Pete,

Doesn't Boras do all of Tex's money lifting?

"Frankly, I was a little surprised at the percentage of those messages that included the promise never to attend another major league game.That level of frustration is understandable at a time like this, but if you're a baseball fan, you're not going to stop being a baseball fan because Boras acted like Boras, the Yankees acted like the Yankees and the Orioles acted like the Orioles. I expect you to take a couple of days to cool off and then be back here first thing Friday morning."

I'm not sure how you can make this statement when attendance has been on the decline rapidly at OPCY. Maybe there is truth to what these fans are writing you. Maybe it's reasons like this and the hopelessness of being an Orioles' fan at the moment. Sometimes, you write great entries, and then other times, you go telling fans what to do, or what they are going to do. It's really condescending. How many people in Baltimore do you really think are driving all over the country to go to other stadiums? I can't imagine that many. We're talking about PO'd Orioles fans, and they're right to be.

I don't quite buy the fact of what McFail said that we could not afford him. If we could pay him 20 million per year 20 million over 7 years), why not 22.5 (what the yanks paid)?

This is why MLB should have a salary cap like the NFL. The rich continue to get richer, the New York, Chicago and LA and Boston teams snap up all the good players!

How can any fan of the O's be upset with a guy who wants to win. His chances of winning in Balto. , with a Bungling , ambulance chasing owner, a GM looking for his last payday before retirement( why else would he be here under the aforementioned) and a minor league team playing in a major league park, are slim to none. This franchise will never win, as is eveidenced by them not telling the fans ahead of time that they were not going to go after Texiera but are going after pitching . See how serious the O's are about winning, they did not even offer a pitcher a contract who was a free agent. the idiot fans here wanted Texiera when what we need to win is pitching. Welcome to another 10 years of losing ! GO O's

According to my shaky math and internet research skills, $22.5 million in 100 bills would weigh 495 pounds. I'm hoping he does have to lift it six inches in order to pass.

I'm disappointed but not derailed. It is hard to compete against bottomless pockets like Boston and New York, but, the Rays did and so shall we. Andy, keep up the good work and keep heading the Orioles in the right direction.

It is a shame that the millions the Yankees offered, the new ball park and the chance to win now swayed Mark T. to play for the dark side. He could have become a local hero. Maybe that was too much for him to handle. 20 million a year for seven years was nothing to sneeze at and we would have made it sweeter. But 22.5 million for eight years was too much to turn down I guess.

Peter, who do we sign now?

Just one question for everyone. Would the O's hav won 94 games this coming year if they had signed: Tex, Burnett, and Sabbathia.

Schmuck - you are WRONG. We've already stopped being baseball fans precisely because the O's are the O's, Boras is Boras, NYY are the NYY -- and MLB is MLB. HELLO!! Look at the attendance. We've been tired of it, and when there was a glimmer that it would change, Teix went to the NYY, and all is still the same. So, more fans will drop ... I love the O's and Baltimore, but haven't been to a game in 4 years and don't even look at the standings anymore (used to paste the daily standings to my bedroom wall in 70s and 80s). I'm done as a fan -- for the reasons you stated we wouldn't be. THOSE THINGS NEED TO CHANGE, and O, so obviously now, THEY WILL NOT.

We don't need him. I was over Tex last week when it looked like he was going to Boston. After looking at the situation, we have more pressing needs like pitchers. Why aren't we going after Derek Lowe?

Tex make his money bed, now he has to lie in it. Here, he could have been worshipped. There, he is just another overpaid player on a roster full of them. Let's keep building from within, but not take another 10 years. BTW, we should have kept Cabrera.

Your probably right pete....Screw Tex, what is next for us pete, anyhting new?

Peter, I am still a baseball fan but I am going to boycott MLB.

Tragically, MLB has become disfunctional. If you continue to attend MLB games, buy MLB sportsware or even watch MLB on TV, you're enabling this disfunctional behavior. The only thing these guys understand is money. So they're not getting anymore of my money. I'll watch college, high school or little league baseball but not MLB. If I'm the only one doing this, no one's going to care. But if enough of us just say NO to MLB. Maybe they'll get the message.

I think everyone should right their congressional representative and ask them to repeal MLB's anti-trust exemption. It's a symbolic move but again, if enough people raise the issue, maybe it'll get someone's attention.

By the way Peter, I am not boycotting your blog.

Screw that cretin guttersnipe. I hope the bright lights and 24/7 media coverage unhinge the sob.

Peter,

But don't you think there is something very wrong with the structure of baseball that allows a handful of teams to buy the best players? How is that in the best interest of the game? Even though we live in a free market economy the government has imposed regulations on most businesses to ensure some degree of fairness. There has to be some balance between the players' ability to earn top dollar and maintaining fairness on the field. Baseball seems unable to regulate itself. Do they need help in that regard?

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Pete's reply: They don't need or want help from anybody. They generated $6.5 billion in revenue last year. Whatever they are doing works from a money standpoint, just not a competitive standpoint.

How do I get comcast to turn just MASN off my programming??? I don't even wanted to flip past that pathetic team!!

As long as Cal Ripken is associated with the O's I will always root for the first team I ever saw play as a youngster. I am disappointed with Tex but not suprised as money talks. But I am most amused at the fact that the sprts writers got it wrong until hours before the announcement.

So what now...Pay Markakis and decide about Roberts and get back in the game before all we have to look forward to is signing Cabrera back from the Nats next year.

moving on...if angelos is willing to open up the vault, he should make an offer to manny. the dodgers offered 2/$45M; he surely can top that. just who will be bidding for him? most clubs see him as radioactive. it would be quite a hoot to have him around here. remember, its all entertainment....

What do you expect? The O's have dug themselves into such a deep hole that they will most likely never attracht a big name free agent unless he is on his last legs or paid an incredibly stupid amont of money. I've been an O's fan all my life, but I'm sorry to say I've pretty much given up on them and baseball as a whole.

I, like you, was not surprised. Eleven losing seasons doesn't give much promise to the hottest free agent in the game that he'll be coming to a team with a possibility of a quick turnaround. But at least your description of his physical made me laugh, even if I do feel like I got a lump of coal in my stocking. First a fantasy football playoff loss, and now this!

This is one time that I can't fault Peter Angelos. Yes, Teixeria would have been great but this only proves that no matter how much the O's have to spend, the Yankees have more. Who could get Sabathia and Tex in the same year. The only way to give everyone a level playing field is to seed teams like the NBA so that record gets into the playoffs regardless of what division you're in.

Sorry, Peter, but I am a baseball fan. I love the game, but I AM DONE with MLB at least until a cap is put in place. 11 years of this nonsense here at home and now watching Boston and New York monopolize free agent talent has done me in. I have been an O's fan since I was a little kid in the 1970's, but I am done. Enough is enough. I am a grown man with a wife and 2 small children and in this recession, I have better things to pay attention to than what the Orioles have turned into and what MLB has let happen to the game. They both have run me away. I will play soft toss with my daughters in the backyard this summer and not watch or attend 1 darn game.

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Pete's reply: But you're saying that if the O's had spent $180 million on Teixeira in this economy, it would have been okay?

What would be wrong with Nick Markakis being the face of the O's for the next 15 years? Pay him and get him signed!!!

Nice job Angelos. What now? What is your brilliant plan now?
I'm not as upset PA failed again to sign him as much as being upset at the fact it appears PA didn't even try to work a better offer to possibly get something done. Didn't even make a solid effort. In the end Tex signed something that was within range of the O's initial offer and with the evil empire. On the other hand, I think O's fans were all dreaming Tex may have interest in joining his boyhood team when in fact all he was looking for was winning and more money like any other greedy bastard in MLB. This will be a long summer waiting for football to start up again next fall. I guess we will now lose Roberts and Markakis next year and that is said without mentioning the solid FA pitchers of present and future we will miss out on since PA failed to show the world he is trying to improve to a winning team. No solid FA's will wish to play in Baltimore and apparently that is about the only way to win anymore. Sure Tampa Bay is a solid exaqmple that the good old days of baseball are still present, but I call this luck and a rarity. It is hard to be a fan knowing that your home town team's strategy is based on cheppness, luck and a rare chance at success and if success does come it can only be expected to occur once every 17 - 50 years.
There really is no one and maybe no one as solid as Tex by way of character and talent that we'll see come around for a long time. This was a must opportunity and PA confirmed to everyone he could give a hoot about winning. I just don't understand how Angelos can love his own money so bad that he doesn't even wish to have fun with it and win to appease the fans that give him his money. No fans No money. Angelos needs to sell this hobbie or toy (whatever he calls it) and buy some other toy that does not negatively impact an entire city of sports fans. I bleed black and orange and I thought I'd never see the day where I could go a whole summer without even watching an O's game on tv, but this summer and looking forward I will be missing many games for sure.
I'll always be an O's fan and a fan of the O's players, but I val to never support Angelos as much as I can through TV or attending O's games. I will dream of the day I may run into PA on the street.

So, Teixeira signed with the Yankees. Why did anyone expect anything else? Players who can command top dollar are not going to sign with a team run a poorly as the Orioles. Until Orioles management is cleaned out, top to bottom, all you can realistically expect from Baltimore baseball are more trips to the bottom of the division and being 25 games out of the running.

First, I want to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and an even better New Year. I just read your excellent article in the Sun and as we all know, hindsight is 20-20. Just wish you had written it a month ago. It would have saved a lot of fans needless heartache.

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Pete's reply: Thanks. I hope you're holidays are festive, too.

Pete:

I agree. You can't blame AM or PA for this one (even though I wouldn't have complained had PA given Boras that blank check). And you cannot blame Tex either. More money and a shot at the World Series just about every year is rather enticing. Still, I'm disappointed. I've been a diehard Orioles fan for 40 years, but it's hard for me to imagine myself immersing myself in the boxscores, stats, news reports, etc. the way I always have.

I've seen the future of baseball and it looks pretty much like the last decade or so. The big spenders (the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs and Mets) will make the playoffs virtually every year. Every now and then one of them will have a bad season and some small market team will get lucky, but you could probably pick the playoff clubs in March with 99% accuracy.

There's just no excitement anymore. Am I supposed to be interested when the Orioles pick through sub-.500 free agent starters that nobody else wants while the Yankees trot out CC and AJ?

Yeah, the economics is ruining the game. The players love the big bucks and the owners are making money too, so they won't change things to restore the competitive balnace. It's the fans that suffer. Until the fans revolt, and that's unlikely to ever happen, nothinmg will change.

All of the "fans" that are complaining I would love to hear there justification on 22+ mil a year. That is ridiculous. A great player but not worth that much. I was personally shocked by the O's 20 per offer and am glad we lost out. Spend that money locking up the guys we have and that actually want to play for us. Look at Nick Markakis, his numbers are not that far off from Tex, give HIM the contract and let's watch him prosper into a better player. O - and the whole hometown boy thing - the last I looked Severna Park was not the cultural center of Baltimore. If the guy grew up on Pratt street I may feel differently.

Get over it, Locked up Nick, Go O's!!!

Nowadays, it's all about the money. There really needs to be a salary cap in baseball. It's just so out of control. My son was convinced that the "traitor" would sign here, the reason being that he grew up watching the O's - he dreamed of playing for his hometown team. I tried to tell him that baseball is money driven. The only thing that matters is who will offer the most money. Since I never go to a game when the Stankees or Red Sux are in town, I won't be able to boo him - but of course it would be drowned out by all the Stankee fans anyway. I hope he stinks next year!!!

I can understand a player's desire to go for financial security. But if a player is not from the NY area nor brought up through the Yankees farm system and has several teams offering financial security and still goes to the Yankees - it shows a player with very little character. It shows a player who cares little for baseball and very little for the fans. In the current atmosphere where pennants are most often bought than earned (Yes there have been exceptions. But they are just that - exceptions - don't count on the Rays being able to keep their team together for more than a couple of years) a player who chooses to only be a mercenary is not a player to cheer for.

It is not about Boras, it is not about Tex, it is not about Angelos or the O's, its about the "spinless puke" of a commisioner named Selig. When is major league baseball ever going to implement a salary cap like in the other professional sports to make a climate for competitive balance. Maybe its time for a "lock-out" just like the NHL. Until somebody has the guts to do this we will see the same old thing. Half of a billion dollars on 3 players, give me a break. I hope the SEC investigated the Steinbrenner organization.

Good line Pete---diss instead of discount. I'll bet Texboras wanted even more from the Orioles than the Yanks to make up for their poorer competitive situation. The flawed economics of major league baseball should lead it to ruin. Used to buy Orioles season tickets years ago, and then converted to Ravens PSLs. The Ravens are a consistently better product for the money. With decent individual team management and sharing of most revenue, the NFL gives small market teams (such as Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, and Green Bay) a chance to win most every year. Now that the Yankees have a decent new stadium, maybe not so many of their fans will be streaming to Baltimore to fatten Mr. Angelos' wallet. PA, I'll come to a game or two because I like the nice stadium that Maryland built for us. Thanks for putting Baltimore back on the uniforms Mr. Angelos, it will still look good when we're back in the International League. The downfall began on your watch.

It isn't really all about Tex not signing with the Orioles. This is about how baseball has gotten so ridiculous that medium, and small market teams can't compete with these financial juggernauts. I think it is absolutely disgusting that the Yankee's can go in and sign the top 3 free agents this year. How can other teams compete with an open checkbook and no concerns about money? I don't care about Tex, it just makes me mad that a team like the Yankee's can basically buy their way into the post season every year. The NFL has a cap. And although I do feel bad that players that have been with the team so long eventually get cut for financial reasons, the league is at the very least competitive amongst the teams. Bud Selig needs to have serious thoughts about a salary cap very soon. Because I for one am threw watching baseball. The game has lost all of its tradition with this greed from the players but also teams like the yankees that buy championships and crush the smaller markets that can't financially compete.

I'm glad that, for once, I didn't even play with the notion that Tex was coming to Baltimore.

Whatever. This was to be expected all along. Maybe that's the worst part.

After seeing all Teixeira go to the Yankees on top of the signings of Sabathia and Burnett I am through watching baseball until there is a salary cap. That is the only way you can have a league that is fair to all teams ability to compete when there is free agency. The NHL is doing just fine with their cap. Maybe we will see MLB loose an entire season too before the players association will give in to a salary cap. I will boycott baseball until a cap is in place.

Pete-
The level of frustration among O's fans is directed more at MLB than at Tex or even at the O's for not signing him. Until a salary cap is in place, mid and small market teams have very little chance to compete when teams w/deep pockets snap up all of the top free agents. The biggest reason the NFL is the best pro sport is largely due to salary cap. Until MLB adopts the same and not their silly "luxury tax" they can't expect fans to turn out to support their teams w/ no chance at long term success. It is even more obvious that current system is broken when the Yankees make this deal the day after they made their $29MM luxury tax payment to MLB. Obviously this system is not working.

When I was growing up and living about 5 miles from Memorial stadium I would go to just about every game and if I couldn't get in I would sneak in or just hang around outside and wait for Brooks and Boog and all the rest of them to come out. There was a feeling of family. Everyone was friendly and signed autographs and smiled at you. I always said if I made it to the pros I would want to play for my home team. What a disgrace Teixeira is to our community. What the hell is he going to do with a 170 million Dollars on top of what he has already made. He is a cheap sell out of a person with no pride and no loyalty to the area and people that taught him the game in the first place. I for one am sick of these useless prima donas. I hope he gags on his Christmas diner. Trader

Pete,

The Yankees have bought 3 of the top
5 free agents in MLB(some would say 3 of the top 10) for $420 million. Obviously, franchises will soon fold if this trend continues. I believe that the free agency system needs to be re-exaimed for the good of the game.
The free agency system has turned
into a glutony that is destroying
the game of baseball. It's nothing
but pure greed. MaPhail probably
let DeCab go because he wanted to able to increase the offer to Teixeira.

Frankly, I'm surprised youre surprised many people here vow to never attend another MLB game. See, we can still be fans of the game without putting money into the pockets of wealthy owners and in turn, players. As Orioles fans, there has not been a committment to putting a winning product on the field, while ownership continues to make money off the team. Orioles fans do need to send a statement to ownership via an empty, and I mean completely empty stadium, that we wont continue to line pockets.

As for Teixeira, it is surprising that a self-proclaimed Orioles fan would ever make a decision to play for the Yankees. I'll leave it at that.

I'm not singing off on baseball. I'm as big of a fan as ever. I'm just signing off on Tex. I hope we boo him mercilessly and endlessly until he has to step out of the batter's box to cry. That traitor will hopefully find the misery he deserves in N.Y. and win as many World Series as Mike Mussina did. I'm not that upset with the O's, believe it or not. I don't think Tex ever really considered playing here.

You want to know why the NFL now is far more popular than MLB? This is why. As long as a few teams have the wherewithal to buy every other team in their division, and then some, this kind of economic extravagance is going to dominate the game. What MLB needs is some kind of a salary cap, which it never will have because the players together with the few rich owners never will agree to it. The owners are reaping the harvest they sowed when they allowed Marvin Miller to outmaneuver them back in the 1970s. Memo to the NFL: don't let Jerry Jones lead you down the road to economic hell by locking out the players in 2010, because once the present structure has been scrapped, you will never get it back, and then Jones can try to become the Steinbrenner of the NFL.

Something is seriously wrong when you have to root for a team to suffer injuries for other teams to even have a chance. Will there ever be a salary cap in baseball?

Peter: Thats funny on the Dallas thing. My kids are trying to figure that one out and asked if that anything to do with the Betamax tape I have in the closet titled "last Dallas". And I like the suitcase reference. Anyway I am not surprised even if the O's matched it he would have not came here. I do not blame anyone for what happened, MLB, Boras, Tex or the O's management. I really see like this. Teirxeira did not start the "bring back Mark" web page but did acknowledge that he knew about it. I do not think from mid summer to now he was going to come here. They played the "rope a dope" on the O's and that is how Boras is. He wanted the offer from the Nat's and the O's to get the Yankees to bump up the offer. The plain and simple truth is the Orioles can afford him. You do simple math to see that in respect to how many fans would be coming opposed to last year, plus the contracts of Payton, Cabrera and Millar would have offset the cost. I believe Tex would have made a million more fans come to Camden Yards, lets say the average fan spends 40 per game, which I think is a low estimate. That right there is 40 million on simple math. They could easily afford the salary but even if the Orioles outbid the evil empire it would have never happened. I really think that we clearly did not have a chance from the beginning and Angelos and MacPhail knew that. By the way he was at the Ravens game the day that everyone reported it, just means he is a Raven fan and nothing else.

Now Peter and Andy have a small problem how do you put 40,000 people in the stands when the Orioles are playing anyone besides the Yankee's and Redsox? I remember when the Bullets had to advertise to attract season ticket sales, the only way you can see MJ, Magic or Bird is to buy season tickets, maybe they should try that. Since Ripken retired the attendance has fallen roughly 35% while the average attendance in Major League parks has stayed the same.

The last thing on my mind is a good XMAS thought, my kids wanted Teixeira jerseys and at least I saved myself 300.00 and thats all I got to say about that!

Peter i am telling you right now that you are under estimating the orioles fans this time. I will never attend another oriole game and i have canceled all 4 of my season tickets . My 2 brothers and father law have done the same. I am telling you the orioles will be better off playing down patterson park this year they will have a better crowd. This isn't going to blow over by friday or friday a year from now. This will have negative repercussions well beyong what you can imagine. Roberts and nick will never resign with this team.

There isn't a person in Baltimore including Cal Ripken who would take a 40 million dollar hometown discount. Doesn't the definition of a sport imply all teams playing by the same rules? Tex is not the problem, major league baseball's team income structure is the problem along with the players union. This can only be cured by a 2 or 3 year lockout or strike that is coming. The other option is a serious shrinkage in the number of teams. But by that time who will care? Not me. I got better things to do with my summer.

i too was mad to see mark teixeria spurn the orioles and said i was done with them.but last night i watched a replay of game 5 of the 1970 world series and felt the pride return and i remembered why i love the orioles.they had alot of players through their years that were not considered superstars and they played as a team and won alot of games

Following baseball and going to games are not the same thing. I will follow the Orioles and will keep up with what is going on, but spending money to go to a game is a waste of everyones time. MLB is setting themselves up for failure. No one knows when, but this overly flawed system is going to destroy baseball. It needs to be fixed. Until then, I will avoid giving even a dime to MLB.

Pete-
Well, you're right, as usual. I found myself an equal mix of disgusted and "not surprised", for exactly the reasons you state. When you and Rick get back to the baseballsphere, how about an analysis of the impact this free agent spree has on the Yankee draft for the immediate future? (Hey, you look for a glimmer of good news where you can find it). Thanks, and have a very Merry Christmas.

It is time for a salary cap.

Call me a lone voice in the wilderness, but I am glad the O's didn't break the bank on one guy. Although he would have engendered excitement in the offseason, he wouldn't have made us contenders right away. We have to build a team to contend--see the Rays. We cannot pay 22 million plus to one guy like the Yankees who haven't won using that strategy in awhile anyway. I understand the frustration, but I think we are better off.

Pete, I think we all need to get a grip. Yes, we've all had a long love affair with the hometown kid who made good. But is he really $180 million good? I really don't think so. Signing Teixiera was not going to suddenly make us even a .500 ball club. Case in point, we already have a guy who put up very similar numbers last year- his name is Aubrey Huff, and we only have to pay him $9 million this year.

I'm out. Done. Finished. MLB has lost a follower. I've been an avid O's fan even through the worst of times and have been loyally following MLB since 1977.

But until there's a new labor agreement (2011) I'm completely done. I'm already planning what to do with the time I used to devote to baseball. MLB will not get one nickel from me. I hope others join me.

No, I really mean it...I won't attend another game (and others should agree and join me) because this is the ONLY way to send a clear message to the players union that a salary cap is needed. Hit them the only place it matters...in the wallet.

Tampa is a true enigma; they got close to the number 1 overall pick in the amateur draft for a decade, and still lost every year until this past year. They'll be back to .500 next year...you heard it here. Watch as one by one they are forced to trade those players (or lose them as free agents) to remain in a realistic cost model. They'll all end up in NY, BOS, LA, or CHI.

Until we get an even playing field, 25 teams each year will stand little or no chance of being competitive. I've been a rabid Oriole fan since I was born, remember the 18 inning night game, Brooks' goodbye game, the rain delay game where the Os won and the Yankees lost 5 runs in the 7th due to a long since obsolete rule, and many other memories. I can't support a sport that doesn't allow most of its teams to field a competitive product.

Hey Pete,
A couple of points here:
1 - The Yankees had approx. $90M come off the books since last year, so the signings of CC, Burnett & Tex basically puts them at what they were last year. Not that it makes it any better for us O's fans, but it's not like they are overspending how they normally do.
2 - I don't understand McPhail saying that they couldn't sign one player to an amount that would cripple us from signing other players down the road. Apparently, the O's made an offer of 7/$140 (low estimate). He signed for 8/$180. How does an extra $2.5M cripple you for 7 or 8 years. I am a fan of the O's and think that mcPhail has been doing a good job turning this around, but something just doesn't add up. I went to only one game last year and that was because I was given tickets and I do watch them on TV, but I can say for sure that it will be tough watching them on TV this year. And most people say that we need pitching more anyway, that is very true. But what has McPhail done for that problem area. It would have been nice to sign Texiera and then get a couple of stop gap pitchers, but just getting the stop gap pitchers now will not help this team. I doubt that they will sign anyone this offseason that will have a positive effect on this team. And now I am sure that B. Rob will not want to sign that extension with us. Wow, it really sucks supporting a team that doesn't have the resources to compete with the Yankees and Sox.

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Pete's reply: Andy was saying that it didn't make sense but they were willing to do it anyway in this one case.

I'm mad at the Orioles for once again failing to step to the plate, I'm mad at Tex for being a money grabbing whore, and I'm mad at myself for following this chirade so closely for the past 3 weeks. As the great Fred Flintstone once said "This is the camel that broke my straw back".

Sorry Peter but my level of passion for the Orioles is next to nothing at this point and that's not going to change in a couple of days. I've been beaten down from this past 11 now looking at 12 below .500 teams. Add on the system that is in place in MLB and I'm done.

Folks need to chill out- Tex made a business decision, and by any objective measure, a good one. The O-fan reaction seems to be sytomatic of a larger and much deeper malady, which in retrospect goes all the way back to the 1-0 loss to Cleveland in Game 6 of the 1997 ALCS. LIttle did I realize at the time that lead-off HR I was honorted to witness that night by Anderson in Game 1 of the 1997 ALCS was going to the franchise's high water mark for 11 seasons and counting. Every day in first place in the regular season, yet didn't make it to the Series. Tex-- enjoy opening the Yankee's new stadium.

Pete , about cooling off , your'e wrong on that front . I'm even more upset today . How can Peter Angelos look himself in the mirror each day knowing he is the most hated person in Maryland , and has been for a long time . Hated about as much as Robert Irsay . Now add Tex to that list ..... childhood team , phooey !
I see this morning D. Lowe will probably sign with the Mets . One less pitcher for us to go after . I understand Scott Ericcson is making a comeback . That will be our signing .Wait , my bad , Andy will sign a few sub 500 guys that are "inning eaters" .
We O's "fans" will in the future years read in the papers about B-rob , Nick , Matt W. signing elsewhere while we continue to field a MINOR LEAGUE team zillions of years apart from the glory years .
Thank you Peter Angelos .

Your defense of Andy Macphail in your column holds little water...it would be helpful if he would be just a little accountable, like maybe answering questions from the press more than once a winter...and one of those questions might be...let's see..you broke the so called no In the Division trade rule last year to trade the best reliever traded at the deadline to Tampa Bay, who then turned in an ELITE performance for them and we got what exactly- NOTHING...this is the kind of incompetence that the typical fan is going to miss, but it is the incompetence that teams trying to rebuild can't make...Repeat after me Andy...send nothing of value without getting something of value in return and not just saving Angelos more dollars...and that teams in our own division must pay a premium if they want a reliable veteran reliever in the midst of their pennant drive..
Why doesn't someone in the press hold McPhail accountable with an actual tough question occasionally, rather than just giving him props because he is "fighting against such overwhelming odds"?

I feel bad for all the fans who got their hopes up. Peter is not much different than Bob Irsay really. He's almost 80 now and I guess he thinks he can take it with him...his $1 billion + fortune.

Where have you gone Cal Ripken.

Pete, where is the MASN money going? Peter G. Angelos and his henchmen are at it again. Thank you sir, may I have another?

Peter,

It's just that this was a chance to re-energize the fans and about the only way Angelo$ could begin to sell seats again. Instead, we have another roster with more holes than swiss cheese that will likely be rounded-out with has been re-treads.
It's really disgusting how this league is about the haves and the have-nots.

Pete, I never post, but this seems to warrant some venting.

Yes, I am a bit ticked that NY struck again. But I must say that highest bidder wins speaks more for the players personal agendas than for the state of baseball. (The % increase in salaries do not compute w/middle class America)

The position of the O's is well documnented; dating back to losses like Oates, Jon Miller, Davey Johnson, Gillick, BJ Ryan, Mussina, Palmerio and mistakes like Belle, Clark, Bonilla, Thrift, R. Miller, Baez/Walker/Bradford, Mora, etc. An artcile descrbing the fall of a franchise may be in order.
What bothers me most is the disparity between clubs: is it really fun being a Yankee/fan? Is it not the "bully on the playground" scenario.

I must say I can feel for the fans who say they are ready to dump baseball/O's. I have been an avid fan since '78 but I too and becoming weary of the obsurdity of it all.

Hoping the O's find a way and that the Mussina curse continues!

No team can compete financially with the yankees. PA's offer of 7yrs $140mi/yr was a great offer.,The orioles have a great GM and coaching staff. I enjoy the game of baseball and look forward to the progress our young pitchers make. Mcphail has earned my confidence in his decision making.

I'm still going to watch the birds come the spring, and will do my usual 7 or so games this 2009 season at Camden Yards. For the same reasons that I'll buy the occasional lottery ticket and day dream about what I'll do with the earnings. I refuse to give up hope about a winning season in 09. The start of the season brings a clean slate, regardless of probability. If the O's come out swinging, I will be pleased. Even if they decline from there. Take enjoyment in the smaller victories. Do we deserve more? Absolutely! Until our time comes again, I will look forward to the occasional win over the stankees or sox. Or B-rob turning a smooth double play. Or Nick gunning down a runner at the plate. And especially Tex being K'ed by a bird at Camden.
Every evil empire meets its fate and the Orioles will be contenders again!

Can you please ask someone at the Baltimore Sun to remove all photos and the name Mark Teixeira (Damn Freakin Yankee) from our Baltimore Newpaper.
I will laugh my A** off when they don't make the playoff after spending $ 424 million dollars. Word to Yankee fans:
YOU STILL SUCK !!!

I will still be a baseball fan, but that's why I'm disturbed. For smaller market teams there is no light at the end of the tunnel. People can use the Rays as an example, but it's all their years of losing that allowed them to draft great players. When those players become free agents, odds are they will no longer be affordable. So what are we to do...without a salary cap, I just don't see how the O's or any small market team could consistently compete. I'm not usually the alarmist type, but I think baseball is in trouble. The fan base of the big dog teams remain as strong as ever, but the O's fan base, judging by attendance, is clearly waning. This is because of losing, but that losing is directly tied to this market issue. Pete, any chance MLB will someday do something to bring about parity? I'd like the O's and other teams to have a legitimate shot (consistently).

Pete

Do you think PA will give a hometown discount to the person or persons that buy the O's from him when he sells? Go Tex - now I'll go back to OPACY to watch him play and I hate the NYY!

So I was angry yesterday. Angry at Tex, angry at the Orioles and angry at baseball. I just want the O's to compete. I was yelling all evening with my friends who shared the same feelings. But I will get over it and of course still go to a bunch of games. I mean they are still fun as hell to go to with the aid of a few beers.

So are we going to be back here in a couple weeks talking about the next FA we didn't sign? Ben Sheets? etc... What are we going to be doing with that supposedly 140 large we didnt use?

I find it interesting that everyone is assuming the yankees have won the World Series the next 10 years already. The last time I checked we play the games. The yankees have been the best team on paper for the last 8 years or so and have not one the big one. Tex may find out how frustrating it is when he spends the next 8 years in NY under that microscope and does not get the prize. How fitting that would be. The Orioles, if they keep to their plan, may upstage all that by doing what the Rays did and be able to sustain it. The yankees are old and getting older. Tex will not be able to overcome all that. What if CC and Burnett become the next Carl Pavano, what if Tex becomes the next Alex and doesn't produce in the post season....... That's why we play the games. If we are true Orioles fans we will root for our home grown talent and spend our money signing them. I really don't envy Tex going to that place. I've got a feeling he'll regret it.

If the only reason you have for going to a baseball game is to see your team "Win" then you are missing something inside yourself. It is such a great game that while I really like to "Win" I can enjoy the game for what it is and in the end I have "Won" something that will stay with me.
The game will go on with out Tex and his money and will be played a long time after he is forgotten. So Lets all relax.

Peter, I lived through losing Bobby Grich, Don Baylor/Reggie Jackson, Eddie Murray and Mike Mussina. Nothing will ever make me stop rooting for the O's, but what makes this one hurt so much is the personal quality to the rejection. I would have understood the Braves (Georgia Tech and his wife's family) or Anaheim (weather, great team, relaxed media), but unfortunately I also understand the Yankees. After CC and AJ, which team would you join in the AL East if you were MT and wanted to win next year? It would have come down to the Yankees & the Red Sox and the Yankees offered more $.

Let's hope Brandon Snyder turns out to be the answer!

ml

p.s. I guess this means goodbye to Brian Roberts, huh?

............................................................................................
Pete's reply: Very possibly.

Pete,
I had one of those 600 posts last night, and was one that said I was done with the MLB. I love the game, don't get me wrong. I coach high school baseball in Baltimore County. I'm not giving up on the game. I'm not even mad the O's didn't get Tex. I'm upset that the sport would allow one team to spend $424 million on 3 players. Where is the justice for the Pirates, Twins, Brewers, or Royals?? You can't tell me the $26.9 million tax bill the Yanks just got from MLB is going to be enough to make them a legite. That is my point, there is no parody. The NFL salary cap is a much better model on how to keep things on a more even playing field. That is why we have several playoff possibilities at week 17 of the season. It's us the fans that cause this by supporting these players, I'm just going to support high school baseball by being the best coach I can be. Bottom line.....I still LOVE baseball.

That physical wouldn't exactly be a piece of cake.

Going with the facts that most $100 bills weigh approximately 1 gram and that there is roughly 454 grams in a pound, the estimate weight of the money alone would 495.5 pounds ($22,5000,000 divided by $100 divided by 454 grams).

Now if you add in the weight of the extremely large suitcase needed to hold that money, it's quite a workout indeed.

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Pete's reply: A 500-pound dead lift? I think he could do it.

OK, fine. The evil empire got Tex. Good for them. I hope this little episode spawns a *real* push toward a hard salary cap in baseball. And I don't want to hear any crap about how the "luxury tax" heals all wounds. It doesn't. So the Yankees gave the rest of baseball $27 million last year. So freaking what? Hell, that's probably just what they earned in baseball cap revenue anyway. I thought the idea of a *luxury tax* was to help prevent teams from doing exactly what the Yankees are doing. Clearly this isn't so effective. We need new rules.

Right now in baseball you can grow and develop your teams, like the Rays did, and watch them get plucked away to play for New York, Boston or Los Angeles. The rest of MLB teams are just farm teams for those three cities anyway, right? Kansas City develops a nice nucleus a few years back and they get picked clean. The Indians too. And now the Devil Rays have a nice home grown crew.

For now.

Just as soon as they reach their contract year, they're heading for the Hamptons. Or Broadway. Or Hollywood. For what it's worth, pro football is the model to follow. The players may not like it, but look where the UAW is right now.

If Barack wants his first mark on sports to be a NCAA football playoff, fine. But his second move should be yank baseball's anti-trust exemption and force a hard cap so there's some equity in the sport. Any team that can spend half a BILLION dollars on four players in this economic environment needs to have their business plan re-analyzed anyway.

Merry Christmas. Thbbbbttttt!!!

Tex going to the dark side is just another example of how messed up baseball has let itself get. Do you think the other 30 odd owners are happy about 423 million being spent on 4 players!!! That is more spending than some, no a lot, of small country's. If baseball does not do something and soon they are going to lose a lot of fans. The Yankees are making a mockery of a once great and beautiful game. No wonder football has become our new national pastime. Baseball has become the largest joke in the world since we all thought WWE was real! Someone please stop the Steinbrenners from ruining this game.

Maybe it's me but it's crazy for people to have all this outrage b/c the hometown boy didn't want to come home. We have one starting pitcher under contract and the economics of baseball allow the Yanks and Sox to outbid everyone. The only remote chance the O's have to be competitive is for all these young pitchers to be the studs we hope they are, and that'll probably take 5 years to find out. Tex would have to spend half the length of his contract to have any shot at a competitive season, who can blame him? Baltimore's a town where very few people leave and everyone means high school when they ask "What school did you go to?" That doesn't mean people should expect somebody with a chance to make tens of millions more and be competitive every year should just say "Sorry guys, I'm Charm City through and through. Keep your money." Besides, all things being equal wouldn't it have improved the O's much more to give CC Sabathia essentially the same money? People care way too much about the local connection than the best way to be competitive.

I have to say that last night when I first heard the news, I was upset, but this morning having calmed down, it really wasn't a suprise that he didn't come to Baltimore. Baseball does have some serious issues when a team like the Yankees can throw money around like they do. I don't know whether I am just envious of the Yankee ownership because they are not afraid of spending money. But until baseball gets a salary cap you can pretty much expect the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels etc to grab the top free agents every year. It's hard to be mad at a player for not coming to Baltimore when we have had 11 losing seasons in a row. Its just a fact that people want to play for winners. I have been a huge Oriole fan for 35 years and I still am today. I believe they are on the right track as long as they lock up key players like, Makarkis, Jones long term. The minor league system is better now than it has been in years. I don't believe that Brian Roberts will stay now after this year, so the best bet would probably be to trade him and restock with some more good young players. At least we would get something for him instead of nothing when he walks next year. Once the Orioles get themselves a good nucleus of young players and start playing .500 ball, then I think we will be able to attract top free agents. Again, as long as Mr. Angelos is willing to spend money. I am holding out hope that we will continue to see progress each year. The Orioles were not a good team this year but they didn't quit. They played a lot of close games until injuries took there toll at the end of the year. So I am staying loyal to the Orioles, and drinking some koolaid in hopes that Mcphail will turn the tide of losing around and when we are ready to compete, he will get the support needed from Angelos to sign top free agents. I can only hope.

How can the black and orange be removed from my blood? Better yet how can we remove a front office that has doomed us to yet ANOTHER failure and embarrassing season?!

I'm getting mighty sick of this. The point that all the Yankee/Red Sox apologists ignore is that unrestricted cash allows them to be part of the equation every year. In the American League, NY, Boston, and a couple of others are able to be in the playoff competition yearly. Everyone else must do all the other things better, more often, to even enter the picture. In the AL East, that effect is even more pronounced, as the Blue Jays, Rays and Orioles have to field a team, built meticulously, against the mercenary All-Stars 38 times a year. I'm disgusted by the "them that have, gets" credo of MLB. I'll never give up on the O's, but sheeeesh.

I am a life-long Yankee fan. My family moved to Baltimore when I was 7 from New York. I hated the O's growing up but I respected their organization. And I miss the days when the O's were just as formidable, if not more so, than the Yanks and Red Sox. Peter Angelos is an awful owner. If he would dig into his deep billionaire pockets and put a winning product on the field, the fans would return, and his investment would be returned. Baltimore was a great baseball town. It's a shame what the organization has turned into.

merry x-mas yankme fans,sweet dreams O's fans(thats all it was,was a dream)

What can we do to protest the ridiculous inequity of baseball's economic system? I'm not being heard when I don't go to games and I don't watch on TV. If I could pay extra money to Comcast to REMOVE all baseball programming from my lineup I would do it in a second. Something needs to be done to give the game back to the fans - and I mean ALL fans, not just New York fans. I'm tired of waiting for Bud Selig to do something. But at the same time I feel like there's not much I can do other than turn my back on a game I've loved for 40+ years.

Anyone who expected the Orioles to get Teixeira was a fool. First of all Angelos is too tight to sign any good players; we are stuck with that as long as he is the owner. Secondly; what quality player wants to play for such a cheap owner and for a team without a winning pitching staff that has no future in the playoffs. Winners come expensive and we can forget it as long as Angelos is the owner,

Peter,

Although it is not impossible to build a team from within, with young talented players (and hopefully pitchers), the Tampa Rays did it...teams with losing records for 11 straight years don't get discounts on players. You pay premiums. Roberts, Markakis, Jones etc. are nice players, but none of them would make an impact on any other team in the AL East. There is no guarantee that they would even start for the Red Sox or Yankees. Our entire philosophy is flawed and regardless of the economy, we need to spend $150 million plus to be competitive...or we will continue to watch our Triple A team win 60-70 games per year for the forseeable future.
Happy Holidays.

You are right. This is not the only reason I have stopped going to games and stopped focusing on baseball. This has been a slow migration that is now complete. The NFL does it right. Great parity. The sooner you start talking about a fresh hometown sport like lacrosse the better. I can't wait for the two lax events next year at M&T bank stadium. The fan support is growing and has become my spring past time.

Not offering the 8th year was very poor judgment on AM's part, whether we got him or not. Huge PR move to show the fans and other free agents that they are serious players vs. always trying to get someone on "the cheap".

We're acting like a small market team, which we are not. The perception of the O's negotiating tactics, for future free agents or the re-signing of Roberts, Markakis, etc., wasn't helped, only reinforced. Or, as Tom Boswell said, "the Orioles are irrelevant".

I think the trade was good but WAY TO MUCH MONEY! I tink C.C Sabathia's trade was awesome. BYE!

Mark wanted to play for a winner. It's as simple as that.

Do you see any chance of the Orioles ever becoming competitive with the Yankees and Red Sox? If not, then whats the point?

The Orioles will be lucky to draw 1 million this year and 500k will be from NY or Boston.

How about a luxury tax for fans wearing NY or Boston colors?

Pete:
I think the fans frustration is that the sport has become a sport of mercenaries and their agents who are out of control. The game is nothing but egos dealing with egos. A catcher doesn't do his best because he is tired of losing, a player acts like a party boy til his team invokes a "morality" clause and terminates the contract, a player pumps health threatening drugs into their body to exceed their natural talents so they will be worth more and more on the market. This is what the fans are sick of. Of all the sports there is no attempt to create fiscal sanity. And we won't even go down the road of instant reply creeping into the play.

a is for avarice - the greed that is killing the sport.

Dear Mr. Teixeira,
Thank you for employing Scott Boras as your agent. While everyone is upset that you signed with the Yankees, I pretty much saw this coming. I mean, you do have the most greedy agent in sports, right? So how was anyone really going to think that you would stay loyal to anyone, much less your "hometown" Orioles. The only thing to which you are showing loyalty is the almighty dollar. That didn't start with your signing to the Yankees. It started the day you hired Scott Boras as an agent. Sure, you are a tremendous baseball player and following a "local kid done good" has been wonderful. But it saddens me that, as much as a terrific baseball player you are, you are much more greedy. I am sure your parents are truly proud of that fact. While they sit in the new home you might buy them (paying cash, of course), I bet in the back of their minds they are wondering how they raised you to be so greedy. Seriously, to play baseball in your hometown for a king's ransom (which is still what the Orioles offered, mind you) would be a dream come true. Not just for you, but for all Orioles fans who are longing for the hometown hero we haven't had since Cal Ripken. You should feel honored just to be mentioned in the same breath as Cal. Instead, you did the absolute worst thing you could do to Orioles fans: signing with the Yankees!

Congratulations on your new contract. All that money can't buy dignity.

Thanks,
Wayne Russell Fritz
formerly of Severna Park, Maryland
currently of Baltimore

Pete,

I am surprised to while I feel baseball needs a salary cap as well OPACY is a special place no matter how good or bad the O's are. I have more great memories from that place than I can count and you know the funny thing I don't remember a single score of one of the games I have been too. I guess i just don't get it or I love baseball to much.

Yankees end up with the 3 top free agents....Just another reason to fix the salary issues.

I HATE THE YANKEES!! and all they stand for!

I've calmed down but I am working on first base side seats for opening day. I may not make it past the third inning before getting kicked out. PICKLES HERE I COME!!!!!

If we take the series from them I'll be just as happy as if we had gotten Tex!

.....oh Tex Luther your still a sell out..

see mike mussina, ask him where his ring is with the yankees. baseball says it's popularity is at all time high but I'm disgusted by it and have really lost interest in the sport. I'm so sick of yankees vs. redsox being shoved down our throats that I want to puke!

I attend ravens games to win and I live and breath NFL for 4 months. II attend orioles game for a fun afternoon twice a year and that's it. Not that I don't want to do more but it's just not worth it when you see the yankee's committ 420million to 3 players what a joke!

A couple of things to note:
-Anyone who says that their favorite team is the Orioles and their favorite player is Don Mattingly- I don't know what to do with that.
-Its good to work up some real hate for the Yankees again, they have been so pathetic lately it has been hard to.
-This was one last chance for Mussina to screw over the O's- if he had not retired then the Yanks may not have made the run at Teixeira.
-Maybe now we will actually sign some retreads and get back to our rebuilding plan (which is apparently longer than 7 years).

Honestly, I hope McPhail distributes whatever budget he has in the most fiscally responsible fashion he can. If he focuses on getting the most bang for the buck instead of placating all the fans who don't understand that Teixeira was not going to magically fix this franchise then maybe we have a shot at doing what the Rays did last year sometime in the near future. Good riddance, Mark. You're not the type of player I want to root for anyway. Enjoy your windfall and good luck enjoying yourself everyday under that pressure to perform.

I think it breaks down like this:
Someone is watching over the Orioles.
As good as he is.... is Tex really worth $20+million/year to the Orioles ? Is any one player ? I just don't think so.
Aubrey Huff should emerge as our everyday first-baseman. Tex will make nearly three times Huff's salary in 2009. Does anyone really think Tex's numbers will be three times those of Huff ? I don't think they'll be two times as much...... or even 50% more. The whole concept was an absurdity from the beginning.
Aubrey Huff will continue to be a major offensive force in the AL and a good defensive first-baseman while Tex will continue his production at his normal pace as well.
This gives Luke Scott the opportunity to become the everyday DH (a role for which he is perfectly suited) and for LF to be covered by minor league Triple Crown winner Lou Montanez who has all but proven he can hit major league pitching.
Nolan Reimold can get a legitimate shot at being the fourth outfielder as he deserves as well.
I would not spend a dime on any of the available FA pitchers. They are all a gamble.
I'd gibe legitimate opportunities to Bergesen, Matusz, Patton, Tillman, Baez, Liz, and Waters to make the rotation and sign Jason Varitek for a year with a club option for a second to handle them while paving the way for a transition to Weiters, who may well emerge this spring as ready.
React any way you like to this next statement, but I believe it with all my heart: It would be a mistake to bring any Japanese players onboard. The Orioles are not a good fit. It's a cultural thing. We have the talent right here in our system.

Come on Peter. It symbolized a rekindling. Should of overpaid.. Bottom line, and as much as you're getting the impression that he didn't want to come to Baltimore, I'm getting the impression, we didn't offer him anything. Don't care if it's 200 million for 8 years. Do the math. At an average of 5,000 more fans, which we will lose some now, an avg. of $40 spent at the stadium is $17 million in itself, plus TV. It pays for himself. It's what the fans wanted. We're not close. Not 2010. If all these players stay good, and Huff is still hitting when the minor league "stud" pitchers come up. It's depressing. MLB is depressing. The Orioles are more depressing. It meant a revitalized fan base. Angelos is an idiot, who is a bad business owner. Law is the only profession you can be a bad business owner and still be successful. The team has gone from 30,000 fans on average to now under 10... No excuses.. Orioles not good in the forseeable future. They'll never be good. It has nothing to do with being a fan of baseball. The term "sport" entails some kind of chance of winning. We have none. All this crap about Yankees haven't done it in a decade, but at least they're competitive. This backlash has shown we would put 35,000 in that stands, if we were just shown some chance of winning in the future. He symbolized that. You pony up, and then if he rejected anyway. You make a Public announcement that he didn't want to play for Baltimore. PERIOD. Which we both know the Orioles didn't. The same amount of money last year we spent on Ramon Hernandez, Jay Payton, and Melvin MOra. I'd rather have Reimold, Wieters LAST YEAR and Texeira at the same cost.

I would never swear off Camden Yards, even if you can't stand botox/wanks fans, there are other teams you can see. As for tex though, he's pond scum, (sorry pond scum, somebody had to take the fall). I think why we are so upset at this betrayal is simply that most of us don't live our lives chasing dollars. As an immigrant I understand the American dream pretty well, but it some things are priceless. It would have taken a strong man to say no the wank money, to come to BMore and be part of a rebuilding process. Alas tex showed the world, he is but a 'bot, trolling through the path of least resistance. Whatever his baseball epitaph reads, we here certainly know better.

This signing had nothing to do with the Orioles. The Yankees knowing that the Red Sox had no plan B - they were not going to sign Manny again - needed to keep Tex out of Boston. It's an added bonus that they now have a long term solution at first base. This signing however will not determine the Yankee's future success. That success is dependent on how well the other two high priced signings perform. If their pitching does not perform the Yankees could very well finish in third place again in 2009. This result would not disappoint many people in the rest of baseball.

Peter,

You left one out...how about Teixeira acted just like every other player and went for the bright lights of NYC and the big bucks. If he ever cared about playing in Baltimore, the Orioles would have been given another opportunity to raise their offer. Let's move on past this waste of time and focus on some players who want an opportunity to prove themselves and improve this team.

Jim Carter

Peter, I've had family that has worked with the team for the past 17 years. I've probably been to a 10 or more games ever year over that timeframe.

I will never attend another MLB game as long as there is no salary cap. I don't blame Teixeira-- it's his right to earn as much as possible. I don't really even blame Angelos-- it's not his fault the market is so absurd. I don't blame Boras-- he was doing his job.

What pains me is this-- McPhail wants us to be competitive small market teams like the Twins & A's. However, you can't be competitive like that in a big market division. There's just no way.

Here's a new reality I came to this week, that we need to compare ourselves closer to the Royals & Pirates. Think about it.

Nick Steier

PS - You might remember me from a random golf day at Timbers in Columbia many years ago. You know my brother & sister-in-law.

Pete, here's my solution to MLB--put all of the high income teams in ONE division in each league (call it Premier or whatever) and get the O's (and others in similar income levels) out of the East for example. That way the fans of the middle class teams will be motivated to care again, much like the NFL. I'm serious. FYI I haven't gone to a game in 3 years and really don't care about MLB at all, but this would be a solution.

The frustration, anger, and contempt for the orioles and baseball is not about Tex going to the Yankees. It is about the fact that the fans for the non major market teams are expected to shell out big money for the hope that once every 10 or 15 years if the team makes all the right moves with their young up and coming talent might possibly win a title before the major market teams buy their chances away. I for one am not willing to participate in that system any longer. When Orioles president Andy MacPhail said.

"Obviously, [Teixeira signing with the Yankees] is not my first choice. But look, it is what it is. We still have to do what we have to do as an organization to get ourselves in a contending situation, which can be done. We just had a team win the American League championship [the Tampa Bay Rays] that did it that way. That's the model we're going to follow. You don't have to buy your way in."

He said to me be content with that playoff team every 15 years. Not 13 out of 14 years like the teams who spend. I think the model he wants to use sucks and there are many of us who are not willing to support it anymore. The fact that the other owners and baseball executives are not vocally complaining and trying to change this situation on a regular basis and take Mr. Mac fails approach is what is turning die hard baseball fans away from the pro game. So No Pete a couple days is not going to cool a lot of us off and bring us back first thing Friday morning and the fact you would even say that shows how accepting the people in positions to make noise about this problem are. I am sure there will be plenty retorts to my opinion and I have plenty more to say but frankly I am tired of wasting my time and breath on MLB. After 40 years of being an avid Orioles fan, stick baseball where the sun don't shine then, do it again on Friday.

The Yankees have spent nearly one half billion $$ on three players. This kind of nuttiness will destroy the sport if it is not reigned in. Hopefully ownership will balk at the next labor negotiations and force a cap. It's worth it, even if means one or two years with no baseball.

While admittedly disappointing, its hardly surprising that Tex opted for NY. The O's pursuit of him was kind of like the middle age guy with three kids who decides he needs a Corvette as a family vehicle. You buy Tex and then what? Losing 12 to 10 is still losing. The Orioles need to stick to the plan and develop players while making trades and free agent signings judiciously. The myth that MASN provides an endless supply of cash is just that. NY has the equivalent of 6 MASN's and no one can compete with that. If the Angels, a far larger market than Baltimore, felt the price was too high it should be axiomatic that we could not compete. It's just another example of how poorly managed the game has become. The O's made the right call on this one.

This game needs a salary cap. Bud Selig needs to be run out of the country..he has ruined the national past-time.

Go York Revolution...is the SUN considering covering the Revs??? There is a Brooksy statue outside of their stadium

"He's just not that into you" is one of the best sports columns I've read anywhere this year. The Yankees are the Yankees, and if they weren't, we wouldn't love to hate them so much. Tex went where he has a chance to win soon ... on paper. Now it's up to the O's to be the Tampa Rays Part Deux by rebuilding smarter, not faster. Kudos on a great one, Peter, and Happy Holidays.

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Pete's reply: Jim. thanks very much. You made my day. Happy Holidays.

I hope I don't offend anyone here but am just stating the obvious. If you just look at where he went to high school you will understand:

He grew up in SEVERNA PARK but played for Mount St. Joe (private)...NOT Severna Park (public).

He learned early to go play for the winner...not the home team.

Again, not to offend anyone but having grown up in Anne Arundel Co, Severna Park athletics is nothing like the rest of the county or state.

No, that's it for me. I've stopped fooling myself in believing the the Orioles, the players or baseball gives one bit about the fans.
I've been a fan since '66. While my family and friends were all Colts fans I was the Orioles fan. Never missed an opening day game in 20 years. Went to the '69, '70 and '71 World Series. Couldn't get tickets for '79 but was back for '84. The Orioles were always a respected franchise but it hasn't been that way for years.

I never liked basketball so it looks like I'm down to just football.

I don't know why you would think people aren't telling the truth when they swore off baseball. I only went to one game last year and that was only because someone gave me tickets. The team was a joke and they walked in 7 runs. Something you don't even see in little league.

It has been going on for ten years. The Ravens are fighting for a playoff spot. The Capitals are the most exciting team in hockey. Why would I waste my money on the Orioles when they are so incompetent they don't even make the simple plays that a Single "A" level player should make?

They don't even have a real major league manager. Last year they traded away their shortstop and didn't even bother to get a shortstop in return. They traded away their franchise starting pitcher and got no quality starters in return.

I don't know how much more incompetent a team can be but I think the Orioles are one of the top 5 worse run teams in all of American professional sports.

Pete
Given that no matter who we sign or don't sign for 2009, the year itself is going to involve a likely last place finish....I would suggest that the Orioles get truly creative in regards to promotional activities...
In the spirit of Christmas giving, I offer up a few unsolicited suggestions for the Warehouse...(all of the below players are currently available free agents)

The Orioles could sign a Glory of the Red Sox team...that way when all the Red Sox fans come south they could see their old heroes...it would boost attendance...The Os could sign Varitek, Garciaparra, Millar, Mientkiewicz, Curt Schilling,Roger Clemens, Derek Lowe, Pedro Martinez and Manny...

The Orioles could sign a Geriatric All Star rotation....sign Randy Johnson, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Curt Schilling and Roger Clemens with Greg Maddux as bench pitching coach.
At least that rotation would be interesting ...it could sort of be like our version of the movie Bucket List...you know...win a World Series with an all-over 40 year old rotation... and Maddux should make them pitch as many complete games as humanly possible.

To go along with the Geriatric All Star Pitching rotation promotion...I would also offer a new reality promotion to the fans....Pitch for the Orioles....conduct tryouts in an American Idol style format- televise the tryouts on MASN- each week during the season, there would be a series of baseball challenges that the wannabe ML pitchers would have to pass and the field would be narrowed throughout the year until you got to September when you would crown the victor who would be signed to a contract and pitch in the bigs...

Curt Schilling would be the Orioles multi-promotional pick of the year...He could fit on the Geriatric All Star Pitching Rotation promotion, the Glory Days of the Red Sox promotion, and the We Still Wish He Was an Oriole promotion (this would include talking Moose into coming back and prying away Jamie Moyer and finding David Wells out there somewhere)...

I am telling you...fans would stream to Camden Yards to see these promotions....we could then use the dollars...oh...that's where I run into a problem....the dollars just go into one person's pocket...

Seriously (at least partly)...If I must select from this year's motley free agent list for starting pitching help....and knowing that certain pitchers like Jon Garland, Ben Sheets and probably even guys like Paul Byrd or Oliver Perez are for some reason likely out of the Orioles interest or price range...I would pick....hmmmm....gosh it is just like Christmas.....Brad Penny and Randy Wolf with a possible, long odds, low cost, low risk pick on Matt Belisle or Mark Prior ...

Unfortunately, I think that the Orioles will more likely sign guys like Tim Redding, Braden Looper, etc....who are both losers and BORING.....at least signing Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling would not be BORING...

Either way, I am an Orioles fan always, forever and ever, amen and Merry Christmas to all fellow Orange and Black diehards!!
BOO MARK FOREVER!!

Hey Pete.

Just finished reading your article "He's Just Not That Into You." I have to say, I totally agree.

After I heard the news about his plans to sign with the Yanks, to me it all became real clear. Tex wanted the pinstripes all along.

Now granted, what I'm about to say is conjecture, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to put two and two together on this one. The reason the Angels and the Sox broke it off is because they were doubtless told, "We already have an offer for more from the Yanks. If you want Tex, yer gonna have to kick up enough dough to make me feel good about walking away from the team I really want to play for."

No wonder they basically said "bite me" and rode off into the night.

This also explains why the O's were basically treated like a red headed stepchild. Both they and the Nats were, in my humble opinion, nothing more than extra pieces of leverage that were used to drive up the offering price.

The one thing that bugs me is that I consider myself to be fairly sharp, and upon reflection, I feel like I should have listened to that little voice in my head that told me, "If Tex wanted to play here, why hasn't Boras gotten back in touch?" I also feel like Andy is being slammed unjustly, because I'd lay even money he suspected long ago that Tex didn't want to come here. Still, he felt duty bound to at least throw his hat in the ring, and he did.

So, Tex will go to the Yuckies. Well, I tell you what, I remember back in the day when they thought they finally had it made whe they got Reggie Jackson from us. What did the O's do? Well, they simply went on to become the Yankee's Nemeiss. Sure, the Yanks had Jackson, and Winfield, and Murcer, and Nettles, and Munson. The O's countered with Murray, Dauer, Belanger, DeCinces, Bumbry, Singleton...

Don't despair. There will come a day when Mr Teixiera will rue his decision to play in the fishbowl. Things have a way of evening out.

"Tex is a nice player who could have helped rekindle some excitement at Camden Yards, but no one can be surprised that he chose a richer team with a brand new stadium and a much better chance to win than the Orioles will have for the foreseeable future."

Pete, I admire your dispassionate take, but that paragraph said it all. The problem is that Tex isn't the first or the last player who will diss the Orioles for exactly these same reasons. The Yankees will always be the richer team with the better prospects in both the immediate and long-term future. I think we're all groaning and straining to recover from the proverbial Nerf crotchbat here because Teixeira represented a possible turning point. Instead he's another name on the list of marquee players that will remind future marquee players that they'd rather go anywhere but Baltimore. That being the case, can you blame us for feeling like the game isn't worth our heartbreak anymore?

I'm fortunate to live in a town where I can take my kids to Division I college baseball games in the spring and Single-A games all summer long -- for cheap. I've made the effort to shell out for tickets and drive my kids to Chicago to see the O's play the Cubs and White Sox and show the colors, but I don't know why I'd bother right now. This is the kind of fan baseball is alienating, and this is the risk the game is taking. The major league game will continue to do well in Boston and New York and suffer elsewhere around the country. I'll still read your blog and read Zrebiec's stories and check the score ticker and raise my sons and daughters in Little League baseball and softball like the sad addict I am, but damned if I'm paying money to feed a system that shoots me a big middle finger every day, every year.

As I posted last week on your blog, Tex wouldn't have come here for 10 years, $240 mil and you can sleep with my daughter 3 times a week. The O's (and Nats) were pawns to be used by Bora$$ to pump up the price. Tex wants to win now, so it was inevitable that he would go elsewhere. I can only advise Tex to ask Mike Mussina how many world championships he won with the Yankees? Good luck ya bum ya! And to you and yours Pete, a very Merry Christmas!

first time poster, long time reader. i can not take it anymore. the orioles DO NOT care about winning or doing anything for their fans anymore. I have had season tickets since 97, have not missed an opening day since 1984! been a fan my whole life (since the mid 60's). i get it, baseball has changed. tampa bay was a fluke (good drafting and young players for sure, something the orioles have not known for 20+ years). i drove 100 miles each way to come see them play. who the heck wants to see millar, huff and peyton. roberts and markakis are idiots if they sign extensions. remember the glory days, because they are GONE FOREVER. i am packing everything up i own that says orioles and sending them to the orioles postage due! they can burn it themselves.

Ah HA!!!! I get it now. This is a secret ploy by Texiera. He signed for the fattest contract so he can make the most money ... so that in 8 years, he can flat out buy the Orioles. He really does love us. Brilliant !!!!!

Honestly, I don't care that he didn't sign here. You can can many other players with numbers that are close to Tex's and for a lot less.

I'm more angry that beer is so freaking expensive at the ballpark.

How can anyone be upset that Texeira took the money and ran to New York? Major league baseball has destoyed the possibilities of top tier players signing with teams other than Yankees and Red Sox and a few others. Angelos in particular, the worst thing to happen to baseball in Baltimore has made it a fact that top players (including Texeira) would likely rather retire than be told they must play for Baltimore. Ever since Angelos refused to trade aging stars in the 1990's, let go of John Miller, Dave Johnson and others and interfered in almost all decisions the Orioles have lost there way and are now year to year has beens. I gave up my 20 year old season ticket 2 years ago, saw no Oriole game last year and since John Miller left have listened to a total of 4 innings of Oriole baseball. I would rather see minor league teams play for less money just up 95, or watch rec council baseball near my home. Thankfully we have the Ravens. I am lucky to have two $750 (original cost) corner end zone end seats 11 rows from the field. I wouldn't pay $10. to watch the Orioles. If and when Angelos sells the team we may again see a major league team called the BALTIMORE ORIOLES.

If I'm Brian Roberts I have to be thinking there is no way I am re-upping in Baltimore. Not because they didn't sign Tex but because if he really wants to win it has to be looking like an impossible task in the AL East at this point. He knows it is not very realistic to think they are gonna hurdle either the Yanks, Sox or Rays let alone all 3. I hate to say it but I think this makes a trade of B-Rob happen before the end of Spring training at the latest.

The sports dollars can only go so far. I have tkts for Ravens and did have partial plan for O's. I gave up the O's this year because if you want to pay the price to see the live action you want to have at least a 50/50 chance of seeing the team win. With the O's having a 70/30 chance of losing I took my extra sports money and I go see the Caps.

I may come back to your blog. and I'll check in now and then to keep abreast of any significant changes to MLB, but I won't be watching any more games until Selig is gone and somebody with a spine replaces him and takes on the union and puts some kind of a salary cap in place. I certainly don't hold Andy MacPhail responsible for the present state of MLB, and I wouldn't lay the blame at the feet of Teixeira or any individual player for the sad state of the Orioles. The sport has been so obscenely corrupted by the greed of all the parties involved that I think this situation is just the straw that broke the camel's back for a lot of people. It certainly was for me.

Hi Peter I still think there's plenty of good players to sign yet. I don't think the pitchers there going after is as bad some make them out to be. Besides what's one thing that beats good hitting, that's good pitching know matter who it comes from wether they pitch 98 MPR or 82 like a Jamie Moyer. Look at the way the phillies won the world series, they had one relible starter, and the rest in the rotation was questionable yet they still pitched better then anyone gave them credit against a good and young Tampa bay team who also done it with mostly home grown talent. Pete I wish you and your family and every one reading a Merry Christmas where on this day one baby was born to save the world. Some times one voice is all it takes to unite others around him to get those believing in a cause, yes Yankees have a lot of greedy players good individual players too, but do they have a voice one can believe in or is that voice filled with empty words. Chemistry is what builds a team or breaks a team for those that don't have it just right.

The O's will not ever, under the current ownership, make the bold and decisive moves necessary to compete in their division. The O's will move slowly, trying to build a solid foundation, but they will never build a team that can place higher than 3rd place because they are too slow. What happened last year with the Rays is not something that can happen with the O's as the O's are too slow, too methodical. Predictions - next month will come the announcement that ticket prices are being raised, Roberts will be traded because he will not sign an extension or new contract, and Nick will not sign an extension either as they both can see that they will never be competitive in Baltimore and want to be free agents to go to Boston, New York, or some other competitive team. And I stopped attending games 3 years ago, I only go to Frederick now.

Folks- get real. It's a business-for the owners and the players. Money will ALWAYS win out here. We are a very small market team in an impossible division. We are viewed as a team that usually loses to the Red Sox/ Yankees ( thereby providing drama for ESPN or FoxTV where the hero wins) and a town where their fans can get cheaper, more accessible seats than they can in their own stadiums. This will become even more apparent when the new superexpensive Yankee stadium opens. MLB baseball is happy with this arrangement- it makes MONEY for everyone, including Angelos. We are the fools in this charade because every year we think that this season will somehow be better if we only had this or that free agent or if our great pitching prospect comes through. Guess what- it ain't never gonna happen. We'll always have a couple of good players and a raft of hasbeens or never-wases- fighting to reach .500 by August before we do our swan dive. If you want to stay an O's fan, get used to losing every year, being the brunt of jokes, forking over more and more $$, and having your hopes and dreams for a competitive team dashed every year. That is a game for losers.
The Nats , at least, play is a division where they could make some noise someday.

Pete,

I see where you are coming from, but this is the last straw. I have been a fan since I was born, my first orioles game was my 5th birhtday in Memorial Stadium, I wore # 8 all my life playing baseball for 15 years, and have watched the orioles almost eveyday for my whole life. The one thing that kept me watching is hope for the future, we finally had a chance to bring hope to Baltimore by spending $ on 2 players (Burnett and Texiera). I understand it was a lot of $ to pay, but I have one question for you and the Front Office.

If you signed both of those guys and paid them $ 38 million a year for the next 5-8 years, Do you think the Orioles could generated more revenue to pay both of those Salaries?

If you figure the # of fans per game, the sales revenue of jerseys for those two, the sale of food and beer on the extra fans, the advertising on both of them, the amount of viewers increasing on masn, playoff games down the road, and whatever else you can think of.

You dont think that would generate an additional 38 mil a year, I do. Because you would bring life back into a franchise and bring back that aurora that use to make Camden Yards the best sports facitily in America.

GREED. I don't buy it. Greedy Irsay I mean Pete tried just enough to say "we tried". You could have gotten him if you didnt play games with the process.
Trade Roberts...trade everyone I dont care anymore..I am Offically a RED SOX fan! so long O's!!!!

Interesting article over on foxsports.com about how it's not really the end of the baseball world as we know it:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8985530/Yankees'-spending-spree-bought-more-pressure?MSNHPHMA

I don't fault the Os for not signing Texiera and I don't blame Texiera from signing with the Yankees. While I don't like the fact that the Yanks spend so much, I have to admire the fact that they put much of their revenue back into the team rather than into their pockets.

However, the huge spending gap between the Yanks and the majority of other teams is a problem in the larger context of MLB. There are very few teams that can compete, finacially, with the Yankees (none can match them dollar for dollar, but they can toss some money around a bit).

Until and unless there is a salary cap (and a minimum salary...e.g. the Marlins should be disbanded unless they spend some money to field an actual team) there will be no way that mid-market teams like the Os, Royals, Pirates, Twins, Jays, etc. etc. will ever be able to regularly compete.

The situation in the AL East is magnified because there are two big spending teams. Teams in the other divisions have a better chance to make the playoffs with lower payrolls because they don't have to the Yanks and Red Sox of the league to compete with.

Yes, you'll have the occassional Rays of last year where all the pieces fall in place at the right time, but they are the exception, not the rule. And it's doubtful that their time on top will last long. They may be competitive for a couple years and then their young players will sign elsewhere (probably New York or Boston) and the Rays will be left rebuilding again and will become virtually irrelevant for several years while they do it.

The problem is that the example of the Rays (spending several years building a winner followed by a couple years of competitive baseball followed, most likely, by several more years of rebuilding) is the rule, not the exception. Most small to medium sized markets will go through this process. The big spending teams, by contrast, may have a couple down years, but most of their time will be spent actually competing. That's not parity. And the luxory tax, shared revenue, blah blah blah plan is not doing anything to change this.

If there were a salary cap, like there is in the NFL there would likely be partiy. There are a couple teams that are regularly bad (see Detroit Lions and Oakland Raiders). However, this is because they are poorly run teams. With parity you can get a quicker turnaround (see Miami Dophins and even the Ravens). This keeps fan interest steady and high.

While it's easy to blame Angelos for not spending (and there's probably some validity to that) the bigger issue is that he and most other MLB owners can't spend the kind of money the Yanks spend. To spend $180 million on one player leaves little money to sign/pay other players. So, fan interest in Baltimore (and other cities) continues to slide. And this is not good for the game as a whole.

A salary cap may not fix the problem, but it certainly can't hurt.

I don't fault the Os for not signing Texiera and I don't blame Texiera from signing with the Yankees. While I don't like the fact that the Yanks spend so much, I have to admire the fact that they put much of their revenue back into the team rather than into their pockets.

However, the huge spending gap between the Yanks and the majority of other teams is a problem in the larger context of MLB. There are very few teams that can compete, finacially, with the Yankees (none can match them dollar for dollar, but they can toss some money around a bit).

Until and unless there is a salary cap (and a minimum salary...e.g. the Marlins should be disbanded unless they spend some money to field an actual team) there will be no way that mid-market teams like the Os, Royals, Pirates, Twins, Jays, etc. etc. will ever be able to regularly compete.

The situation in the AL East is magnified because there are two big spending teams. Teams in the other divisions have a better chance to make the playoffs with lower payrolls because they don't have to the Yanks and Red Sox of the league to compete with.

Yes, you'll have the occassional Rays of last year where all the pieces fall in place at the right time, but they are the exception, not the rule. And it's doubtful that their time on top will last long. They may be competitive for a couple years and then their young players will sign elsewhere (probably New York or Boston) and the Rays will be left rebuilding again and will become virtually irrelevant for several years while they do it.

The problem is that the example of the Rays (spending several years building a winner followed by a couple years of competitive baseball followed, most likely, by several more years of rebuilding) is the rule, not the exception. Most small to medium sized markets will go through this process. The big spending teams, by contrast, may have a couple down years, but most of their time will be spent actually competing. That's not parity. And the luxory tax, shared revenue, blah blah blah plan is not doing anything to change this.

If there were a salary cap, like there is in the NFL there would likely be partiy. There are a couple teams that are regularly bad (see Detroit Lions and Oakland Raiders). However, this is because they are poorly run teams. With parity you can get a quicker turnaround (see Miami Dophins and even the Ravens). This keeps fan interest steady and high.

While it's easy to blame Angelos for not spending (and there's probably some validity to that) the bigger issue is that he and most other MLB owners can't spend the kind of money the Yanks spend. To spend $180 million on one player leaves little money to sign/pay other players. So, fan interest in Baltimore (and other cities) continues to slide. And this is not good for the game as a whole.

A salary cap may not fix the problem, but it certainly can't hurt.

Peter, I am confused. After the initial offer from the Os was on the table, McPhail said it could be adjusted and shouldn't be looked at as a take it or leave it. Where was the 2nd offer?

............................................................................................
Pete's reply: Boras didn't want one.

I propose a realignment of the American League into four divisions:
Money Division: Yankees & RedSox;
East: Orioles, Indians, Rays & Jays;
Central: WhiteSox, Tigers, Royals & Twins; West: Angels, A's, Mariners & Rangers. Four division winners make the playoffs, no wild card. Let the Yankees and RedSox compete against each other every year for one playoff spot, while the Orioles may someday have a chance to compete again in a division with Cleveland, Tampa and Toronto.

BUSINESS LESSON 101:
When you own a business, in order to grow your business you need to put money into the business in order to grow.
PA is an idiot and when he is gone will go down as an owner that destroyed this once proud francise.
NO ONE wants to play here!!!! Yeah no one is worth that money but if you believe this method then have fun watching a last place team every year.

Happy Holidays Pete! Hope you and yours enjoy it safely. Also hopefully this is the last article about Texeira. I'm sure you wouldn't mind the break and I know I could do without thinking about it much anymore. Stay the course, I still have hope in andy and our up and coming guys. Go O's Happy holidays to everyone!

...............................................................................................
Pete's reply: Thanks. Same to you and yours.

Peter,

I think the big question I would be asking about the reaction to this is: When is baseball no longer fun?

I haven't quite reached my personal breaking point yet, but more and more I'm starting to see where a lot of people are coming from.

The entire reason to watch sports is for entertainment and fun. Whether your opinion is that the Orioles don't care, or Major League Baseball doesn't care, when enough events like this happen it just isn't worth the pain and frustration to be a fan.

I've cooled off AND I WILL NEVER ATTEND A MAJOR LEAGUE GAME AS LONG AS SELIG IS COMMISSIONER>
This represents our country as a whole in that the rich get richer and to heck with the vast middle class. They don't count except to pay taxes and support a bunch of ego driven greedy people that are ruining the national past-time.

As a separate comment (since it's a separate thought)...

There seems to be an idea that the Yankees and the Red Sox competing at a level above everyone else is good for the sport because it draws a certain number of fans to those two teams.

My question is, what happens when those two teams go through an inevitable down period?

Many of the fans being brought to those teams aren't exactly the most knowledgeable people, nor do they care about tradition further than the immediate past.

If those fans stop watching and there aren't fans from other teams to still attend and watch games, what happens to the sport?

Now, it would likely take many more years of domination of the sport for that kind of thing to happen. However, with the way Major League Baseball just bows to every whim of those two teams (not to mention, to a lesser extent, the Mets and Cubs and Angels and Dodgers) it could potentially happen.

I'm sad to say this, but after my initial "shock," if you can call it that, I'm over this saga. I think Tex made a business decision, made much easier by the allure of a billion dollar stadium, a payroll of stars committed to over half a billion dollars the next few years, and the pinstripes and the history. Plus, NYC isn't that far from home.

Of course Tex'll be booed vociferously (at least the first few games, until there aren't any O's fans left in the Yard...), probably in front of a lot of friends and family, but hopefully in a few years, the likes of Jones, Markakis, and Wieters will be knocking the cover off the ball, bringing back some WINS to the Yard.

For now, I'm disappointed but hardly surprised. Looking forward to 2010 and beyond

"John in South Bend " , I've been keeping up with the comments for the last 2 days and made a few myself . At the time of this writing yours was the last posted and the final sentence of your post said it all - "... damned if I'm paying money to feed the system that shoots me a big middle finger everyday , every year .
Amen. please drive thru

Are you Baltimorons kidding? The stinkin' Yankees have done this for 85 years..and you are livid? Yes, those of us who root for any team outside of NY, Boston and Chicago are always going to be underdogs. That's what makes it fun, right? Tampa Bay beat the mighty YankSox and then my Phillies won the World Series. Here's your real problem: Your team is owned by an unrepentant donkey. You should be angry and run that scum out of town. Until this year, my team was 1 for 126, but I enjoy rooting for them. The fact that victory is so rare in Philly just makes it that much sweeter for the fans that keep the faith.

Oh, that's right, I'm trying to explain loyalty to a group of folks that stole the Brown's and embraced them...

Oh, the Colts, the Colts, waahhhhhh ---that's exactly why that whole episode was so despicable, ya losers.

Now that the Tex Domino has fallen it is time to look at the real need of the team. PITCHING. Get that Japanese pitcher, get Hendrickson, get Lowe, get someone who can throw a strike that isnt smacked onto Eutaw Street. For now the Orioles have a decent offense- it is the pitching and defense that leads to another losing season- and it will be the same story this year- TEX WOULD NOT HAVE MADE ANY DIFFERENCE EXPECT EXCEPT FOR IN THE PAYROLL. I was mad, upset, sad, frustrated etc yesterday, but I mean come on this is a freggin sport, a game, entertainment... So now I am over it- get some pitching (and not another Cabrera) and the fans (what is left of them) will see the dividends of placing a defense and a major league pitcher on the mound. Hopefully in 2010 we will see a rotation of Guthrie mixed with the youngins in the minors. Hopefully the Orioles pull of a trade for a decent pitcher such as Peavey next year. Again offense wins games, but pitching a defense will championships. GO RAVENS!!!!!!

I am glad to hear many people like myself are boycotting baseball in light of this years free agency and all the ones in recent memory. The numbers being paid to players is sickening and I realize that it is the fans fault. We are paying for this garbage. I wish it was not only O's fans that would boycott but all fans and especially NY fans. I mean think about it NY fans just paid nearly 500 million dollars for three players and a brand new stadium. In times like these, and in any time for that matter, their money could be way better spent. It is time for Baseball fans to take control of this outrageous situation and stop paying. Until that happens things will not change.

FYI - Peter Angelos was a past winner of " Marylander of the Year " . An award handed out by the cough , cough , ahem , "Baltimore , cough , Sun " .
Pete , were you on that voting committee ?

...............................................................................................
Pete's reply: I don't believe so, but I'll plead the Fifth anyway.

I am glad to hear that many people are boycotting baseball like myself. In light of this free agency and all the ones like it in recent memory it is beyond absurd. I just wish that it wasn't just O's fans but all fans and especially NY fans.

NY Fans just spent nearly 500 million dollars on three guys plus bought a brand new stadium. In times like these their money could of been way better spent.

It is way past time that fans took control of this ridiculous situation and stop paying. Until we do that nothing will change. The fans have all the power and it is time we start using it.

tex should be looked upon as a baltimore enemy. the city was dying for him and i blame him and only him for taking the extra 2.5 mill a year to go to the yanks. when he comes to town the stadium should be pakced just to ridicule and throw stuff at him. Tex make sure you use that extra 2.5 mill this year while all of us die hard o's fans are crushed. trade brob too if we can get anything let him go to a winner he deserves it.

Quit yer cryin' for cryin' out loud. Even if we matched the offer he goes to N.Y. They win games we lose.
Give up on MLB ? Okay 39 yrs or older try seniorbaseball.org Now you can play if you don't want to watch!!!!

hey Peter-

Think the Yanks can sign Manny, or is that asking for too much?

Can't wait to see Tex at Camden Yards!!!

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: Trust me, you don't want Manny.

Well I have had a day to settle my indignant attitude about Tex and the unbeatable under the table offer from the Yankees. Iam still angry but I do think a cap is needed but the owners should know that: revenue sharing and survival should spell that out!
So good luck Tex as you become embraced by the Yankee way of doing things and the New York media attitude that to make errors or not hit or be fast enough is close to treason: It is not a place for thin skins: ask A-Rod and Jeter: try Giambi & Wells too.
Now hopefully MacPhail can get some pitching: there is a lot out there!
we need a staff of competitive , agressive, rebels who can make yankee & bosox games tests of courage for Cashman and Epstein.
So let's move on : get some pitchers with SP credentials!! solidify Robert's status and give Markowski all he wants. he is better than Tex will ever be and faster as well.
I still smart about how MLB treats the off season like some slave market where reality only appears after spring training ends with a huge DL listing . Pain hardens me I hope Dave Trembley shares my thoughts.

No, Peter. You missed my point. The whole experience of Tex and the Yankees this year in this recession has turned me off of MLB. It is obscene and there should in my opinion be a cap.

The fact that the O's with or without Tex over the last 11 years failing in every aspect hasn't helped me as an Orioles fan.

Both situations did me in.

Hi Pete:

I think it is difficult to deny what I will say in the following:

"I have been a loyal O's fan for more than 50 years, but I will no longer attend games. It is not because they are losing because I attended several games during the infamous 1988 season. I was sure back then that the O's would win again and in 1989 they did win.

I am frustrated because PA and Andy are public relations paper tigers. I am sure that the team will lose Markakis to free agency, trade Roberts and, trade Huff. Wieders will last about four years and will leave as a free agent. The Tex thing was never a possibility even at 200 mil for the O's. Good free agents want money but they also want on a competitive team. The O's are not now nor will they ever be competitive again."

PA's next bloc buster deal will be to sell the team to the highest bidder, make a big profit and the team will be moved ala Montreal. O's fans have about 5 to 7 years of major league baseball in Baltimore. Does anyone remember the St Louis Browns? In 19 to 20 years, fans will forget there was a major league franchise in Baltimore. That is why I will not buy tickets. The plan is already implemented. I am not going to be one of a few hundred fans to be used by PA again and PA does not want long term commitments because the value of those contracts will reduce the gross profit from the sale of the team.

Tell me, how many world championships did the Cubs win with McPhail in charge. The answer is ZERO. This is not the Twins division and PA will not approve a long term contract. By the time the team is up for sale, this market will have an extremely small fan base and will not be tenable for a new owner.

I am sure you will not approve this because you know it has merit and you must know that this is the fate of the O's!

Still an O's fan. Still want to attended games (the Park is one of the best in the Majors). Still will watch almost every game.

Salary cap is silly. The O's had the money but not the burning interest. Fine. Tex was a once in a decade type of player. Sure he was the cart before the horse, but in the coming years the O's will be looking for that type of bat in FA.

I guess the good news is that the Yankees are now "topped out" and won't be pursuing many more 100million plus deals over the next 5-8 years. However, the talent available over that time will be limited. Maybe Matt Holiday if he's as good in Oakland as Colorado. Can the Marlins hold on to Hanley Ramerize? Can the Rays hold on to their talent over the next 5-8 years?

Still though, it'd been a good try, but if the FO wasn't going to win it, why play the game in the first place. This was kinda an all-in or nothing scenario. Maybe Andy should have been more up front about "we have a budget" but what happened behind the scenes is anyone's guess.

What pick do the O's have in the draft this year? Is there another Weiters? Another David Price? Another Tex? Let's see Andy do what he said he was going to and acquire talent through scouting and development.

What the hell is wrong with some of you? As if Mark Texiera owes any of you anything. Because he grew up in Severna Park means he should take less money to play a this turned- to- crap organization headed for it's 12th consecutive losing season? You wouldn't do that and if you say you would, you're either a dumbass or you are a Baltimoron. Look, I love my city too, but more reality and less blind loyality will do many of you some good. The real question is who is going to pitch for the O's? Who will play first base? When will they sign Markakis? What can we get for Brian Roberts? Base ball doesn't need a salary cap, bad teams are bad because of bad management and a cap wouldn't help the Marlins, Royals, Pirates, or Orioles. And the Orioles don't lack money, they lack common sense.

I think folks are getting mighty carried away with this one and need to look at this objectively. The Yankees just paid $180+ million for a guy who hit 30 homeruns and batted .300 last year. Before we even begin to talk about 'signing at all costs,' let's ask ourselves, what is really the best option for this ballclub? Commiting that kind of dough to a guy whose best year was 2 or 3 seasons ago? If Mark Teixiera was from Athens, GA, would we care so much about signing him? Does being from Severna Park make him some kind of god? Does Andy MacPhail maybe know just a little bit more about baseball and contract negotiations that the rest of us? Is one player going to make the O's competitive again? I say congrats to Mark and especially Scott Boras for once again making everyone, especially B-more fans and Yankees management, buy the illusion that Teixiera is somehow the next A-rod. Now let's move on and continue to stock this organization with young athletes. If we do that, then someday we can compete, and when we start competing, then we can start talking about signing 28 year old sluggers to multi-year contracts.

Sorry Peter, but my anger and disappointment have continued since the last strike. I have willingly paid to see a MLB game twice and been to see the Orioles twice, only with free tickets. I played baseball through the college level and would have given my right and left arm to play pro ball. I can't see giving my money to a group of men who take advantage of a child's game..they should feel priviledged they have the talent to play such a beautiful game. How ironic that MASN had the 1970 WS game 5 on last night. The first player I saw was Brooks...if only the game was that pure again! Enough of my rant..Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! As always I enjoy listening to you on your radio show.

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Pete's reply: And a Merry Christmas to you. It's got to get better...doesn't it?

Pete, I love your column and your immense wisdom on sports and seemingly life, but c'mon bro, do you really want us to believe you don't know exactly why we ALL are so tired of the bumbling, slow moving, and totally inept leadership otherwise known as Peter Angelos. Please stop blaming the agents. Yes, Scott Boras is a tool, but he is only doing what every other agent is supposed to be doing. Getting his player the best deal he can. This wasn't about money. If the Orioles were really willing to pay 20M per year for Tex, 22.5 is not that much the greater walk off the plank, to keep him from being a Yank. The O's make the difference in one night of concessions! Surely their accountants have broken down gate returns for them and surely they could have envisioned the boom of these receipts if they had signed a hometown boy done good. No Sir, this wasn't about money, it has never been. The guy is a Billion-aire! No Sir, it's about a brooding, egotistical, maybe even maniacal owner, that approaches the process of free agency w utter disdain. Angelos the gross, drew a line in the sand along time ago w Moose and FA's have been erasing that line one after the other ever since, save for Tejada, who was a menagerie he failed to support with any other quality FA's. No PA is PO'd that his bluff was called and thinks he can back that bluff up with more. Setting pre-determined ceilings for contracts to be rendered. Values that ALWAYS end up being the shortest stack on the table. He once knew how to play the game, but a decade of losing has so drained the team's fan base and therefore perceived resources that he'd rather sit in his ivory tower and twiddle his meddling thumbs in a snubbing motion to not only the process but the very fanbase ready to rip him limb from limb!

Pete,

Kind of a strange year for the Orioles, we lose Adam Lowen and Daniel Cabrera, two pitchers that we could have used in 2009. But you have a blessed holiday.

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Pete's reply: You too. Thanks.

to all old baltimore sports fans,
a merry christmas to you:

a earl the pearl dribble and spin
moving towards the basket,
a wes unseld outlet pass to gus
johnson to a slam dunk before
dunking was over rated.

a chuck thompson call of cuellar
pitching a masterpiece,
a brooks to belanger to powell
double play...

a unitas to berry end zone td,
and a jimmy orr route from the
hospital into the old stadium corner..

a wild bill hagy salute, and a
cab for you all from charlie eckman..

happy holidays,

bob moffett

I think one of my favorite subplots to the happenings yesterday is the fact that Andy Macphail wouldn't refer to Tex by his name and instead kept calling him 'the player.' Either he has lost all respect Mr. Teixiera, or he's trying to bite back his seething hatred for 'the agent' and 'the first baseman.'

I think it was a brilliant and obviously calculated choice to really distance the Os from the Yanks and to de-personalize the negotiations. That being said, he had better figure out a way to please 'the fan' or he's going to be looking for 'the door' as it hits him on 'the butt' on the way out.

Listen....abandoning the game is silly...go and enjoy THE GAME and to heck with the machinations of it. Its still hit the ball, catch the ball, throw the ball. After ranting and raving, my son and I will root harder for the O's because they may have exhibited some common sense. Tex is supposed to have grown up an O's fan...well the Yankees do have a bit of history, but so do we...and if Tex didn't want to be part of the Robinsons', Murray, Palmer, and if he didn't have the guts to be a franchise saver like a Ripken...then let him rot on the vine in the Bronx. Go out and cheer the O's more and remind people that Baltimore is a great baseball town...and I'm from Jersey and will have to live with this crap more then anyone in Maryland. Happy Holidays.

Fundamentally major league baseball is flawed. Eventually fans retreat when they see little hope. If spending is allowed to go on unabated, whether it's the Yankees or Red Sox, then only through a fluke will other teams be able to complete. Why would a young good player, staring at free agency in a year or two or three, sign any extension iwh the likes of the Orioles when Yankee, Mets or Red Sox money might be on the horizon. A true salary cap would provide for a much more competitive league, one that excites the fans and solidifies the game's future. Meanwhile, the Orioles really need to come up big over the next few weeks -- sooner than later. Use some of the cash that was "earmarked" for "what's his name" to sign Roberts and Markeikas to long-term deals, demonstrating that the club truly is interested in solidifying its base and building from within Then, perhaps, look at Adam Dunn (his numbers, outside of avg. are quite comparable to "what's his name."

I'm not mad or upset, I just won't renew my season tickets this year or until we field a competitive team. I've had the Sunday plan and as you may recall their Sunday record is horrible. No fun. JG

The Orioles would be better off spending 22 mil on scouting and minor league player development! Would they do that?

Remember O's fans...the Yanks have signed more "top" players than anyone since free agency started but they still haven't won in 9 years. It takes more than talent to win in baseball. There's a reason why they don't win every year while on paper they probably should...firstly, the games aren't played on paper and second, the type of players that are attracted to the biggest contract offer sell out because they are playing for the money for the most part and winning is secondary. What they have is a roster full of guys that are playing for the buck and this is why they don't win every year. AM did make a legit and fair offer. It wouldn't have mattered if he offered more because the Yanks would have trumped that offer anyway!

In the beginning the Yanks, Gianta and Dogers signed all the good talent b/c they had the revenue to support more scouts and pay bigger bonuses than most other teams. Then MLB put in a rule about hugh (at that time!) signing bonuses. That worked for a bit but still the big guys dominated.Then MLB put in an draft to give the poor teams a chance to sign top talent. So..The A's signed good players, developed them and teaded them to the Yanks for a bag of beans. THEN, Andy Messerschmidt and Dave McNally brought on free agency.Today the game is threatening to implode once again. TIME FOR A CAP! Make the Yankees etc make a decision! Do you commit a great amount of $$ to one player and short the rest? Sure, the players union will squeel to high heaven. Just like the RR and steel unions did in the 50's and 60's and the auth workers are doing today. The players must realize that they could be the steel workers of tomorrow. Would you rather settle for $7mil/yr or be out of work all together? Me, I take the $7mil, unfortunetly the greedy pigs playing the game we loved as kids, today, would rather kill the goose than give up a piece of their golden egg.

The Baltimore Media is SOFT!!!

What would the NY or Philadelphia media say about Baseball, Angelos, McPhail if the O's had overpaid the top three free agents and took all little boy's dreams of at least a winning season and maybe a playoff game away due to their GREED and MLB letting them get away with it.?

Wake up Peter, Roch, etc. etc. etc. You guys are weak!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Baltimore Media is SOFT!!!

What would the NY or Philadelphia media say about Baseball, Angelos, McPhail if the O's had overpaid the top three free agents and took all little boy's dreams of at least a winning season and maybe a playoff game away due to their GREED and MLB letting them get away with it.?

Wake up Peter, Roch, etc. etc. etc. You guys are weak!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Yankees signed CC, AJ and Tex, and they'll all be there on opening day in Baltimore. Who will our big free signings be Mark Hendrickson Tim Redding and Greg Zaun, that's the talent we're going to put out on the field on opening day againest the Yankees. Go a head and trade Roberts because he's not going to sign an extension and enjoy Nick for the next 2 or 3 years before we lose him. They'll offer him some BS offer and he'll go and play for the Yankees, by then they'll need a new right fielder Nady will be 34 by then. It's great to be an O's fan

The Orioles save money...I save money not going to the games.

No longer attending a game doesn't mean you are no longer a fan of baseball.

It simply means you aren't going to spend your hard earned dollars to go to Baltimore, be pestered by panhandlers the whole time, risk your life, deal with the traffic, deal with a few of the ushers who aren't so nice (I personally have never had an issue with that, but I have in the past had them not know how to direct me to my seat several times), and put up with all of the visiting Yankees and Redsox fans.

Especially when you can sit at home and try to enjoy the game from the comfort of your own home or even watch some of the other teams in MLB.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Peter!

The only one to blame is major league baseball. The luxury tax has no meaning at all. Only the rich shall survive. Baseball unlike football has no parady. As long as it is allowed to continue that way only the league will suffer. No one is strong enough to stand up to the big city giants. It would be better to have a league that includes onlt Boston, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. Lets face it ,it will never change. There is very little hope for teams like Baltimore. Is it any reason a player does not want to sign here. Would you?

I hope, with all seriousness, that Manny signs with the Yankees. Pettitte, too. I hope they can trade Melky for Cameron. I hope they end up with the highest paid player at every position. Then I hope the Yankees win the AL East...AND FALL FLAT ON THEIR FACES IN POST SEASON!

I have been a fan of the O's since 1969 - been through the good and bad times and I don't even fault them for this - but why follow a sport whose main premise is which team can upset the yanks and keep them from winning a world series title despite a decidedly unfair advantage - it has to end sometime - for me the time is now

Best post in weeks Pete. I quit on the orioles and baseball when mussina left, then the yankees began the so called "curse of the moose" and never won with him. The baseball gods still reign. Of course the Orioles should NEVER have signed teixeira. No one would have said "phew, thank god we signed ole markie. Otherwise we wouldnt have won that world series." Isn't that what its all about?

And I think any oriole fan shouldn't be worried about the greatness of the yankees. We have 8 years of experience of watching the evil empire monopolize the free agent market. The only thing $424 million dollars did was make sure that other teams were less competitve. No need to rehash how the yankees became the team of the 90s, but it certainly had little to do with big name signings. In fact, the orioles were up there for top payrolls in baseball when the yanks were winning hardware. Lets put this in perspective. We have been enough for long enough to have had the opportunity to rebuild our farm system and follow the yankees way of doing things in the 90s. Oriole fans need a winning team, not a hometown bust who clearly spells his own name wrong. teschera you idiot.

Pete,

Great article today, a little subdued but to the point. I believe I pointed out on this blog that when the Angels bailed from the bidding the Yankees were about to slide in. However, I'm really not upset, ticked off or otherwise sick over the course of events. Moreover, the O's only reinforced to every fan, former fan and future non-fan they are what they are, a two-bit player in the big-game. We have a very nice stadium, period! We have terrible scouting, our only position player is getting jerked around to make him arbitration eligible a year later and we are about to suck for another 8-10 years. No free-agent worthy of playing for a winner will ever take us seriously because the O's aren't committed to winning. We got Melvin Mora as a throw in on a deal ( on the cheap), we got Aubry Huff, because no one else wanted his pouting. Brob will run from town because of no committment and Nick will think twice. There is no optimism as long as Peter Angelos owns this team. Tex was just the Big Straw that broke the camels (O's) back. Who wants to buy overpriced tickets to a AAA team? Who wants to spend 4 hours a night watching a AAA lose 29 out of 32 games without any hope of improvement. It was stressed we need pitching its the priority, who have we signed? More importantly who are we talking about signing, a bunch of has beens and never will be's! No my Oriole fan colleagues, this is a doom and gloom situation. Without real committment from ownership, this organization will continue to flourish at the bottom of the division and resemble teams like the Royals and the Pirates. Attendance will continue to plummet and we will continue to bitch and moan about the lack of ownership committment. Pete is correct, Andy is doing a respectable job and our patience is low and the two aren't in alignment right now. But even Andy can't make lemonade if the owner won't buy him the lemons!

Happy Holiday and peace out!

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Pete's reply: Thanks Keith. Happy Holidays to you and yours.

I have to agree with Pete and sadly thank him for the Christmas gift.
I have been a baseball fan and ORIOLE fan for nearly 50 years. I guess that until recently, they were one in the same to me. However, after watching poor ownership and management devalue the ORIOLES in recent years, I now find my self only “a baseball fan.” You see, the ORIOLE franchise used to be competitive and took pride in its style of play. The recent ownership has done little to sustain that legacy. While McPhail might have a vision for reviving the ORIOLES, a vision without sufficient resources and a management plan committed to acquiring top caliber players is hollow. The ORIOLES franchise I knew did not believe that being competitive meant trying to stay out of last place. It is clear that what was a proud ORIOLES franchise is now a major league franchise owned by Mr. A that just happens to play 81 games in Baltimore. So Pete, thanks for the clarity. If I want to see a professional baseball game and don’t care about who wins, welcome to Camden Yards.

In all of this talk about how sad it was for Teixeira to go to the Yanks, the teams that I feel bad for are the Brewers and Blue Jays. They not only lost Sabathia, they also lost the Yankees' first round pick. They only get a 2nd round for compensation. The Blue Jays, in turn, only get a third rounder. If baseball does not do a salary cap, Pete, what would be your thoughts on restricting a team's ability to sign a Type A player to once every two years or once a year? Of course, the player's association would strike over that but, who cares, the only games that the Orioles would lose money from would be the games that the Yankees were scheduled. With the anger over the Orioles not signing Teixeira, it appears that the attendance will drop even further.

Mark Teixara did not want to come to Baltimore. If the Orioles are willing to invest $140+ Million on one player then they should be willing to invest that in multiple players. I'd like to see Bobby Abreu hit in front of Aubry Huff and in front of Nick Markakis. I'd like to see a few healthy arms to help round out the Orioles starting rotation. I'd also like to see Kevin Millar back. He helped gel the team and create a well balanced dugout.

Let's give Andy McPhail the benefit of the doubt... Just don't sell your tickets when the Yankees come to town. We need more orange and black in the stands than pin stripes.

Finally we have a real weapon next year. Just watch what happens. The BEST bull pen in all of baseball. Ray, Hoey, Doyne, Miller, Sherill and Johnson. That's not all. It's about time.

Suggestion to all MLB GMs not named Cashman - Obviously the Yankees can get any free agent they want by over spending. I read today that now that they have signed Teixeira they plan on exploring trades to get pitching. Since the other 29 teams can't compete with the Yankees for free agents, why should they further help the Yankees by trading with them? Make the Yankees solely dependent on free agency and their farm system, which shouldn't be that great due to consistently having to give up draft picks for the free agents they signed. Teams would still have 28 other teams to make trade with, so it's time to start the Yankee trade boycott.

maybe if we decide not to go to any games for the next few years, Peter Angelos will be forced to sell the team. Then Ripken can come in and handle things the right way. He's figured it out in the minor leagues, and its time we get somebody in the front office that cares about the team enough than making a few extra bucks.

Since the O's will not spend the kind of money the Yankees do for any player they want, and the "Powers that be" refuse to install a salary cap for baseball--I suggest we take the next possible step. Let all O's fans ban together and put a curse on the Dark Knights. Hey, for me it worked last year!

Joel Sherman in the N.Y.Post lists 10 reasons the N.Y.Yankees signed Teixierra.He also lists some possible future trades.

Its time to concentrate on what the team is really missing. PITCHING. Spend that money on some real pitching. We already have good position players, now lets really get down to what this team really needs. All i hear is we need pitching and defense. Stop paying outragous money for 1 person.

If Mike Mussina can go to the Yankees then why not believe Mark Texeira can. In the meantime, I'm getting all jazzed about the potential Braden Looper and Mark Hendrickson signings. Soon the Nats will be the best game in town.

Now that we didn't get asked out to the prom by Benedict Mark, and considering our exclaimed focus this off-season was supposed to be pitching, pitching, and more pitching, why not overpay for Ben Sheets, an UNarguable front-line starter, who was 13-9 with a 3.09 ERA in 31 starts for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008. A power hitting right handed bat would be nice too and could come cheap in the form of Adam Dunn, but there should be an all out full court press and blank check sent to Mr Sheets before Boston can sign him.

I am not sure why everyone is in an uproar. The Yanks (and just about everyone else offered more money -even the Nats) and the Yanks have a better chance of winning and going to the playoffs. And those two points are the bottom-line for Texiera or any player for that matter. It would have been nice, but his signing with a team committed to winning is not surprising.

We need to get on with the business of improving our team and signing Markakis and Roberts to long-term deals, and improving our pitching staff. The O's have proven time and time again that they are too frugal and too slow in making decisions. There are no discounts in sports- especially for losing teams such the O's. The sooner we understand and change that point, the sooner we will be competitive.

This off-season also point ot the fact that Baseball needs a salary cap and the owners need to have the courage to put one in place.

let's just wait and see how full the new
high priced yankee stadium, is.
many companies have told the yank's they can keep their overpriced seats.
prices are sure to go up for everything
in the stadium, and i'm not so sure new yorkers will continue to fund overpaid athletes