For Sox, here's the Vegas fallout

LAS VEGAS – Even in Vegas, all roads lead to the Red Sox. And so even as Theo Epstein and the rest of the Sox baseball operations staff departed the Bellagio resort and casino yesterday without Mark Teixeira tucked under their arms, do not make the mistake of thinking that these winter meetings were uneventful for Boston.

At this time of year, after all, everything is connected.

As has been the case from the very beginning of this offseason, Mark Teixeira remains the Red Sox No. 1 priority. The primary bidders for Teixeira appear to be the Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Washington Nationals, Baltimore Orioles and, perhaps, the Yankees. Before departing, Epstein said the Sox were "in the middle" stages of negotiations with free agents, though discussions for Teixeira could accelerate quickly.

As the Red Sox wait for the Teixeira talks to play out, here are the five moves that had the biggest impact on the Sox during the winter meetings:

1. CC Sabathia signing with the Yankees.

There is just no way around this: The Yankees needed an ace and Sabathia was the best available starter on the market. If you’re wondering why the Yankees agreed to an out clause after the third year of a seven-year, $161 million contract, the out could benefit them, too. If Sabathia walks after three productive years, New York would have signed a dominating lefthander for three years and $69 million, which is a much more desirable deal for a team than a seven-year commitment.

The deeper Sabathia goes into his contract, the greater the chances that the deal will become a burden for the Yankees.

For what it’s worth, Sabathia is just 2-4 with a 3.91 ERA in his career against the Red Sox and was 1-8 with a 6.16 ERA against the Yankees. He has a 7.92 ERA in five career postseason starts and had an 8.61 ERA at the old Yankee Stadium. Up to now, he has spent his entire career in Cleveland and Milwaukee. Do we really know if this guy can pitch under pressure?

2. The Gerald Laird trade.

No one ever said that Laird was Johnny Bench, but that’s missing the point. Of the 12 American League catchers with at least 350 plate appearances last season, Laird ranked fourth in OPS behind Kelly Shoppach, Joe Mauer and Dioner Navarro. Jason Varitek ranked 11th, ahead of only Kenji Johjima. That’s probably why the Tigers opted to trade for Laird rather than signing Varitek, who would have cost the team a draft pick in addition to, say, $10 million a year.

While we’re at it, can we clarify something? No one said the Sox have mistreated Varitek to this point. We said the Sox need to be careful about how they proceed on these talks. The Laird deal strengthened the club’s position because the team really had minimal interest in Laird. Meanwhile, Varitek lost another potential suitor in the Tigers.

3. The Ramon Hernandez trade.

Again, the Red Sox win here. The Sox had some discussion about Hernandez, who ranked second among that same group of AL catchers last season in home runs (15, behind only Shoppach) and RBI (63, behind only Mauer). Hernandez is signed through 2009 (at $8 million) with a club option for 2010 (at $8.5 million), which means he’s effectively on a one-year deal. In the end, on a one-year deal, the Sox decided they would rather have Varitek than Hernandez.

In the end, Varitek lost another potential suitor here in the Reds, who clearly are willing to spend as much as $17 million over two years (if they pick up the option) for a catcher. Orioles officials have been emphatic that they have no interest in signing Varitek with superprospect Matt Wieters on the way, so Varitek lost at least one (and maybe two) more potential suitor(s) in this deal. With each day that passes, the Red Sox seem to have more leverage in talks with their catcher.

4. The Matt Joyce/Edwin Jackson trade.

For the moment, at least, no Hall of Famers were swapped in this deal, but that’s not the point. The Tigers needed pitching and the Rays needed more offense from right field, and both teams appear to have made at least an upgrade. Jackson is still just 25 and won 14 games last season; there also has been some talk of making him a closer. The 24-year-old Joyce is a Tampa native who immediately supplants Gabe Gross, who went 1 for 19 with seven strikeouts in the postseason.

In this day and age of the wild card, remember, the Sox are competing as much with teams outside of the division as in it. Tampa beat the Sox in the regular season and the postseason last year, and the Tigers must at least be considered a threat for the wild card. Yes, Detroit went 74-88 last season, but we all know the Tigers were better than that, even if they were not necessarily on the same level as the Red Sox, Rays or Angels.

5. The A.J. Burnett talks.

Burnett hasn’t landed just yet, but this much we know: He’s not coming to Boston (whew) and he might be going to New York. The latter part of that equation is far more important because it could continue to fortify the Yankees rotation, at least in the short term. Offering Burnett five years borders on recklessness, but Burnett can be positively dominating at times.

No one knows what will happen if Burnett doesn’t go to New York, but there is every chance that the Yankees will intensify their pursuit of Teixeira, which should give the Red Sox great cause for concern. If the Yankees were willing to commit $161 million to Sabathia and five years for Burnett, what would they do for a 28-year-old, switch-hitting and Gold Glove-caliber first baseman? Scary proposition there. Scary indeed.