Teixeira to the Yankees, My Head to the Oven

It looks like the Sox just lost the Mark Teixeira sweepstakes. John Heyman is reporting the deal is 8 years, $180 million with a no-trade clause.

At $22.5 AAV, the Yankees offer was worth an extra $1.25 million of the Sox (who reportedly offered 8 for $170M). The no-trade clause is another big bonus for Teixeira. The Sox have a standing rule that they don't offer no-trades.

So this sucks. Going over $20 million per year for Tex is way too much for his body of work, but the Sox have a huge hole in the cleanup spot after running Manny out of town. With Ortiz and Lowell question marks due to health, the Sox are suddenly facing a power outage.

So who's next on the wish list? Are we about to welcome the Bobby Abreu era to Fenway? I certainly hope not, although a stop-gap guy like Abreu may make sense if Joe Mauer is the next great hope next offseason. Other short-time solutions include Ken Griffey Jr . and Jason Giambi. That's some gamey meat right there.

Longer-term, what about Adam Dunn? His power is certainly welcome, but he's best suited as a DH, and we already have one of those. Even if you did play him in the outfield, you'd slow the growth of Ellsbury. But he could spot JD Drew during one of his several trips to the DL.

The irony is rich: The guy best suited for the Sox is the one guy they can't sign. Manny Ramirez winning two World Series for the team is no longer enough for us; a guy's got to run hard down the line, too.

The Sox could try a different tack and land some pitching help. Jake Peavy talk is about to heat up, I think. D-Lowe sightings, too. Derek was another guy the Sox talked down on his way out of town, all but calling him a drunk. I don't know whether that will have any impact on whether he'd sign here again.

You also have to wonder: Did John henry's statement  last week, essentially exposing Scott Boras as a liar, piss off the super agent to the point where he courted a Yankees offer similar enough to the Sox's offer? The details coming out of this deal will be fascinating. Look to see if the Sox were given a shot to match or surpass the Yankees offer. If not, you can bet that Boras was looking to embarrass Henry.