November 14, 2008
Nationals Interest
Dave Sheinin discusses how the Nationals might convince Mark Teixeira to sign with Washington:
"Mark, you are a once-in-a-lifetime player, especially to a franchise like ours. The Nationals see you as the foundation, someone with deep local ties who could be the face of our franchise for the next [six/eight/ten] years. We will build this team around you, and when we're ready to win it all - and we're closer than people think - you will have been part something truly special.
"Nowhere else in baseball can give you what you can get here, Mark. We're not only just down the road from your hometown. We're also the nation's capital. You'll have congressmen and Supreme Court justices watching you nightly. You might be a regular guest at the White House, given the President-Elect's love of sports.
"Face it: You can never own L.A., or Boston - at least not as long as Kobe and Tom Brady are alive. But you can own this town, Mark. It yours if you want it."
The Nationals minor league teams did well, and that's often a precursor to major league improvement.
A much simpler pitch would be "Here is $200 million. You can sign on the line, Mr. Teixeira."
That pitch reminds me so much of the tale of Arizona and their franchise player Travis Lee. I remember it well: this is an organization that will do everything right, build from the ground up, ever pay minute attention to the details, etc., etc.
Then they went out and loaded up on old guys. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not.
I can't imagine any circumstance where Tex signs with the Nationals. Even if they offer $20M+ over anyone else, which I can't imagine they'd do.
