What makes Teixeira such a coveted difference maker & worth $25 mil a year?

[JoeSixPat]

I'm more than happy to confess a degree of ignorance here, but would love for someone more knowledgable about baseball than me to inform me.

I follow the Sox closely - I won't claim to know all the details of what makes Teixeira a great player.

I look at his stats and see a guy who averages 33 home runs, .290 batting average - what looks like a VERY good on base percentage overall and 112 RBIs on average.

Overall he seems very consistent.

But that seems to fall short of someone like Manny Ramierez who often hit more than 40 home runs and peaked at 165 RBIs one year.

I see Teixeira had a monster year in 2005 - but beyond that his stats have been about what I mentioned above.

Is the expectation that at age 28 he's about to take it to another level? Become a 40+ HR, 140+ RBI guy worth the $25 million a year (rumors are $200 million over 8 years)?

If so count me in on the bandwagon but looking at his stats now, while they're great and would be a great addition to our team, I'm not sure they justify $25 mil a season.

 

[WhiskeyBreath]

Teixeira has everything that the Red Sox covet most. He's a 28 year old, switch hitting, gold glove first baseman with power. He has a great makeup and will be a great teammate.

He is one of the few players that I would be comfortable seeing the Sox give an 8 year deal. The Sox know they need to infuse the middle of the lineup with a young power guy and Tex is it.

 

[captain insano]

i would like to see a stats comparison between teixeira and youk. i think they are very close in almost every category. if the sox only had a crystal ball so they would know if lowell would come back healthy and contribute like he has in the past. if you have lowell playing at a high level you dont need teixeira. youk is a gold glove mvp candidate after all. its teixeiras youth combined with his talent that makes him such coveted free agent. if you sign him and extend youk the sox are set at the corners for years to come. its a tough decision for theo no matter how you slice it.

 

[JoeSixPat]

i would like to see a stats comparison between teixeira and youk. i think they are very close in almost every category. if the sox only had a crystal ball so they would know if lowell would come back healthy and contribute like he has in the past. if you have lowell playing at a high level you dont need teixeira. youk is a gold glove mvp candidate after all. its teixeiras youth combined with his talent that makes him such coveted free agent. if you sign him and extend youk the sox are set at the corners for years to come. its a tough decision for theo no matter how you slice it.

Set at the corners for years to come with Lowell? I thought he was only signed for 2 more years? Did they extend him again? And isn't he 34 years old?

 

[jmt57]

I know this would get me laughed off 'EEI, but consider this:
Teixeira at 1B
Youk at 3B
Pedroia at SS - where he played until he got to the Sox
Lowell at 2B - he actually played som there in his last year with the Marlins.

Otherwise, it's Pedroia at 2B, Lowrie/Lugo at SS, and Teixeira, Youk, Lowell and Ortiz to share 1B, 3B and DH based on days off, defensive replacements, and injuries.

Before we assume Lowell is done, don't forget Big Papi's age/injuries/weight. Definitely want to bring in a younger guy like Teixeira. Lowell and Ortiz are most likely not going to be injury-free in 2009. Love the guys but you don't want to wait to long to replace them either; look at what happened to the Yankees with all those vets.

 

[dalero]

Teixeira is an onbase machine which Theo loves.

 

[captain insano]

Set at the corners for years to come with Lowell? I thought he was only signed for 2 more years? Did they extend him again? And isn't he 34 years old?

if they signed teixeira and extended youk they would be set at the corners. the sox are reported to be working on a extension for youk similar to what they did with pedroia

 

[Lifer]

I know this might ignorant, but im out here in KC, are the Sox planning on doing anything this offseason? I dont see any rumors involving them at all.

 

[patsfanofNC12]

Really want a guy like Tex right now way more than a solid SP, we have enough good/great starters to last, but we need that young big bat who can also field like a Youk

 

[captain insano]

Really want a guy like Tex right now way more than a solid SP, we have enough good/great starters to last, but we need that young big bat who can also field like a Youk

there is never . i repeat never enough pitching. ever. i want d lowe to return. hes a playoff proven innings eater with a rubber arm.

 

[WhiskeyBreath]

I know this would get me laughed off 'EEI, but consider this:
Teixeira at 1B
Youk at 3B
Pedroia at SS - where he played until he got to the Sox
Lowell at 2B - he actually played som there in his last year with the Marlins.

Otherwise, it's Pedroia at 2B, Lowrie/Lugo at SS, and Teixeira, Youk, Lowell and Ortiz to share 1B, 3B and DH based on days off, defensive replacements, and injuries.

haha. You would be laughed at and blown up big time. At least you know it would be coming.

 

[JoeSixPat]

if they signed teixeira and extended youk they would be set at the corners. the sox are reported to be working on a extension for youk similar to what they did with pedroia

Sorry - misread your post. I thought you were talking about Lowell making us solid at the corners for years to come.

haha. You would be laughed at and blown up big time. At least you know it would be coming.

Well, they would need to at least let Lowell play in spring training somewhere to show he's healthy before trading him if they want any value at all - giving him some time at 3B, DH and 1B during that time isn't crazy.

 

[WhiskeyBreath]

Well, they would need to at least let Lowell play in spring training somewhere to show he's healthy before trading him if they want any value at all - giving him some time at 3B, DH and 1B during that time isn't crazy.

Mentioning Lowell and 2B in the same sentence is what is crazy.

 

[VJCPatriot]

i would like to see a stats comparison between teixeira and youk. i think they are very close in almost every category. if the sox only had a crystal ball so they would know if lowell would come back healthy and contribute like he has in the past. if you have lowell playing at a high level you dont need teixeira. youk is a gold glove mvp candidate after all. its teixeiras youth combined with his talent that makes him such coveted free agent. if you sign him and extend youk the sox are set at the corners for years to come. its a tough decision for theo no matter how you slice it.

Lowell is over the hill and coming off a serious injury. You can't expect too much out of him for much longer. Besides I think you've already explained why the Red Sox want him. With Tex + Youk the Sox are set at the corners for years to come. Lowell on the other hand would be a stop gap solution.

Texeira is in his prime and has all the tools you want at 1st base - great defense (gold glover) and great offense. The fact that he's a switch hitter means that he's never at a disadvantage no matter what hand the pitcher throws with. Put that in the middle of your lineup and it's very hard to work around. It's no surprise that he is in high demand and at the top of the Red Sox free agent list.

Mark Teixeira Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com

 

[SammyBlueCat]

Teixeira is a damn good player and I would not have minded signing him. However I think the Red Sox have learned that it is not prudent so sign any one player to a huge long term deal. Instead sign several middle of the road guys to smaller shorter deals that are more realistic and easier to manage. If you sign one big star and he gets hurt or makes waves, the team is then hamstrung.

 

[captain insano]

Lowell is over the hill and coming off a serious injury. You can't expect too much out of him for much longer. Besides I think you've already explained why the Red Sox want him. With Tex + Youk the Sox are set at the corners for years to come. Lowell on the other hand would be a stop gap solution.

Texeira is in his prime and has all the tools you want at 1st base - great defense (gold glover) and great offense. The fact that he's a switch hitter means that he's never at a disadvantage no matter what hand the pitcher throws with. Put that in the middle of your lineup and it's very hard to work around. It's no surprise that he is in high demand and at the top of the Red Sox free agent list.

Mark Teixeira Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com

lowell over the hill? the guy gets hurt one year and now hes over the hill? i bet thats not what you thought when the sox signed him to his three year contract. if lowell is over the hill then half the yankess are to. pasada damon matsui. how old is jeter? manny seems to be going strong at his advanced age. a lot of baseball people thought lowell was over the hill when he was traded to the sox. they were wrong.

 

[dalero]

This is true. I can't believe he was considered a throw in salary dump in the Beckett deal. I have no doubt that if he's healthy he'll produce.

 

[IcyPatriot]

Lots of good theories in this thread but IMO everyone missed the most important one. This is a branding move, a public relations move. Lots of the money the Sox make is with the luxury boxes and the advertising. Having several players to represent your team long term is in the Sox interest. That was always one of the major reasons they did not want Ramirez and got rid of the idiots label. Ramirez gave you numbers value for what he was paid but he did not like to schmooze with the big shots and the Sox need a few field players to do that. Ramirez value for schmooze was next to "0".

Youk is a very good player but he's not going to make you the big bucks, nor is Jacoby. Mike Lowell is long in the tooth, Jason Bay does not have star power and neither does JD Drew. Big Papi has(had) it but he's also on the way down as opposed to the way up.

Pedroia could be it ... but the Sox need more than 1 position player to complete the branding. My opinion for what it's worth.

 

[captain insano]

Lots of good theories in this thread but IMO everyone missed the most important one. This is a branding move, a public relations move. Lots of the money the Sox make is with the luxury boxes and the advertising. Having several players to represent your team long term is in the Sox interest. That was always one of the major reasons they did not want Ramirez and got rid of the idiots label. Ramirez gave you numbers value for what he was paid but he did not like to schmooze with the big shots and the Sox need a few field players to do that. Ramirez value for schmooze was next to "0".

Youk is a very good player but he's not going to make you the big bucks, nor is Jacoby. Mike Lowell is long in the tooth, Jason Bay does not have star power and neither does JD Drew. Big Papi has(had) it but he's also on the way down as opposed to the way up.

Pedroia could be it ... but the Sox need more than 1 position player to complete the branding. My opinion for what it's worth.

i dont agree at all. the last thing the sox have to worry about is selling luxury boxes or branding there team. fenway sells itself. the redsox are the best marketed most popular team in baseball.

 

[IcyPatriot]

i dont agree at all. the last thing the sox have to worry about is selling luxury boxes or branding there team. fenway sells itself. the redsox are the best marketed most popular team in baseball.

You do realize you just agreed with me don't you?

Marketing is selling your brand ... your label.
Your brand is the type and quality of players.
You can't win the marketing game without the right players to market.
The team no longer has any idiots even though they won a World Series ... that is by design not by accident or cheapness.