" Here's a prediction: By the time this is over, win or lose, the Red Sox effectively will have made Mark Teixeira the largest contract offer in the history of your storied franchise.

Preposterous, you say? Clearly, you have not been paying attention. Since the Red Sox changed ownership, management, and philosophies early in 2002, the new owners and operators of the Red Sox have stopped at virtually nothing to acquire those things they have coveted most. When the best of the rest were bidding $35 million-$40 million to acquire the rights to Daisuke Matsuzaka, the Red Sox bid $51.11 million. When the rest of the world wondered why J.D. Drew opted out of his contract in Los Angeles, the Red Sox dropped $70 million in Drew's lap. And knowing what we know now, nothing might have been more aggressive than the $36 million the Sox paid for Julio Lugo.

The point is this:

When the Sox want something enough, they make sure they get it.

In the case of Teixeira, rest assured that the Sox want him, no matter what games are being played by club officials. Publicly and privately, the Sox are saying nothing about their interest in Teixeira and playing dumb every time his name comes up. It's as sure a sign as any that they are preparing to go to extraordinary lengths. Last year, in the midst of the Johan Santana trade talks, the Sox were far more forthcoming about who and what they were willing to offer. When all was said and done, the Sox were not interested in acquiring Santana so much as they were interested in driving up the price for the rival Yankees; as it turned out, they kept Santana out of the Bronx altogether.

Lest anyone think the Sox are now employing a similar strategy, you are mixing apples and oranges. Santana was available only by trade, meaning any interested team had to part with prospects to get him. In the case of the Yankees, New York has an especially limited supply. By forcing the Yankees to give up more for Santana than they truly wanted would have caused some damage to the team's feeder system, hurting New York over the long term. Prospects come in limited supply for any team, no matter how big the major league payroll.

But money? Please. The Yankees have a virtual bottomless pit. Are the Sox really going to do damage to the Yankees in hiking Teixeira's price by $2 million a year? $3 million? $5 million? Last season, depending on the formula, the Yankees spent anywhere from $50 million-$70 million more than the Red Sox on their league roster. After the season, in Jason Giambi, Mike Mussina, Bobby Abreu, Carl Pavano and Andy Pettitte, the Yankees erased more than $70 million from their payroll. They are moving into a new stadium. They quite literally have cash to burn, even in these economic times.

In fact, what the Red Sox truly fear here is that the Yankees can outbid them on Teixeira, explaining why the Sox have failed to confirm any interest in the player at all. With the possible exception of the New York Mets, who just exercised their contract option on first baseman Carlos Delgado, the Yankees are the only team in baseball who could outbid the Red Sox for Teixeira's services. The Yankees could do it in a big way, too, giving Teixeira the kind of money that would put him in the clouds with Alex Rodriguez.

Remember: The Yankees did it with Johnny Damon, offering him 30 percent more ($52 million over four years) than the Red Sox (four years, $40 million) because they knew they had to overpay by a significant margin.

If the Yankees were willing to give Damon $3 million a year more than anyone else, do you really think they’re going to pull back on Teixeira?"