Boston reaction to Yankees signing Mark Teixeira is swift and fierce

By JESSE SPECTOR
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Friday, December 26th 2008, 11:33 AM

It won't be a very merry Christmas for Red Sox Nation, which a week a go seemed to be on the verge of celebrating Mark Teixeira's arrival in Boston, but now must deal with the slugging first baseman in pinstripes for the next eight years.

The reaction up north was swift and fierce, starting with Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe, who summed it up as "a kick in the pants."

"Whether or not you wanted to see Teixeira in a Red Sox uniform next year, you're missing the point. The Red Sox wanted him and they wanted him badly," Massarotti wrote. He took issue with the stance of Red Sox ownership losing its high-stakes poker game with Scott Boras over "$1 million-$2 million a year, roughly 1 percent of their 2008 payroll."

"It simply makes no sense to stop bidding based on principle," he wrote, "particularly after dropping $51.11 million for the rights to Daisuke Matsuzaka and another $70 million for J.D. Drew."

Massarotti's Globe colleague, Nick Cafardo, wrote that "(the Angels and Nationals) were losers in this one, but not more so than the Sox, who got the old double whammy - losing the player they wanted to the Yankees." Cafardo talked to a general manager who "suggested ... that Derek Lowe has now become a key player," so maybe the Red Sox will take out their Teixeira frustrations on New York's other team - though the Globe reported on its "Extra Bases" blog Wednesday morning that Lowe is closing in on a deal with the Mets.

The Globe-produced fan site Boston Dirt Dogs took its usual stance - after fawning over Teixeira a week ago, their "Yankee Flipper" story featured several snappy one-liners, including "Bronx Bumblers Overpay for Overrated First Baseman, DH-Type." This from a site that a week ago asked, "Is There a Portuguese Prince on the Horizon in Boston?" and reminded the loyal legions "It's Pronounced Tei-SHAIR-ah ... But Boston Will End Up Calling Him Tex." They'll probably be calling him something else now.

Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald cautioned that the Red Sox must deal not only with the Yankees but also those American League champions from Tampa Bay. For any post-deal spinmeisters, he added, "Losing out on Teixeira leaves the Red Sox without an upgrade in the middle of their batting order. The Sox had projected Teixeira as the kind of run-producer who could replace Manny Ramirez in the lineup, without replicating Ramirez's penchant for off-field drama and distraction."

Last but not least, Curt Schilling was very reasonable writing on his blog, urging Boston fans to "Please stop with the greedy bum statements too, all of you screaming that would be saying nothing if the Sox had ante'd up. I'm surprised but I don't think nearly as much as most others. Why? Because not once, never, did you hear ANYTHING from Mark in this entire charade. This is how Scott Boras works, and his clients love him for it. Mark never said he wanted Boston, sources 'close to negotiations' did. That and a handful of nickels will get you a quarter."

Schilling also offered a succinct analysis of the Yankees' end of the move, writing, "I think the Steinbrenners, coming off a miserable last season in Yankee Stadium, are dead set on opening the new stadium with a World Series and they don't care how much it costs. Good for them. You can bitch all you want about the Yankees and greed but they spend money in a sincere effort to win it all, every year. What fan wouldn't want their teams to do that."

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