The Angels didn't need to do anything to have a rotation or a bullpen that's far superior to the Brewers. Here's their pitching stats sorted by ERA. That's not what I was talking about. I was just comparing Teixiera-Vlad with Sabathia-Sheets... just for fun. Thanks for the info on Marek. I figured his stuff had to be pretty special. If the Braves had truly put Texeira out there, I am shocked that a team would not have bettered the offer. If this is the deal, then I'd have to agree. But then again, unless a team traded for Mark as a rental, some of the 'usual suspects' weren't really on the market as of today. Here are some teams that could have taken Teix. as an 'over the top' piece: --NYY: Posada & Damon both have to DH at this point in the season. Posada might just shut it down altogether. Giambi has had to play 1B all season so the other guys can get ABs at DH. --BOS: Youkilis at 1B, Lowell at 3B (where Youk could have moved for Teixeira & where Chipper plays in ATL), Ortiz at DH --NYM: Stuck with Delgado at 1B... would have had to find a taker for him & his salary before getting Teixeira, in all likelihood --LAD: Have Loney at 1B, who's already giving them solid production. Perhaps the Dodgers were in play but didn't want to lose a top P prospect to better the Angels' offer? --ARZ: Conor Jackson at 1B, and you have to wonder if their farm system had enough ammo to land Teixeira anyway. Besides, not a given that they would want to sink so much cash into Teix. when they have plenty of young players that are going to get more pricey. --TB Carlos Pena; limited payroll, might not have wanted to deal prospects for a rental --CHW They've got Swisher playing some 1B, Thome in the mix, but I'm not familiar enough with their farm system. --MIN Probably not worth giving up talented youngsters for < 1/2 season of Teix., besides they have Morneau at 1B already --CHC Derrek Lee, obv. --STL Pujols, obv. I guess it's kinda funny... once you handicap the situation a bit, there really just weren't that many viable places for Teix. to go at this point. MIN probably would make the most sense in a 1-season sense, but they certainly couldn't retain him, and would basically have to dump their recently-acquired LF Delmon Young to the bench (or send him to ATL) to make room for Teix./Morneau at DH, because Kubel's been DHing this season & has been much better than Young at the plate. CHW would have made some sense as long as the OF of Quentin/Swisher/Dye wouldn't hurt them on D. Looking at it now, the Angels stand out as the team both best prepared to fit Teix. into their lineup right now & also sign him to an extension long-term. If the Halos can extend him, the trade looks exceedingly good imo.