As we all know, Mark Teixeira was once a Texas Ranger but after he turned down their offer of an $140M/8 year extension in 2007, the Rangers decided to trade him to the then relatively in contention with Braves and get what they could for their up and coming superstar.

The trade consisted of:

well, I'll let MLBTR run it down:

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/11/trades-of-the-decade-teixeira-to-the-braves.html

In return for Tex and Ron Mahay, the Rangers received SS Elvis Andrus (2010 All Star), P Neftali Feliz (2010 All Star), C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, P Beau Jones and P Matt Harrison.

Tex would go on to play well for the Braves but not well enough - they would end up finishing third in the NL East behind the Phils and our beloved Mets.

Wow, great post Stargazey. You basically ran down a trade that has nothing to do with anything involving the Mets.

But what if Cliff Lee = Mark Teixeira? What if a package of Flores, Thole and Mejia ends up being the same as Saltalamacchia, Feliz and Andrus for the Mariners - a young core of players that give them a foundation going forward?

Obviously it's speculation either way because 1) the Mets probably won't end up with Lee, 2) all the prospects we would trade in such a trade could end up being gigantic busts but it raises the eternal question - is it worth letting your top prospects go for a star, even if there's no guarantee that star will stick around? The Braves ended up turning Tex over to the Angels for ... Casey Kotchman and eventually Adam LaRoche.

Now of course, Tex had a year left on his contract and  could still be traded when the Braves failed to make the postseason but the message still rings true, at least in my opinion.

Anyway, this is my first fanpost (on here) and it's just something I was thinking about while watching the Rangers play.

I know a lot of PT'ers watch the Knicks games on League Pass or other ways that are not MSG and have to put up with the funny, biased sportscasting of the home announcers,

Basketbawful feels your pain:

http://basketbawful.blogspot.com/2010/03/word-of-day-home-castin.html

My favorite is the last clip with the Cleveland TV announcers, I'd pay good money to see Clyde jump out of the booth like that.

Yes, the loss last night was terrible. Yes, the Knicks have been terrible since January. Yes, they will continue to be terrible. But this is what has to happen. There's no mercy rule in the NBA. We have to play out the stretch with this team that isn't very good and just suck it up and hope for something better.

The thing I think is most important to remember is that this team right now will bare no resembelence to the team that will be on the court come October. Only Wilson, TD, Gallo and possibly Billy Walker will be here along with two new second round picks and some hopefully well chosen free agents.

And even if this summer is a bust, Donnie is no idiot and we're not going to end up with a $100 million contract for Carlos Boozer. We have the 'flexibility' to keep us competetive for a couple of years, not everything has to be done this season.

One final note - as much as I may not like MDA, give him a break. He might not be my favorite coach but Jesus himself couldn't pump out more than say, 25 wins with this roster.

So wait, be paitent and stop taking every loss so seriously. It's going to be ugly for some time, especially if we end up starting all young players and (hopefully) buying out some veterans that deserve a chance to compete with other teams (Al, Duhon, Eddie House).

http://www.knicksfanaticsblog.com/2010-articles/february/leadership-class-discussion-mike-dantoni-aint-no-pat-riley.html

I'm not the biggest Pringles fan or his biggest detractor but this article was still pretty interesting. I mean, it's a rehash of stuff we've all discussed thousands of times before (Steph, what to do with this 'team in transition' before the summer, dealing with Darko, Hughes, etc) but it makes me wonder... WWPRD?

And no, leave and go to the Heat is not an acceptable answer.

http://www.theonion.com/content/infograph/nbas_biggest_ever_trade

• 1891: James Naismith claims a taller player for his team and then immediately proclaims that no other teams are allowed to change their rosters
• 1971: Bucks trade NBA MVP Lew Alcindor for complete unknown Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
• 1974: The Hawks' "Pistol" Pete Maravich executes a brilliant behind-the-back dipsy-doodle looky-loo trade that sends eight disoriented players stumbling to Atlanta as he glides effortlessly to the Jazz
• 1991: That huge Michael Jordan trade that no one ever talks about
• 1994: The L.A. Clippers trade a nearly mint Danny Manning and a first-round draft pick to the Atlanta Hawks for two slightly bent Dominique Wilkinses
• 1999: An eight-team deal sends Sam Cassell to the Suns, Timberwolves, Bucks, Nets, Clippers, Mavericks, Rockets, and Celtics
• 2004: The Lakers trade Shaquille O'Neal to the Heat for a bunch of guys who are not Shaquille fucking O'Neal 2008: The Lakers place a call to the Memphis Grizzlies to inquire about Pau Gasol's availability, piece together that the Grizzlies have no GM or front office to speak of, and sign Gasol to a contract

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/at_the_half_empty_hDyR9X8aCS45Ir2nbXK5lN#ixzz0fE7hzvbk

From everybody's favorite Post reporter:

"Irate Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni waved his arms at Nate Robinson as Robinson approached the bench during a timeout in the third quarter on Tuesday night.

D'Antoni barked at Robinson for botching the last play with a bad decision. Robinson shouted right back at D'Antoni. Robinson then turned his head and uttered an F-bomb.

The disrespect Robinson showed D'Antoni was palpable. And symbolically the messy scene showed how deep frustration and disarray has attached itself to another Knicks season."

Did anyone else see this? I must've missed it.

Man, just when you though the Clippers couldn't blow anymore... They get rid of Mike Dunleavy, one of the worst coaches in Basketball and want to replace him with...

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/Los-Angeles-Clippers-Isiah-Thomas-020510

Wow. I mean, Isiah's always been a good scout of talent and has picked some great players for the Knicks (Frye, Ariza, Lee, Chandler, Nate, etc) but he's just not a good coach and leaves a lot to be desired personality wise. And he certainly shouldn't be in charge of a franchise that's struggling like the Clippers.

So, we all know that the Trailblazers are having the worst injury luck ever this season, especially with their big men. As we know, we have a glut of big men (Curry, Darko, Hill, Jefferies, even Lee) that are expendable. Can we talk about trading one of the bad contracts to them, just so they can have someone tall enough to play center? Would we need to couple a good young prospect (read: Hill) along with this contract and then get back something like Darius Miles's 10M contract that Portland still has to pay?

IS DONNIE WALSH ON THE PHONE.