Mark Teixeira: Cursing Boston As The Empire Strikes Back?

Since Dec. 23, the fortunes for some Boston teams have taken a turn for the worst.  It all started with a rumored $12 million difference over eight seasons ($168M vs. $180M) to free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira.  And who outbid them? None other than the Evil Empire.

Babe Ruth was sold from the Red Sox to the Yankees in 1919 for over $500,000 ($125,000 in cash, three $25,000 notes and a $300,000 loan).  With inflation estimates, the value of this sale equates to $5.025 million today—a mere half of what the Red Sox refused to give up for the season’s prime free agent. 

Could this move be a change in fortunes for both New York and  Boston?

On Dec. 23, the Celtics won their 19th consecutive game. However, that was the beginning of the end for the defending champions, who have gone on to lose six of their next eight games.  Prior to this streak, they had lost two games the entire season.

While the Celtics have struggled, so too have the New York Knicks, though not to the surprise of many. Since the signing, the Knicks are 2-4. One of their two wins? Of course, a 100-88 win over the Celtics.

Boston College football lost their bowl game against Vanderbilt, tripping up a nice 9-4 season and losing to a 6-6 team. Less than a week later, the Eagles head coach Jeff Jagordzinski was fired. And why was he fired? Because he could feel the tide turning for Bean Town; he attempted to flee for the New York City glitz and glamour, and interviewed with the Jets.

While the New England Patriots are undefeated since the fateful day, they did, however, become the first team to go 11-5 and not make the NFL playoffs. Further, they’re now forced to apply the franchise tag to Matt Cassell, costing them upwards of $29 million to hold onto two quarterbacks.

The hardest team to correlate to this is the BC basketball team, who defeated previously unbeaten No. 1 North Carolina. However, they went on to lose one of the worst games in the team’s history, falling to Harvard 82-70.

Last but not least, we can’t forget the lesser evil Boston Red Sox.  First, John Henry complained of the Yankees limitless money supply thanks to their new stadium.  Nothing like the rich kid in high school with the BMW complaining because his friend got a Porsche.

Will the Boston free-fall continue?  The only way to know for sure is to watch when the Death Star opens April 16 against Cleveland, and we'll see who's sitting where when the dust settles in October.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?