome, the affable Indians slugger. The Phillies bid heavily, offering him a six-year, $85-million package. The Indians, who drafted and developed Thome but thought they needed to give themselves more payroll and roster flexibility, countered with a five-year, $60-million deal.
Thome, an Illinois native and resident, loved playing in the Midwest. He enjoyed immense popularity in Cleveland, and $60 million probably could have paid the bills. But the Players Association leaned heavily on Thome to take the Phillies’ offer, saying, essentially: “You can’t turn this down. Not this winter.”
Could the same thing happen to Sabathia, a Bay Area native who reportedly wants to play in California and is on the Angels’ shopping list?
Mark Teixeira, the soon to be free agent, is a perfect fit for a lot of teams including the New York Yankees, who will have a lot of money to throw around this winter with some hefty contracts coming off the books.
But in exploring the fit between the Yankees and Teixeira, there were some words of caution offered by a former teammate through the New York Post.
Facing the Red Sox in October has been a series of horrors for the Angels. But they got a real fright in the third inning of Game 2 Friday.
Upset over a close call at first base, Angels centerfielder Torii Hunter leapt into the air in frustration, spinning around toward umpire Kerwin Danley – and then crumpled to the ground, reaching for his left knee.
“It buckled on me,” Hunter said later.
“That’s scary,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “This guy’s an important part of everything we’re doing out there on the field.”
“I didn’t actually see it,” Angels third baseman Chone Figgins said. “But I heard the crowd get quiet.”
After back-to-back two-out singles by Mark Teixeira and Vladimir Guerrero in the third, Hunter came up as the tying run with a chance to wipe out the early advantage the Red Sox had taken.
He hit a ground ball to shortstop Alex Cora and ran hard down the line but Danley called Hunter out on a very close play, prompting Hunter’s airborne response.
“At the time, the adrenaline is flowing,” Hunter said. “I’m pretty pumped up. I’m an intense player. I play the game like a football player.
“It was a bang-bang play and it’s pretty deflating to have it go against you.”
After several nervous moments for the Angels, Hunter got up and eventually walked gingerly out to his position in center field for the next inning.
“Right now, it looks like it’s just a bit of a tweak, nothing more than a little hyperextension and he’ll be able to play Sunday,” Scioscia said.
Hunter stayed in the game but appeared to be running at less than full strength at times. He misplayed Mark Kotsay’s drive for an error in the sixth inning – Hunter’s first error in an Angels uniform. He went errorless in 137 games (354 chances) during the regular season.
“I’ll be fine,” Hunter said. “Adrenaline is all the medicine I need.”
