Kat O'Brien of Newsday writes today about the Yankees' pursuit of Mark Teixeira. In talking to Brian Cashman, O'Brien learned that the GM's persistence finally led to the go-ahead from Hal Steinbrenner; for much of the offseason, Tex wasn't an option. At the time of Cashman's December meeting with Teixeira and Scott Boras, the Yankees were not expecting to sign the slugger. According to Cashman:
"When I met with him, I was doing it more to get leverage on CC. We weren't playing possum on purpose. We were actually out of it."
Cashman was able to convince Hal with this pitch regarding 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."
