I don’t know why I bother but, in order:

I can’t imagine anyone apparently expressing pride that “Deutschland Uber alles was the first song I ever learned”

Ellsbury wasn’t great at the plate but he was hardly awful all season long and there is no reason whatsoever to be bearish about him. He still hit .280 overall, stole 50 bases and scored 98 runs. And he was excellent in CF. Take out June and July and his stats were more than acceptable. There’s no reason to presume that June and July are the reality and April, May, August and September were flukes.

Obviously I am referring to Lowrie if I say “young” superior talent. Lowrie was told that his bat will get him to the majors, but his glove will keep him there. Meaning that to stick, he’s got to be at least average in the field. He showed a much steadier glove than we were led to expect, and considering his broken wrist, I think he showed enough at the plate to justify the Billy Mueller comparisons. No, he won’t win a batting title soon, but he gives you professional at bats like the organization teaches, and ought to regularly pepper the wall to the tune of 35 doubles a year. I think the low end for Lowrie is a John Valentin type offensive player, and he could be more than that.

And finally, would Manny have made a difference? Considering how close they came to the World Series, yeah, maybe they would have won it all with him. But I’m not at all certain they would have reached the playoffs had they kept him.

The Red Sox have a very good team and I don’t see the Yankees burying them even with Teix, Manny CC and AJerk Burnit. The Yanks will get better with the infusion of those hitters, but their defense will still be suspect. If the Yanks add Lowe and Pettite then they might have a slight edge over Boston but Boston still has a competitive team.

Sturm und Drang? Deutschland Uber alles was the first song I ever learned…Anyway, I think that if Manny behaved and stayed on Boston they had a better chance to make it and win the World Series.They played well, but who would you rather have batting : Kotsay or Manram?

The Angels and the Yanks need Teixeira more than Boston does. The Angels need someone to protect Vlad(they also have a rather anemic offense as well) and the Yanks production was mediocre last year. A player like Teix adds defense, offense and timely hitting to both teams. In the end, I think Moreno will go hogwild and offer him over 8 years. Quite frankly, NYYs dropped the ball on this one because adding CC and the soft, unbig gamer injury prone Burnit is their great area of need, offense is.

Ellsbury is superior? He looked like Arod in the playoffs last year! He was benched, wasn’t he? I’m very bearish on Ellsbury, I think he is very overrated. If they can get Cameron or maybe a DeJesus or a McClouth(wishful thinking) then it’s no contest. Pedroia is great but I still need to see at least another year. Cano can be a very good player but is lazy compared to Pedroia.Pedroia is a grinder and hard worker and Robby hasn’t reached his potential. SS, is that Lowrie or Lugo? Lugo is nothing to write home about and I haven’t seen enough of Lowrie to make him the new patron saint of shortstops. Jeter has diminished no doubt(look at the GIDPs last year), but Lugo( considered a bust by Boston fans) AND Lowrie(too small a sample size so far to see his greatness) over him? No way! I like Bay ,but if the Yanks sign Manny ,Manram is better offensively by far AND is underrated in the field though he looked like a butcher in Boston last year. I like Lowell,he’s a good clubhouse presence and plays well on the big stage. Even though Arod is technically a better player, Lowell has more heart.

Because Teixeira fixes a long-term need of middle of the order power, my greatest fear all along has been the possibility that the Yankees are playing possum and will ultimately use their money to get Teix too.

Having said that, let’s not jump to conclusions about “burying” the Sox. The Sox pitching will equal the Yankees, from the top of the rotation to the talent that’s expected from the minors (or have you forgotten that in 2007, Beckett outpitched Sabathia when it counted most?). And for all the Sturm and Drang about the offense without Manny, how did the team do after Manny’s departure?

That’s right – they averaged MORE runs per game than they did with him, and that was with a clearly not yet healed Ortiz, and a crippled Drew, and an injured Lowell.

I seriously doubt that Ortiz is on the precipice of some collapse. I expect at least two more years of superior production.

Going forward, Teixeira would undoubtedly ease the strain of the rapidly aging Yankee roster, with Posada and Jeter and eventually A-Rod all declining, or declining at an even rapider rate than they are now.

The Sox, on the other hand, have superior young talent at 1B, 2B, CF and SS, a LF in his prime, and when healthy, Mike Lowell hit exceptionally well for them, and all indications are that he will be ready for Spring Training.

In short, we’re ready to compete, whether Teixeira is in pinstripes or wearing that ugly-ass “hanging sox” cap.

I agree 100%. You don’t get frugal with the elite–Beltran, Santana and Teixiera after squandering money on a long list of dubious options.