How the Teix was won

Really, it seems to be this simple:

But Cashman met with Teixeira, Boras and Boras' right-hand man, Mike Fiore, in Maryland Dec. 4. That was just before the winter meetings and before the Yankees landed either CC Sabathia or A.J. Burnett. And even Cashman says the visit was almost a ploy.

"When I met with him, I was doing it more to get leverage on CC," he said. "We weren't playing possum on purpose. We were actually out of it."

But Cashman left that meeting even more enamored of Teixeira. And once the Yankees got Sabathia and Burnett, followed by an apparent breakdown of negotiations between the Red Sox and Teixeira's camp, Cashman sold the Steinbrenners on getting the first baseman.

Perhaps one argument that swayed them was these words from Cashman about the Red Sox: "I know you're not interested, but they're going to get this guy. He's going to fall in their lap, and he's so perfect for us."

Well played by Cashman. Overpaid but well-played.