To land Teixeira, you’ll have to outbid the Yankees and Mets and probably some other teams, which can’t possibly be a good idea. So nah.

From the smoke that Boras is putting out, Tex will accept nothing less than 8 years and $20 million per. Sorry, he’s not worth it, since as has been said many times before, we’re not just one hitter away. And besides, the Giants will be outbid by the Angels and Red Sox at a minimum for Tex.

This really isn’t a FA class that matches up well with what the Giants need, so they’ll have to fill their needs by way of trades that may cost them too much. For that reason, in the end, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sabean does zip in this offseason. At the most, we may see Sanchez, Taschner, and even Molina traded away, and if Sabean can fill either 2B or 3B with a good bat for that, then great. But I’m not holding my breath.

The best argument for making a stab at Teixeira is this: he is probably the best free agent hitter that will become available for the next several years. If you look ahead, most of the elite talents have been locked up by their teams, the free agent crop gets worse by the year as a result. Teixeira is aberrantly good for that crop, and is worth going for.

I don’t think it’s a bidding war we’d win, and I wouldn’t be heartbroken if we didn’t pursue him. But there’s a good argument for targeting him.

The thing I like about Teixeira is that he put up monster numbers following a trade to a new team and new league. It’s not often that a big-time player avoids the adjustment slump with Tex and Manny being exceptions.

Six months ago I couldn’t fathom the Giants giving another huge contract to anyone but it’s starting to look like Sabean will at least be in back of the auction house holding his bidding number upside down for Tex and C.C. I would still be shocked if we truly became contenders but we came out of nowhere with Zito too.

That being said, I would give up Schierholtz and a pitching prospect for Uggla in a heartbeat. Love that guy and his market value should be comparatively low this offseason.

with the lineup suggested that means we will have the following positions filled for the next 2-5 yrs:
Lewis – LF
Teixeira – 1B
Sandoval – 3B
Rowand – CF
Burriss – SS
& assuming Shierholtz takes RF, Posey takes C

thats 7/8 positions filled with quality players with only 2B needing a true upgrade. It would also give us 6 players with 15-30 HRs potential (Burriss/2B exlcuded)…there could be worse things (3/31/08 aurilia, durham, bocock, castillo)

I just wanted to point out the ridiculous amount of money the team would have to sign FAs this season if they’d never signed Zito. I know you were all thinking it anyway….

Oh, and the Giants should try to sign Tex as long as he doesn’t approach $175M. Even if Busty Poser (see above), Gillaspie, Bumgarner and Alderson all came up in the next few years and met expectations, and Burriss and Pablo continued their streaks from the end of this season, the Giants would still need at least one more hitter. So, why not get Tex? Is there a hitter that will reach free agency in the next few years that you’d rather see the Giants sign to a long term deal?

Get him. It’s just money – right? :)

We can all complain about the consequences later.

Because Mark Teixeira is young enough to still be around when the Giants get good and because top-notch free agents don’t particularly abound (with even fewer wanting to play in SF), I would have no problem if the Giants signed him.

Let’s suppose that Emmanuel Burriss has a big-league glove and a big-league bat at shortstop. Let’s assume that Pablo Sandoval can play third base and that eventually he and Buster Posey can share catcher and the hot corner. Let’s suppose that Conor Gillaspie can be ready in a year. (One Giants fan saw him play in college and believes it would be a waste for him to start next season in Connecticut, expecting Conor to instead open the season in Fresno.) Let’s suppose Conor can learn to play second base, a position he is said to be athletic enough for. (Bill Mueller played some games there himself.)

Suddenly the Giants have the catching position covered and a full infield. Maybe they could parlay Randy Winn, Bengie Molina and a pitching prospect into a stud outfield prospect — even if that stud is a couple of years away, thus keeping the mares waiting.

Let’s suppose Aaron Rowand bounces back to normal self. Let’s suppose that at least one of the trio of Fred Lewis, Nate Schierholtz and John Bowker plays well.

Suddenly the Giants have an outfield.

Let’s suppose that within two years Mad Bum and Timmy Two are the real deal (which could make Barry Zito and Noah Lowry the top lefty relievers :). Let’s suppose that Brian Wilson is for real as a closer and that among Alex Hinshaw, Sergio Romo, Billy Sadler, Merkin Valdez, Jack Taschner, Osiris Matos and even the much-reviled Tyler Walker the Giants can find a middle reliever and a couple of set up men.

Suddenly the Giants have a pitching staff. And in an ideal world, it would be only 2010. The Giants could possibly become a mini-version of the Rays — or at least the Diamondbacks or Dodgers. By 2011 they could be serious contenders and by 2012 real contenders to win it all.

At least one of these things is bound to fall through, you say? No problem. That’s what the #6 overall pick in the 2009 draft pick is for. :)

nothing major will be happening. The Brewers now don’t want to move Fielder or Hardy, and the big market teams are focusing on using their cash advantage to drive up the price of the good FAs that are out there. As such, there doesn’t seem to be much Sabean can do this early in the offseason unless he wanted to get fleeced again by someone into giving up Sanchez for soemething inadequate. So he’s left with nibbling around the edges once again by signing the likes of Phelps for 1B on a low-risk minor league deal to see what happens by Spring Training.

I don’t think Tex would consider coming to the Giants even if they were competitive on the money with the other suitors. That being said, if other moves will be limited because everyone else wants to hold onto their chips, then perhaps the Giants should play aggressively in the Tex market between now and the winter meetings and see how things shake out. At this point, since so little is being dangled out there for our pitching, I’d hold onto it.

that the Giants are not one hitter away from contention. They aren’t if it is simply a sum of the parts, but everyone knows that a bat with considerable power has an impact up, and down the lineup. Sandoval’s bat was missing for most of the 2008 season and must be factored in. It also seems that most people are assuming that the season Rowand had in 2008 is the same he will have in 2009. That may not be true, and if he bounces back, I like a heart of the order that includes Teixiera, Sandoval, Rowand, and Molina.

Also the idea that 1B is the easiest to fill is from the perspective of finding a spot for an older, defensively deficient player that can still hit. 1B is the most underrated defensive position on the field; a good defensive 1B can make the entire IF better. There is a reason why the Giants had good defensive teams when we had JT at 1B.

I can understand the reasons for not wanting to gamble on signing Tex, but I would be very happy if the Giants took that risk and did.

Anyone that watched the Giants last year knows that they’re not one hitter away from contention. Minus Sandoval and Molina, they’re basically one LINEUP away from contention.

Teixeira would be a better acquisition than Zito was for sure, but I think it’s a lot of money to spend to improve the team enough to get them to maybe 99 losses next year…

the Giants are pursuing both Tex and Furcal.

The White Sox want a CF with speed and want to send away both Javier Vasquez and Nick Swisher.

Rowand/Taschner anyone?

If ownership feels like permanently bumping the payroll to a bit over 100MM I can be really happy with a Tex signing. If Ownership if not willing to go on record for that then I don’t want.