Wednesday, March 09, 2005

Where are they now - Mark Teixeira

Mark talks about the financial committment of his team, the Texas Rangers:

Sure enough, Tex had the answer, the perfect dollars-and-sense answer for any owner of any professional team.


"I would hope," he said Saturday, "this is an organization willing to do whatever it takes to win.


"Be it by trades, in free agency, or in getting our own players signed, we need to step up and go to the next level with all that."


"What comes first, winning or the fans?" Teixeira said. "To me, that's an easy answer. In our market, the fans have already proved they will come to our beautiful ball park if we put the right product on the field.


"That should not be an issue for us. We aren't Oakland or Minnesota. We are in a top market. If our organization does its part, and we do ours on the field, the fans will support us."


A perfect, I repeat, dollars-and-sense answer from Tex.


The irony is that the time is coming, sooner than the Rangers nervously would ever admit, when Teixeira will be the ultimate financial test case for Hicks' ownership regime.


Teixeira is 24, and by most baseball estimations, headed for super stardom. His 26 homers as a rookie were followed last season by 38.


And Peter Gammons speaks very highly of Tex:

"Wait 'til Mark Teixeira hits about 50 or more this season, and with him, there won't be any talk of steroids, and then baseball can get back to business as usual," Gammons said. "That's a kid who can bring honor back to the home run."


And of course there is the usual talk about ubra-agent Scott Boros.