Pete, I hope your platonic relationship flourishes after your wife reacts to your romantic Christmas presents. Good luck, buddy.

Peter
You are the man for being so caring and loving to your wife. You bought her what every woman desires for Christmas...

Now back to the O's, Peter, the dust has settled but I still find myself so bitter from being misled for so long. I am not talking about this incident, I am talking about the last decade. People are saying what are they going to do with the 140 mil now that the can spend that on other talent to fill holes.

They are not going to do anything. They knew Tex would not accept the same offer he turned down from Texas 2 years ago. That is why they offered it and never sweetened it. And look how they negotiate with their draft picks. Every year we are on pins and needles because they haggle over a half million. And do I dare remind you and everyone about our, let me rephrase that, your starting pitching here? This is Andy's plan to go out and revamp the starting pitching....INCREDIBLE.

Please Please dont ever drink the kool aid they serve at the stadium. The last thing we would need is you to fall victim like the writer that once was a Sun employee only to jump ship over to MASN to become one of Peter the Greats.

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

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Pete's reply: Happy Holidays to you, too. I'm not drinking the Kool-Aid, but I am convinced that if you abandon McPhail now -- after he made two good deals last year and has kept all his promises -- you're going to doom yourself to 11 more losing seasons. Everybody wanted Tex, but you have to understand that Boras obviously told MacPhail that he didn't want a new offer from the O's. There was no -- repeat NO -- interest in coming here. It's fair to blame the ownership for putting the O's in such a state that he didn't want to come home, but it isn't fair to lay it on MacPhail. If fans aren't willing to give him a reasonable chance to succeed, then the situation really is hopeless and you might as well just get on with your life.

Pete:
Gosh...a Kawakami O's jersey! That will get those fan dollars flowing in this economy, I am sure!
Care to venture an over/under on 1.2 million attendance this year at Camden Yards? And what percentage would you guess will be Red Sox and Yankee fans?
Sometimes...the product on the field needs to be improved, particularly if the product on the field is supposed to be entertaining...even while so-called future improvements are being "Planned"....

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Pete's reply: I'll take 1.75 million, which is terrible enough. I think what you're advocating is a Catch-22. The O's spend $100 million on so-so free agents who aren't going to be here in three or four years, so if you don't get into the playoffs in 2010, you're just starting the whole program over again in a few years. It may not be sexy, but MacPhail is trying to create a feeder system like the Twins and the Rays have, so there are people eventually ready to fill some holes for less than $180 million. Will it work? Maybe not, but the alternative is more of the same kind of self-defeating, haphazard personnel strategy that has created this mess.

Pete,

All I got for Christmas was a guy that took over a very a popular blog and made it is own! Many thanks for taking this to another level. Both you & Roch are some of the very best that Baltimore has to offer! For a guy that over over the years has read: The SF Chronicle, The OC Register, & The Dallas Morning News along with The Ft. Worth Star & Telegram, I'm lucky to call you guys home beat writers. Here in Texas, Randy Galloway is a distant 2nd to you guys. And I love Randy Galloway!

Thanks Pete again for all your unbiased support of the O's! You must have a Paul Blair jersey hanging in your closet as I do!

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Pete's reply: Happy Holidays, and give Galloway some props. He was very nice to me when I was coming up and I think he's great. He's the reason I even considered mixing writing with radio.

I feel sorry for Tex's parents. Do they still live in Severna Park? I have three children in their 20s. If one of them pulled a stunt like Tex, went to the Yankees of all teams for a few extra gold talons, I'd be embarrassed as hell to even step foot outside my house to pick up the paper. Everyone from Baltimore knows it would be an honor to defend the town's name vs New York. And here's one person who had the chance and turned his back. It's almost like if Francis Scott Key wrote this cool tune and then went over to the English admiral and said, "I'll sell the rights for twenty pounds sterling."

If anyone who reads this sees/knows/meets Tex's parents, please go up to them and tell them Tom in FL says their son is a bum. Tell his dad that his son is nothing but Benedict Arnold in pinstripes. Tell him Tom in FL says that if Mark Teixeira was a movie character, he'd be Marsala in Ben Hur.

I hope in these difficult economic times, the Teixeira family enjoys every penny of the $180,000,000.00.

One more thing I forgot from earlier - McPhail said he was willing to "break the rule" for Teixeira. I accept this. You think: "Hometome guy, seven years, we'll be in contention..." and you convince yourself, correctly, that it makes sense and you make a first offer.

Turns out the hometime hero dismisses you with a wave of his wealthy hand, his paid lackey telling you not to bother with a second offer.

Now: If you broke the rule for Tex, why won't you break the rule for Brian Roberts?

Think about it - whose value is higher, Tex as a 1B or Roberts as a 2B? Are you better with Huff at 1B and Roberts at 2B than Tex at 1B and last year's SS procession at 2B?

If you can break the rule for Tex, who didn't care, why can't you break the rule for Roberts, who has been a consummate Oriole since he came out of the minors?

I have lost 90% interest in baseball (I used to know the middle names of every prospect listed in Baseball America's "Most Likely to Make the Majors in the Next Five Years.) I can't tell you what Roberts is worth. Can I guess $12M/Year? Or is it $10M/year? Whatever, offer him five-six years at the going rate. Isn't Brian Roberts worth breaking the rule? And, if he declines, trade him with a clear conscious.

Markakis. Pedroia just signed for 6 yrs/$40.5M. One of those years is the third year of eligibility worth (Markakis dollars) $500K. Therefore you have 5 yrs/$40M add'l. Give Markakis those exact 5 yrs/$40M. He wants more? He hasn't acheived Tex numbers, but you still tack on one extra year at $20M for 6/$60M total - a completely reasonable offer in today's world.

People can really stop criticizing McPhail. What has he done that you wouldn't do with your own checkbook? Would you have kept DCab? Would you keep getting your oil changed at a place when every time it leaks afterward?

Today in FL it was so warm they made me put on the A/C. Tomorrow I will go to the beach. With or without Mark Teixiera, the sun will rise. To be honest, I am glad the sun will rise without him. He and New York deserve each other.

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Pete's reply: The O's have already offered Markakis $60 million, so there's no turning back on that. McPhail doesn't have to break the rules on Roberts. He apparently wants to re-sign him, but Roberts has some reservations. He'll have to overcome that with a bigger offer or move him before spring training. Hope they get him signed, but I think it may be up to him, not them.

I wanted to comment on David Steele's article proclaiming that losing Tex is a blessing in disguise. I'm not one of those fans cursing the warehouse or bemoaning 11 years of misery and the truth is, I never thought we'd get him to begin with, but I couldn't disagree more with Steele's assertion and the comparison to Miggy. Our farm system was one of the worst when we signed Tejada and it never improved while he was here. Now it's one of the best with the top prospect in Baseball and help will be coming. Tex would have been here for the better part of the next decade. We didn't need to compete for the series in '09, just make strides towards it. By 2010, Weiters is a regular, Jones and Markakis are hopefully hitting their FULL stride and Matusz, Tillman and Arrieta are playing at the Yard. He compares that trio of elite prospects to Bedard, Loewen and Cabrera...give me a break. Bedard was a surprise and was always plagued by injuries. Cabrera had potential, but was and continues to be a work in progress and while Loewen was an overall #4 draft pick, he was a high school player which means no guarantees. Tillman was already a top prospect when he came over in the Bedard deal, Arrieta was a consensus steal in the draft who has already made Team USA and Matusz is a proven college pitcher that was the undisputed top pitcher in last year's draft and a player everyone is saying will make a quick transition to the majors. Moreover, Tex's signing means Roberts happily sticks around and all you folks who want to dump him for more prospects - don't kid yourselves. We need his leadership, speed and defense, not to mention all those doubles at the top of the order. The whole team can't be promising rookies. Every team needs at least a few stars and Tex's contract would have paid off in plenty of areas beyond his own, personal stat line. The difference between the Yankees offer and ours was insignificant and could have been matched. Maybe he still signs with the evil empire because he thinks it's his best shot at the ring, but we'll never know because Baltimore doesn't want to do what's necessary. MacPhail's strategy for success at an affordable cost is a good one, but it's success elsewhere doesn't account for the presence of NY and Boston in the AL East. You think his teams would have made the postseason in our division? I am all for the intelligent trades and building from within, particularly our farm system, but if we don't complement that with some All-Star pieces, we'll never reach the promised land.

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Pete's reply: My opinion on this is well-documented. I wanted Tex, for some of the reasons you state here. He would have fit nicely into the long-term rebuilding plan while having the immediate effect of mollifying the disgruntled fan base. To me, he would have been worth eight years at $180 million, but the fact is, Boras made it pretty clear to the Orioles that there was no reason for them to make a counter-offer. He didn't want to come here. The O's contacted Boras several times and told him they were ready to modify their offer. He often changed the subject. It just wasn't going to happen. I wish it had turned out differently, because I believe it was a unique opportunity for the O's that won't come along again any time soon.

Pete:

My wife's hobby is knitting. One year for Christmas she wanted this professional quailty iron with all sorts of bells and whistles. Sounds crazy, I know. I got it for her.. and did I enjoy telling people I got my wife an iron for Christmas! Oh the looks and comments I got!

Merry Christmas.

Pete - any chance the ravens rest anyone during the 4 pm game IF the pats lose the 1 pm game? big if, just wondering...

thanks and happy holidays!

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Pete's reply: Absolutely. They would still try to win, but they probably wouldn't put Willie Anderson or Derrick at risk in that situation.

Tex Shmex - one "fellow" does not a season make. Get over it and make some serious suggestions for the inept Oriole front office. The way they have been flailing around for the last 15 seasons, maybe one day they will start reading some advice that will get them out of the basement.
Just Peter's two cents

Disappointed about Tex, yes. Angry or despondent, no. If he had not been from the local area, no one would really care. I agree with patience and the plan. I also agree with cheese in a can...

Pete , I agree with most of the other posters , you have made a considerable contribution to the great fans of Baltimore by keeping this blog alive and well. We need it and we need you to help us through this so called plan. Many us us have lost hope but we are still fans and would like the other Peter the Great to throw us a bone once in a while , have a great day.....

Pete,

Come on, you got:

3 Rule V selections:
2 Utility players and a 1 two-bit SS.

Peter The Scrooge Angelos was too cheap we only got 3 days of Christmas in lieu of the usual 12!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years

Pete,

You have obviously been drinking some of the Angelos Holiday Punch in saying " what you're advocating is a Catch-22. The O's spend $100 million on so-so free agents who aren't going to be here in three or four years, so if you don't get into the playoffs in 2010, you're just starting the whole program over again in a few years. It may not be sexy, but MacPhail is trying to create a feeder system like the Twins and the Rays have". All the while PA just keeps banking his money as he suffocates this once great franchise and lines his pockets! It's over, just like when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor!!

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Pete's reply: Keith, you're normally a more pragmatic guy. I know if's frustrating, but buying overpriced (but not overtalented) free agents just to mollify the fans is self-defeating. Maybe Peter is hoarding money. I don't know. I think his ownership style has been a disaster, but he doesn't strike me as a guy who would rather have a few million more in the bank and be villified. He's already a ton of money.