Hard to Imagine Teixeira in D.C., No Matter the Price

I can see it now: Mark Teixeira standing on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, agent Scott Boras at his side, conducting his introductory news conference after signing a 10-year, $200 million free-agent contract with the Washington Nationals. Actually, I can't see it, not when Teixeira has better options — specifically, the Angels, Red Sox and Yankees. But I also remember the 2000 winter meetings, when Alex Rodriguez signed a monster deal with the Texas Rangers, a team that finished 71-91 the previous season. Boras has met at length with the Nationals' owner, Ted Lerner, and by now Teixeira presumably has, too. Lerner, who made his fortune in real estate development, presided over the Nats' embarrassing inaugural season at Nationals Park and has drawn criticism from current and former employees for his slow embrace of common baseball business practices. Boras, however, sees Lerner and his son, Mark, as sleeping giants in the industry. "The Lerner family has made it clear that they're going to ... (link)