Bringing Teixeira to Baltimore; Davey Johnson to Replace Perlozzo?

It has been made known over the past couple of days that the Texas Rangers are shopping All-Star first baseman Mark Teixeira, and the Orioles should jump on this opportunity. With the Rangers free-falling in the AL West, it would make sense for them to shop Teixeira for a young pitching prospect or young power-hitting outfielder. Also, don't be surprised if they clean house next year, considering they have Sammy Sosa and some other older players with one year left on their contract.

The Orioles are in dire need of a clean-up hitter because Tejada and Hernandez just don't fit that role. Tejada would be better used in the 3 or 5 spot, and Hernandez would probably be hitting 6th on any other team. Not to mention, a few years down the road, Brian Roberts leading off and Markakis and Teixeira hitting 3 and 4 would make the Orioles line up a powerful force.

And bringing Mark Teixeira here just makes sense. He's a Mt. St. Joe's graduate, he grew up watching and loving the Orioles, and has made it known that it would be his "dream job" to suit up in orange and black. The only problem is, because of Teixeira's numbers and talent, the Rangers would be looking for Nick Markakis or Erik Bedard, probably with a few minor leaguers on the side. But the Orioles cannot afford to trade away Markakis or Bedard. They came up through our system (two of the very few on our roster) and have had a lot of success at the major league level. I'd hate to see them go from a baseball fan standpoint, and from a marketing standpoint, Markakis is especially crucial for the future success of the Orioles franchise.

If I were Mike Flanagan, I'd offer Hayden Penn, Adam Loewen and JR House for Teixeira. I'd hate to get rid of Loewen, but if we have to give up a young starting pitcher who came up through our farm system, we would be much better off letting Loewen and Penn go versus trading Erik Bedard. Trading Bedard would desimate an already shaky starting rotation. Catcher JR House, who is the heir-apparent to Ramon Hernandez, is our best AAA player. But Teixeira's power numbers would make up for House's absence in the line-up a few years down the road. Not to mention, JR House would give the Rangers the run production they would need in Teixeira's absence, which is what they will be looking for when they let Teixeira go. Most importantly, Teixeira's presence on the team would help the Orioles RIGHT NOW, who are still in the wild card hunt (hard to believe, I know). But we'll see how long that lasts...and hopefully Angelos doesn't handcuff our GMs from making this deal

We've gone on a pretty solid winning streak here, and that's good to see. But we've done it against the injury-depleted A's and the lowly Royals. Not to take anything away from the team...they've played well recently and you've got to play the teams on the schedule, but these teams just aren't that good right now. I'd like to see them take 3 of 4 from the surging Angels during the next series...then I'll REALLY be optimistic going into the summer months.

Speaking of optimism, there has been a whisper about the Baltimore sports world of the beloved Davey Johnson interested in the Orioles managing position if, I mean when, Sam Perlozzo gets his pink slip. When I heard that on WNST a few days ago, I almost swerved off the road for two reasons. First, I can't believe he would want to return after how he was treated by Angelos and our front office. Second, I am a very nostalgic Orioles fan, because frankly that's all us O's fans have left. I remember driving home from little league games with my dad listening to Jon Miller on the radio and Davey Johnson managing the team. Those were great times...everything was much simpler then...

But the fact of the matter is Davey Johnson has not been involved in baseball in quite some time. Jim Leyland, the Detroit Tigers manager, took a lot of time off of coaching before arriving in Detroit and turning that team around. But he did stay involved in the game...he kept his finger on the pulse of baseball by being a scout. Sure, he wasn't coaching, but he had a feel for the change of the game...the progression from the ignorance era (mid to late 90s) to the full realization of the steroid era...he saw the subtle changes in the game, the changes in the players attitudes, the way other people coached, and the how teams dealt with adversity and turned their organizations around (or in the Orioles case, got worse). It was the best move Leyland ever made, because he had a chance to take a step back and take it all in. Now, he's one of the best managers in the American League.

Unfortunately, Davey Johnson has been so far away from the game for so many years that it wouldn't be practical for him to come back. But if he did, I would certainly hope for the best for him, and it would be one of the best stories in Baltimore sports history if he took the job and succeeded.