A not so quick word on one of the biggest free agents in baseball this winter. Mark Teixeira seems destined to become a New York Yankee.

There is an article in the Daily News proclaiming it, and I first thought it was just biased prognostication of his future with the evil empire. Still, I started thinking about it and I agree. Why you ask? There are a variety of reason... some in the article, some not.

This being the first year he can truly have control of his destination, I think Mark has three things to balance. First and surely foremost, he gotta make dat cash. There aren't many teams that Boras will let him go to. The suitor will have to be a big spender to garner his services. Two, it has been a long time since he lived close to his family in the DC/Baltimore area. He is from nearby Severna Park, MD. After most of his career on a losing Texas team, a thrid factor is that it would make sense that Teixeira wants to win wherever he goes. 

So starting with geography, how do all the teams meet the criteria? How about the local teams? No chance. The hometown Orioles and Nats have little to no shot at contending in his prime. The AL East has three top dogs now with Toronto always solid as well so the Orioles are in the cellar. Meanwhile, the Nats have more opportunity but no tradition of winning and are further behind in their development. Besides this, they aren't willing to spend the kind of cash it would take. All they have is geography, so those two are out.

Looking south to Virgina and west to West Virginia, there aren't any teams unless he wants to go back to the minors, haha. I've always wondered why there isn't a major league club in central/southern Virgina but that is beside the point.

Let's go north. Philadelphia just won a championship. Only just over two hours from his childhood home. Perfect fit? If in the AL maybe but without a DH and Ryan Howard at first, it ain't happening unless Teixeira moves back to third where he started his career. Seems unlikely but that would be an insane infield by the way. Teixeira, Rollins, Utley, Howard. Holy cow. Anyway, that isn't going to happen.

Pittsburgh to the northwest? Pretty close by but miles from winning. Nope. Plus, let's not forget how little money they are spending. Haven't looked at the numbers, but Teixeira might get more than their entire team.

Next in line.... New York. New York is train accessible from both DC and Baltimore. It would be easy for the family to visit that way, driving or flying. New York is actually only a little over three hours drive from Baltimore and is even closer than a place like Pittsburgh. The Mets have Delgado back on the books. If I were GM, I would have avoided that and gone after Teixeira but alas, they are probably out of the running.

That leaves us with his best option to be near home, get paid and win... the New York Yankees. He hasn't liked the Red Sox since some comments in his draft year, and he was a Yankees fan apparently as a child since he wears number 23 for Don Mattingly. This team needs to rebuild its aging talent and the departure of Giambi makes perfect sense. They are planning on grabbing Teixeira along with the pitching they keep taliking about.

With the Yankees and the stars that will surely surround him, I'd look for Teixeira to continue to perform near the level he was producing at with the Angels. The average was a little high with them, but we are looking at something like 110 R, 40 HR, 130 RBI, .315 AVG in that lineup. He would bring this plus great defense as you can see in the picture. This would go a long way to help the Yanks, but they have a ton more money to spend if they are going to compete this season. Still, Mark knows they will always try. The financial support will be there. Plus, they have a new stadium this season so what better time to make a few huge signings at once.