I'd like to know what team will take on that much salary, even though he's one of the best players out there? If the Yankees get him, I'll strangle myself!!!! Here's the story: A's won't re-sign Tejada !

[ March 15, 2003, 07:41 PM: Message edited by: Mike T. ]

Yankees. They'd play him in left.
Mets. Just to one-up the Yankees.
Red Sox. Garciaparra's even worse of a defensive liability.
Dodgers. New money coming in soon.
D-Backs. They seem to find a way to get who they want.
Phillies. If Jimmy Rollins continues regressing.
Cubs. If they want to win.
Orioles? Recreate some excitement, maybe.
Northern Virginia Expos? Let's see how deep the pockets will be here.

Tejada should get to choose from three or four of the above.

The Phils have a prospect that they're high on, Anderson Machado--there's been some speculation that if Rollins doesn't get his act together that Machado might get the job for 2004. That might depend on what happens this season and whether or not they decide they need more experience instead.

Speaking of outfielders, does anyone know if Doug Glanville was traded from Philly to Texas, or was he a free agent signing?

Just curious.

Do the Phils have a second base prospect capable of taking over that job? I love Placido Polanco -- he's a great utility infielder -- but I don't see him as a starting infielder on a legit World Series contender. If they don't have anyone capable of being a major league second basemen, I would think a shortstop prospect could be shifted over one slot to the left.

Free agent. The Philly people can (and will) correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I don't think the Phillies had any interest in keeping him.

This is what's wrong with MLB. Are the A's, Expos et. al. to be merely farm teams for the Yankees?

As an A's fan I find it sad but also, in a way, refreshingly honest that they would be this up- front before the season even starts. Yes, their "spin" is that "we don't want to insult him by offering him less than he's worth", but what they're really saying is "we don't want to play P.R. games all season the way we did with Giambi, because everybody saw right through that little charade".

Chase Utley--the guy they had moved to third for a year thinking that he might have to replace Scott Rolen--is back at second. Bowa was quoted as saying he needs about 400 at-bats at AAA to be ready to take over.

Glanville was supposedly close to staying on as a backup for Marlon Byrd, but then he got an offer from Texas which gave him a better shot at starting, so Ricky Ledee is going to be the backup. From his play in spring training, though, it seems like Byrd isn't ready. I wonder how long they'll go through the season if Byrd struggles out of the gate.

Getting back to the Tejada story: I thought the new labor agreement with the luxury tax provisions, etc. was supposed to help teams like Oakland keep their players? Why are they just giving up? I think they ought to go through the season and see how things go. They might decide to jettison some other salaries and try to keep Tejada.

According to this story posted on mlb.com, the A's are spending their money signing up Mulder, Hudson, Zito and Chavez to long term deals: \"Schott: A's won't re-sign Tejada\". Most, if not all, of those contracts are up in 2004.

I guess the thinking is that Tejada was going to be more expensive, and require a longer-term deal, so he was the odd man out when it came to signing up the players. Of course, mlb.com is the official Major League Baseball site, so they might be spinning.

[ March 16, 2003, 03:37 PM: Message edited by: Charlie in the Trees ]

If there's anybody out there who knows how to put a competitive team on the field, it's Billy Bean, the GM of the A's. I mean he loses McGuire, he loses Giambi, he loses Damon, he loses Ben Grieve and still he has a compteitive team EVERY year. He knows how to develop talent and he knows who to keep around. I give him real props for admitting that Tejada is gone after this year, it gives a medium market team some time to figure out how to get him on their payroll. A's are fun to watch every year, and I'll bet next year will be the same.