You sign some, you lose some

Word on the street is that the Rangers are negotiating a contract extention with star 2B Michael Young. It’s a big, long-term deal. The kind of package that should keep Young in a Rangers uniform pretty much up to the day he retires.

That’s great news for Young, of course. And great news for Rangers fans. But for Mark Teixeira, it’s a little bittersweet.

As Dallas Morning News columnist Jean Jacques-Taylor points out, Young’s deal almost certainly means Teixeira won’t be getting a similar long-term contract. From the DMN:

When you’re talking about baseball economics, unless you cheer for the Yankees or Mets, the Red Sox or, I suppose, the Cubs, you must always choose between this great player or that great player. The game’s economics dictates that your favorite team can’t have both.

While it’s great that Tom Hicks has given Jon Daniels permission to negotiate a lucrative long-term extension with Young, who certainly deserves it, deep down you know it means two years from now, Mark Teixeira will leave through free agency.

Taylor is pissed that the Rangers probably won’t find a way to keep Tiexiera. But, let’s be honest: Teixeira’s agent probably isn’t pushing for an extention. Because Teixeira’s agent is none other than Scott Boras, and he doesn’t believe in extentions.

Boras is famous for advising his clients to test free agency as often as possible. That’s why he got J.D. Drew to opt out of his three year, $33 million deal with the Dodgers. It’s why people think A-Rod will opt out of his deal before it ends. And it’s why Teixeira isn’t going to sign an extention with the Rangers.

Besides, if I were the Rangers, I don’t think I’d be jumping at the chance to pay Teixeira big bucks. That guy killed my fantasy season last year. Teixeira is too young to be regressing, but he hit 34 fewer RBIs last year than the previous season, as well as 10 fewer HRs. His batting average dropped 19 points, from .301 to .282.

“Hey boss, I did decidely worse at my job this year compared to last. Now let’s talk about a raise.”