(ed. note - "I'm standing outside in a light rain right now, it's 2:16 am EST, I haven't had Internet service for the past 4 hrs and I'm out here to get better reception on my iPhone so that I can post this...so forgive me for not editing til morning, and for the fact that for now the post ends rather abruptly, this is the story of the Nationals' pursuit of Teixiera...")
I guess I should probably apologize to the Washington Nationals for not having believed that they would make a serious offer for free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira...I think i'll wait until Teixeira signs before I do all that, but if reports today are true, the Nationals have put an 8-year/$160 million dollar offer on the proverbial table in an attempt to entice the soon-to-be 29-year old veteran of six MLB seasons into becoming the face of the nation's capitals' favorite baseball team...uh, along with Ryan Zimmerman...I guess...
Of course...until Washington Post writer Dave Sheinin's Nationals Journal post at 8:42 pm Wednesday evening, it was all conjecture, from "sources familiar with the organization", but the "organization" in the form of DC GM Jim Bowden finally spoke up in Mr. Sheinin's article entitled, "UPDATE: Nationals Make 8-year, $160M Offer to Teixeira", where Mr. Bowden is quoted stating:
"We've made a very significant, concrete offer. He's our No. 1 priority."
...Didn't hear the DC GM quoting any numbers there?...In the same post, Teixeira's agent Scott "Maximum" Boras will say only that he has in fact spoken to several teams, but I'd imagine he's reluctant to put any timetable on completing a deal, especially when the first public offer is for 8-years/$160 and Boston hasn't even spoken up yet...(ESPN.com's Buster Olney writes, in the free portion of his blog post entitled, "Sabathia's New York-sized challenge", that, "...the Red Sox have not gone that far yet.")...There's no word from Mr. Bowden as to whether or not the "significant, concrete offer" is a final one or an opening salvo on the behalf of a beleaguered ballclub...
At 9:42 pm, an hour after Mr. Sheinin's post with Mr. Bowden, MLB.com's Bill Ladson was still quoting, "a Major League source" in his article entitled, "Nats make eight-year offer to Teixeira", where Mr. Ladson also reports on the Baltimore Orioles' offer to Teixeira...(ed. note - "Can someone who lives down there in the Mid-Atlantic please calculate the distance between Nationals Park and Teixeira's hometown of Severna, Maryland and Camden Yards and the Severna city limits, so we can see who really wins the home-field advantage tie-breaker?")...which, if accurately reported, (comes up short of DC's generous offer), at 7-years/$150M...and the DC GM seems to genuinely attempt (somewhat defensively honestly) to ensure fans of the team's intentions:
"...I tried to be up front and honest. We are trying to build this club through development and scouting, through young players, through trades for young players. We also said if it was a free agent who was young and in his 20s, [we would want him] to be part of the long-term solution."
...Later in the article, Mr. Ladson quotes a different "National League" source who denies that the Nationals have any interest in free agent outfielder Manny Ramirez, however, ESPN.com's Peter Gammons mentioned Washington twice in just a few minutes of a "Baseball Tonight: Hot Stove Special" Interview segment, stating, (to paraphrase), "...the Nationals have gone hard at Teixeira, and they are still an option for Manny Ramirez...(and)...if Teixeira goes to Boston, it leaves the Angels and Nationals as the suitors for Manny Ramirez."
8:53 pm - The Times' take on all this Teixeira talk? Washington Times' writer Ben Goessling's "Chatter: A Nationals Blog" post entitled, "Bowden: Nats have made Teixeira offer", reports that he just got out of a meeting with Jim Bowden, and the numbers on the offer are:
"...believed to be at least seven years and worth a minimum of $150 million, though it could certainly be higher."
No one seems to think Teixeira will sign anywhere immediately...but then again, CC Sabathia was supposed to be going back to California this weekend to think things over...
ALSO: In another Ben Goessling article at the Times entitled, "Redding deal dies", Mr. Goessling confirms that the Washington Nationals had intended to trade for Colorado outfielder WIlly Taveras in the team's continued attempts to stockpile outfielders...(ed. note - "I wrote that part, not Mr. Goessling."), with arbitration-eligible DC starter Tim Redding going to the Rockies, but the deal fell apart, though Mr. Goessling never quite explains why...
(ed. note - " I'll update in the Comments section throughout the day if any new news pops up...today's also the Rule 5 Draft...No one's gonna take DY are they? Who will be the next Jesus Flores? What say you Teixeira...???")