Here it is in a nutshell: If the Orioles defy the odds and win the Teixeira derby, then maybe the team really has changed direction under MacPhail and maybe it's time to start coming back to the ballpark after a decade of declining attendance. If the Orioles get outbid - no matter how big the winning bid turns out to be - then it's the same old, same old. The Orioles weren't really serious and stayed on the fringe of the bidding only for public relations purposes.
It's not my money, but I've got to go with the fans on this one. Teixeira presents the Orioles with a rare opportunity to alter public opinion and stem the potentially ruinous decline in gate revenue. If that means offering a few million extra to make his decision tougher, they need to do that. They've reduced the payroll over the past few years, ostensibly to prepare for this very opportunity, so they need to compete, and the Red Sox apparently have left them an opening to do just that. I'm not talking about giving Boras a blank check or bidding blindly against one of his mystery teams, but a solid front office knows how to gauge these things and make a legitimate play.
Maybe that's just what's going to happen, though the national consensus seems to be that the Red Sox were just posturing Thursday night and are still the team to beat. The only thing certain is that Tex is going to be a very rich guy very soon. Everything else seems to be subject to daily interpretation, but the basic issues remain unchanged.
No one really knows whether Teixeira is putting the higher premium on playing for a winner or playing close to home. If it is about the ring, he might soon be headed back to the Angels, who now are believed or rumored (pick one) to be the highest bidder. If he is intent on returning to the East Coast, then he'll have to reel the Red Sox back in or choose between the Orioles and Nationals. If he just wants the most money, well, who really knows?
The fans in Baltimore are understandably cynical after all they've been through, but I think it's fair to say the Orioles are not just in it for the public relations. There isn't an ounce of good PR to be gotten from any scenario that doesn't put Teixeira in the Orioles' lineup next season. If they come up short, it won't matter how much or little they offered at the end. They will have once again met the diminished expectations of their diminishing fan base.
No sugarcoating that.
Listen to Peter Schmuck on WBAL (1090 AM) at noon most Fridays and Saturdays.
