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Mark Teixeira already has one World Series title with the Yankees. The Red Sox will rue their failure to sign him, NBCSports.com contributor Johnette Howard writes.

Boston’s best hope might be just to get into the postseason somehow, because once there, the Sox's superb pitching makes them better built to dominate in the playoffs than over a long season. In a seven-game series, a rotation of Beckett, Lester, Lackey and A Starter To Be Named is good enough to silence anybody. Even the Yankees.

Still, not signing Teixeira has to be a huge regret, even if no Red Sox will ever admit it. A deal seemed pretty much a given when Epstein, team president Larry Lucchino and owner John Henry flew to see Teixeira and Boras in Texas two Decembers ago. But the Sox abruptly left the meeting when Boras told them their offer wasn’t good enough. It was startlingly out-of-character when Henry fired off a tart statement later that same night announcing the Red Sox were out of the running for Teixeria. Given the Sox generally don’t like to talk about ongoing negotiations, it sounded like anger got the best of Henry.

“All signs pointed to him going to the Red Sox,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said back then. It wasn’t until five days later, when the Yankees offered Teixeira $160 million over eight years and Boras called Cashman back about an hour later to talk details that Cashman thought, “I felt momentum. I remember calling Hal (Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ managing partner) and saying, ‘We’re the lead dog.’ ”

The Red Sox never really have explained if they thought Boras was lying, something he’s often been accused of doing. Maybe Henry thought the Yankees, who already had thrown hundreds of millions at pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, wouldn’t ante up for Teixeira, too. Maybe the Red Sox figured they’ve been excellent at making tough calls on stars such as Pedro Martinez, Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez, and they’d survive this as well.

But the difference is all of those other Red Sox stars weren’t coming into their prime like Teixeira, now 29, was.

With him, the Red Sox would be the frontrunners. Without him, they’re back to being haunted again by another slugger they let get away.

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