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 Last year many of us felt that the Red Sox NEEDED to sign Mark Teixeira. Manny was gone, Ortiz was on the decline and Mike Lowell was hurt. We needed a new anchor for the lineup and Tex was a perfect fit.
Teixeira ended up signing with the Yankees and has anchored their lineup instead while helping them get back to the playoffs and, most likely, back to winning the AL East.
Teixeira has stated that he always dreamed of playing for the Yankees, but the truth of the matter is that New York was simply willing to give him more money.
The Red Sox will be in a very similar situation this offseason with Jason Bay.
Jason Bay and the Red Sox were unable to agree to a contract extention during the season, and now Bay looks primed to test the market as the league's most productive free agent.
Bay's 36 home runs, puts him three behind the injured Carlos Pena (39) for the AL lead. It's no coincidence that Teixeira is in the mix with 37 ding dongs.
Bay is also second in the AL with 113 RBI, behind, you guessed it, Mark Teixeira (118).
His .267 batting average isn't all that exciting, but his current 0.936 OPS is second only to the .961 mark he posted in 2005 with Pittsburgh, thanks to the 89 walks he's tallied this year. That puts him on pace for 102, which would tie his career best and prove that he can improve on his one major weakness.
And, by the way, that 0.961 mark, ranks him 5th in the AL... just behind Teixeira at 0.949.
My point is this... Teixeira got away and now he's a major part of why the Yankees are the World Series favorites. If they win it all this season, many will say that they "bought" another ring with the huge contracts they dished out this offseason, but the Red Sox can't afford to let another potential "anchor" sign with someone else.
The Red Sox passed on Teixeira because they had Youkilis, Lowell and Oritz. The Red Sox can't pass on Bay, because they don't have other options for left field.
Matt Holliday is an option, but after Scott Boras gets done negotiating, you'll be paying the same price for a guy that hasn't proven he can hack it in Boston - like Bay has.
After Holliday, you're looking at Garrett Anderson (38), Marlon Byrd (35), Johnny Damon and Carl Crawford (if the Rays don't pick up his option). And our bests outfield options in Pawtucket are Josh Reddick and Chris Carter (.294, 16 HR, 61 RBI)... but he plays right.
Bottom Line: My guess is that the Red Sox knew that they wouldn't be able to afford Mark Teixeira AND Jason Bay, and with Youk signing a new deal last season, they chose to pass on Tex with the intention of extending Bay.
But signing Bay may prove more difficult than Theo originally thought. The Sox may end up fighting themselves while trying stay in the running for Bay and Holliday, but they have to sign one of the two. Lowell could probably give you another decent year at third, but Big Papi is a huge question mark right now... Bay is the anchor we need in this lineup.
ps. As if signing Bay won't be hard enough, Theo will also be talking trades with Seattle for Felix Hernandez and wondering how much money they will have to give Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon in 2011 all at the same time.
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