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The Silence Scares Me
December 16, 2007 – 4:51 amSo, we know where Andruw went. Willie Harris has signed elsewhere. Tom Glavine is back. Alex Rodriguez went back to the Yankees. Tejada traded to Astros, Dontrelle and Cabrera traded to the Tigers. These are just a few of the trades and free agent moves we’ve seen and heard of over the past month - and indeed it has been a while since Glavine signed. Yet with all this free-agent activity, the Winter Meetings in Nashville, and the blockbuster trades, there’s one absolutely crucial player the Braves must think about in the same sentence as “contract extension” for.
I am, of course, talking about Mark Teixeira.The Braves have lost too much offensive firepower to lose another big name at the end of this year. Andruw Jones, despite the worst batting average of his career, hit for power and had 26 home runs and 94 RBIs. Edgar Renteria had a great batting average - finishing in the top 5 league-wide - and filled the number two hole with ease. We cannot afford to lose Teixeira, who hit 30 homers and had 105 RBIs while batting .306 (Those are 2007 total stats, he actually hit .317 with the Braves).
One can only hope that a series of reasonable negotiations are unfolding behind closed doors between Frank Wren and agent Scott Boras. Yes, we’ll end up paying a pretty penny for Teixeira, but it’s worth it considering we need some more veteran offensive talent on the team (and he’ll cost more if he’s a free agent.) So let’s sit back, cross our fingers, and chew our nails hoping we end up with Teixeira. If we don’t - we may be in a rough place come September 2009.
The silence scares me. But if we hang on long enough, we may just hear some good news.
Colin
Posted in Roster Moves, Speculation |
By Lindsay on Dec 17, 2007 | Reply
i think i’d kill to keep tex. he is absolutely pivotal. in fact, he has won our hearts already. i look at it this way: i looked for THREE seasons to find a renteria tshirt that would fit me to no avail and within 3 weeks of tex joining us, i could have easily gotten a tex shirt. granted, this analysis is seemingly stupid, but keep this in mind: atlantans have a NEED for likeable sports figures. look at mark richt and chan gailey. GT gave gailey the boot for being hated, not for his record, and richt is going nowhere anytime soon unless its his own doing. in georgia, we keep who we like if we can as fans, and we love tex. let’s make it a priority to keep tex on board. braves fans love him, he’s great for the club, and he’s a fabulous investment. the numbers speak loud, and so do the fans.
By Jonathan on Dec 18, 2007 | Reply
I agree, Lindsay. As I said earlier in discussion about Willie, there as an invaluable resource in keeping fan favorites around the team. I think the Braves need to pay whatever price it takes to keep Tex around for a long time. He’s just the type of player that we need to have locked down with a multi-year deal.
By Charles on Dec 23, 2007 | Reply
C’mon man, do just a little research… We don’t hear anything about Tex because he’s not a free agent. Why did so many people completely ignore this fact when we traded for him? Everyone was up in arms, said we gave up too much for a 3 month rental and we better resign him. He’s signed until the end of next year, hopefully we can get a long term deal in place before then, but if not, we don’t have to worry about resigning him until next offseason.
By Colin on Dec 23, 2007 | Reply
Yeah, discovered a few minutes after I posted…lol
By lindsay on Dec 27, 2007 | Reply
speaking of all the keeps and trades, i didn’t realize we got rid of lance cormier.
By Jonathan on Dec 27, 2007 | Reply
Yep, he parted ways about the same time as Willie. I was just too devastated about Wille’s departure to report on it.
By Cameron on Dec 31, 2007 | Reply
OK, Im a uber-huge Braves’ fan, and I want nothing more than Teixeira to return on ‘09, but I just don’t think it’ll happen… UNLESS the Braves make a deep playoff run, that’s why Texeira was glad to come to the big A, he wanted to be part of a contender. But, if the Bravos fail to reach the NLCS or World Series, I see Teixeira in his home town Orioles uni, pinstripes, or, dare I say it, a Mets jersey, MOM GET ME SOME SOAP!!! I do think think that the Braves have a shot, even with Mr Jackhole himself, Boras, as his agent. IF the Braves take their shot him in the middle of the season or during their “alone time” in the offseason next year, they’ll probobly get him back, but in an open market, forget about it.
By James on Dec 31, 2007 | Reply
In my opinion, if the Braves do not resign Tex this off-season or up till the trade deadline next year, we need to trade him for a ton or talent. More talent than we gave up for him.