One of these days we’ll finally get sick of discussing Mark Teixeira. For many of you that time has already come, but for me it hasn’t, so I’m going to link to this Jon Heyman article in which he speaks ambiguously of the first baseman’s situation. Word comes from “baseball people” that Teixeira will sign today or tomorrow. You know what kind of person knows baseball? A baseball person. So clearly this is accurate information. Moving on.

What team will have the privilege of paying Mark Teixeira over $20 million over the next at least eight years? That we don’t know, and that we must know soon, or we will go crazy. Heyman tells us that despite John Henry’s statements last week, Boston will indeed be a factor. The Red Sox “are still viewed as the favorite by most executives on other teams.” I’ve always wondered if the word “most” in statements like this means “majority” or “a bunch of people I’ve spoken to.”

Washington could be launching a last-minute offensive with an new, improved offer. Roch Kubatko, who has a cool name, is hearing eight years and $178 to $184 million, with the possibility of a ninth or even tenth year under discussion. For commentary I’ll quote Mike: “I find it hilarious that the Nats are willing to up their offer for Tex, but wouldn’t pony up the extra $500,000 to sign Aaron Crow.” I do too, Mike. I do too.

Back to Heyman. Now he says that the Yankees met this weekend to consider whether to “make room on their payroll” for Teixeira. Then, in the next paragraph, he said that they only want to spend “slightly more than the $161 million given to [CC] Sabathia.” Thankfully, slightly is yet another ambiguous term, so for all we know slightly could be another $19 million. I guess we’ll find out in the next two days.

Okay, now I’m sick of discussing Mark Teixeira. Glad I got that out of my system.

Bonus section!

Made me laugh: Ed Price and Bryan Hoch, among other beat writers I’m sure, got some quotes from Derek Jeter yesterday afternoon at an event for his Turn 2 Foundation. Apparently, Jeter gave the impression that Manny would fit with the Yanks and that they don’t need him. The funny part is that despite the headlines, there is no quote from Jeter saying that Manny would fit or that they don’t need him.

Here’s Reds Commentator Marty Brennaman getting cranky about on-base percentage. This is priceless:

Caller: People here don’t realize that Pat Burrell and Adam Dunn don’t get paid $12 million to hit .300. They get paid to hit home runs; that’s it.
Marty: No, they get paid to drive in runs, is what they get paid to do.
Caller: And hit home runs.
Marty: No, unh-uh. Home runs are incidental.

Then, what had to be only seconds later:

Adam Dunn’s paid to hit home runs

And then a little bit later:

I’m tired of hearing about how many times he walks. He was paid to hit home runs

Also, listen to this a couple of times and it’ll be stuck in your head:

Update (3:00 p.m.): Buster Olney says that the Yanks had an offer on the table but have since pulled it. “They want to cut payroll,” Olney writes, “and basically, they cannot do this if they sign Teixeira.”

It is of course a bad time to cut payroll as Teixeira fills an obvious need. Additionally, as has been pointed out in the comments, the Yanks could withdraw their offer to Pettitte and just commit to Melky and Brett Gardner in the outfield for instant savings. After 2009, enough money is coming off the books that Teixeira makes sense. I’d hate to see them opt out off this signing as they did with Carlos Beltran over a matter of a few million dollars for one season. But as more and more stories come out, I’m less inclined to believe that Teixeira will wind up in the Bronx.

Dan Graziano says we should forget about a Yankee discount. Teixeira is a true Boras client through and through.

* * *

Scott Boras really wants the Yankees to either land Mark Teixeira or at least be more involved in the bidding. As I wrote this morning, the Yanks may be willing to make Teixeira a $160-million, eight-year offer, but it won’t be enough.

Meanwhile, Boras keeps pushing. He has anonymously sourced reports everywhere. Jon Heyman had the Yanks in on Teixeira; Micheal Schmidt in The Times has them interested. But today, Kat O’Brien unveils the most interesting take of all. It seems that Scott Boras is more interested in the Yankees than the Yankees are in Boras and Teixeira for now.

O’Brien reports on what it would take to land Teixeira. She writes:

Despite agent Scott Boras’ efforts to get the Yankees involved in the Mark Teixeira sweepstakes, the Yankees remain on the periphery of the bidding, sources said yesterday…

Two sources confirmed that Boras and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman talked Friday, but they said it was Boras – not Cashman – who initiated contact. One source said Boras gave Cashman an estimate of what it would cost to land Teixeira, a superb defensive and offensive first baseman. The ballpark figure reportedly was about $22 million to $23 million per year on an eight-year contract, for a total of $180 million to $185 million.

The source said Boras wanted to give the Yankees an opportunity to make an offer. The Yankees currently do not have an offer on the table for Teixeira…A source said the Yankees have not ruled out making an offer for Teixeira, saying: “We’re debating it. Some in the organization want to do it.”

That’s, I think, the most accurate picture of where things stand. Boras wants the Yanks involved. Some of the Yankee Front Office would like Teixeira, and there seems to be a bit of a hold up over signing another costly free agent to a very long-term deal. But as things stand with the Red Sox and Angels, Teixeira could New York’s for the taking if they make the right offer.

If the team really is, as The Times noted earlier, willing to go to $160 million, what’s another $2 or $3 million a season anyway?

Sunday morning brings with it an intriguing — and familiar — story about Mark Teixeira from The Times’ Michael Schmidt. He reports that the Yanks are interested but remain lurkers in the Mark Teixeira hunt.

Says Schmidt:

Although the Yankees have not actively pursued the free-agent first baseman Mark Teixeira, team officials continue to monitor the negotiations between Teixeira’s agent, Scott Boras, and other teams.

The Yankees are interested in signing Teixeira, according to two people in baseball with knowledge of the matter, but for the moment are unwilling to pay him more than $160 million over eight years, one of them said.

For the moment. That’s a rather pregnant phrase.

Schmidt notes that the Yanks would perhaps have to get creative with either the roster or the contract to add Teixeira, but it seems as though the Yanks could do that with so many contracts coming off the books following 2009. At this point, what’s the difference between $160 over eight years and $180 over the same time? If the Yanks want Teixeira badly enough, they will get him. It just depends on how badly that really is.

By all public accounts last night, it seemed as though the Sox had pulled out of the Mark Teixeira sweepstakes. After a night to sleep on it, Jon Heyman’s “multiple baseball sources” say that’s not true. Rather, the Red Sox have made their best offer to Teixeira; they won’t go any higher; and the first baseman’s future is in his own hands. This may just be a dance the two sides are playing to stall negotiations or it may portend a final outcome in which Teixeira and Scott Boras just follow the money. The Yankees are playing this one close to the vest.

Additional pontification by Joe.

The most interesting two paragraphs in the linked Madden article, I think, are these:

It was believed that the Red Sox’s offer to Teixeira was for eight years at around $170 million and that Angels owner Arte Moreno topped out at $160 million over eight years in his offer.

With those figures floating around, it’s not clear what “other offers” Henry was referring to. According to a source, Boras informed the Red Sox that if they were willing to go to $184 million over eight years, they could have Teixeira.

So, like Ben, I believe this is just another part of the dance. The $184 million over eight years represents a $23 million AAV, or exactly what CC Sabathia commanded. I think that, ultimately, the Red Sox would be willing to add Teixeira at this amount. They just don’t want to jump into it now, when it is uncertain whether Teixeira has a better offer in hand than the rumored eight year, $170 million offer from the Sox.

Most interesting, of course, is the final line. “[I]f they were willing to go to $184 million over eight years, they could have Teixeira.” Sounds like that’s an opportunity to swoop in and nab Teixeira. Perhaps, then, the rumors of an insane offer from Washington are overblown (Feinsand’s article mentions an eight-year, $120 million deal, which clearly wouldn’t cut it). Perhaps the $170 million offer is, in fact, the best offer officially on the table, and Boras just wants to squeeze out as much as possible. The Red Sox see this, and are backing off for the moment, confident that their offer will remain the best.

It’s tempting, at least to the fan, to think that all the Yankees would have to do is phone Boras and say “we’ll give Teixeira eight years and $184 million.” If it’s that easy, I’m sure many of you are thinking, why don’t the Yanks just do it? I’m not sure of their exact reasons. I’m sure it has plenty to do with the current payroll scheme, both for the 2009 team and for long term projection. It probably also takes into consideration the relative value of Teixeira — in that he’s not worth the payout.

Clearly, I think the Yanks should do this. However, I realize that if they don’t, they have their reasons, many of which I’m not privy to. It’s easy for you and me to project decisions for the Yanks. We’re passionate observers on the outside looking in. We want what’s best for the team, but we don’t have all the relevant information at hand.

Let me repeat: If I’m Brian Cashman, I’m spending the bulk of my Friday convincing Hal Steinbrenner to okay the funds to acquire Teixeira.