Join the dark side

When Beltway Boy Mark Teixeira officialy joined the Bronx Bombers on Tuesday, he may have burned his bridge to hometown Baltimore forever. Then he turned the screws in that coffin even tighter, saying he used to wear a Yankees cap to Orioles games as a child.

"You know what the coolest part is going to be?" he said. "I'm going to get a chance to be the first first baseman that the Yankees have in the new stadium. And, you know, the Bleacher Bums in right are going to do the roll call. That's going to be pretty sweet. Hopefully, we're going to be four games up in the division at the time, and are already rolling, and the fans here in New York will be pumped."

Sounds like a kid on Christmas.

Fantasy Impact: Teixeira hitting left-handed at New Yankee Stadium should benefit from the short porch in right field. He's a special talent, albeit a streaky one. His draft stock has to go up in any draft considering the talent that will be around him. Expect a .300-110-35-120 line from him by season's end.

Mazzone wants work, but not in Baltimore

Leo Mazzone is looking forward to returning as a pitching coach next season after sitting out 2008. This quote struck me most about his time in Baltimore:

Mazzone says the three-year, $450,000 contract he was offered by the Orioles was "very generous," but he now admits: "It was not a real good experience. I tried to get people to take more responsibility and be accountable to create a winning atmosphere. That wasn't very well received.

"I'd been with an [Atlanta] organization that was top-shelf, so I was in culture shock."

That says everything you need to know about why the Orioles have struggled for so long.