Latest on Teixeira

We saw the damage that Mark Teixeira could do with the Angels in his 54 games with the team down the stretch. Batting in front of Vladimir Guerrero in the lineup, the switch-hitting first baseman mashed to a .358 batting average and a .632 slugging percentage, and he had a .449 on-base percentage. If the Angels bring him back as part of a payroll of about $120 million, he could help lift them to another division title and another run at a World Series title.
We know what Teixeira would do, probably, if he were to sign with the Red Sox. Presumably, if Boston were to sign Teixeira this week, the Red Sox would trade Mike Lowell, then shift Kevin Youkilis from first base to third. And with a payroll of about $135 million, they would field a lineup that would look something like this:
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
Mark Teixeira, 1B
J.D. Drew, RF
Jason Bay, LF
Jed Lowrie, SS
Jason Varitek, C?
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
That's a lineup you can win a championship with, for sure. Even if David Ortiz's production were to continue to decline, the Red Sox would have enough depth in their lineup, with Teixeira, to fill the void.
So it makes sense for the Angels to pursue Teixeira at a time when the bidding figures to fall somewhere in the range of $160 million to $200 million. It makes sense for the Red Sox to consider giving Teixeira what figures to be the second-highest financial package for any position player in the history of baseball. We get all that.