This whole โMark Teixeira will be attending the Ravens game today as a guest of Peter Angelosโ rumor has taken on a whole strange life of its own in the modern day news cycle. Hereโs the deal: Roy Firestone (or someone impersonating him) wrote on a message board that Teixeira would be a guest of Angelos at the game and would be taking a physical on Monday. Several message boards picked up on it. ESPN reported it this morning on โSports Centerโ when Hannah Storm read it. I then fired off a WNST.net text to about 4,000 people about โmany media outlets are reportingโ the story.
Alas, to the rescue comes the teamโs official website, MASNsports.com and Roch Kubatko, who are refuting any existence of Teixeira in their box or that an invite ever existed. Itโs pure fiction, the Angelos family tells their employee, Kubatko.
Now this would be believable if the Orioles had the reputation for telling the truth. But they donโt have that to fall back on.
So your guess is as good as ours as to whether this is real or imaginary. Teixeira could certainly be home this week and wanting to see the Ravens play the biggest regular season game of their existence. And he might be in a sky box somewhere doing it. He can clearly afford the warm seats. And maybe he will drop by the MASN box, but I have a feeling Peter Angelos doesnโt wear purple underwear on Sundays. (Fill in your own the Emperor and clothes joke of choice hereโฆ) Iโve never been told by anyone that heโs ever shown his face at a Ravens game.
The whole story was kind of strange and if it was going down how it leaked. And what would Scott Borasโ role be in this if heโs negotiating the contract?
My take: the Orioles wouldnโt be smart enough or savvy enough or friendly enough to bother inviting Teixeira to a game and buying him a crab cake as a โcourtingโ gesture to sign him. That would be a BRILLIANT thing to do but theyโre denying that itโs happening.
This whole โTeixeira to the Oriolesโ soap opera has been great entertainment this week as a side dish to the entree: Ravens and Steelers at 4:15 today.
Who knows how the Teixeira thing will play out? Only he and Scott Boras know what he really wants to do with his life. Itโs not about money. I canโt imagine that itโs about geography or childhood emotions. I have a feeling itโll come down to his happiness and a chance to a win a title.
Maybe being in Baltimore today and wearing some purple will inspire him to resurrect the Orioles franchise. Or at least โsign upโ to attempt to do it. (Again, I canโt imagine anyone sensible โ let alone Boras โ would advise him to sign here to play in this organization. But childhood feelings are strong. Itโs why WE still love the Orioles, right?)
Whatever happens with Teixeira and the team and city he chooses, I hope he leaves the game today happy at 7:15โฆwith a Ravens victory. But we donโt even know if heโs going to the game at all.
Iโll be in Section 513 if he wants to give me the exclusive. Iโll buy him a beer!