Now that a night has passed since the signing of the biggest free agent hitter on the market, the impact of the Yankees taking Tex has become more clear. First off, the Red Sox released a statement immediately that said that they will not step up their pursuit for any other free agent now that they lost out on Tex. I personally would take this saying with a grain of salt only because this what is supposed to be said in this situation, you have to keep your cards close to the chest. I am not worried about Lowe though because it does seem the Mets are in deep negotiations right now and we just have to keep our powerful position.

Another loser in the trade is Manny. Where does he go now? The Angels don't want him. There enough people on the Mets that do not want him for him not come here. The Yankees have no more moeny for him, and no real need in their lineup anymore for him, now that they have two power hitters in Arod and Tex. I guess he has to revisit the Dodgers, and maybe another surprise team pops into the mix. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised (and remember, you read it here first) if the Manny situations drags deep into January, that the Orioles make some form of offer. The Orioles are going to be ready real soon to win and even though their weakness is pitching, which they have not addressed at all this offseason and don't seem to be doing it, They could use a power hitter to protect Markakis in the lineup and their new star in Matt Weiters when he comes up. Also, signing a declining star is a very Orioles move to make, so it could very easily happen.

Speaking of the Orioles, they are the other big loser in the Tex signing. Peter Schmuck, a writer for the Baltimore Sun, said it best in his editorial this morning. The editorial takes the theme of Baltimor courting Tex, and Tex being polite, but not being into us. It really hits on important notes though that many in Baltimore, for years, have seen Tex as the next Cal and he he was going to be the next hometown star that would pick Baltimore over Home, but that just didn't happen. He will probably never get that warm welcome he always did at the ballpark now that he is coming in with pinstripes (or maybe he still will considering that the 99.99999 percent of the fans in the stadium are Yankee fans when the Yankees come). Its the end of another missed chapter in the story of the Baltimore Orioles.