Go ahead and read that headline over again. It's pretty outrageous, but at the same time, are you surprised at all? Isn't this the exact kind of behind the scenes shenanigans you would expect/hope for from the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry? ESPN New York is reporting that Brian Cashman didn't have any real interest in signing Crawford, but feigned pursuit anyway.
↵↵↵"I actually had dinner with the agent to pretend that we were actually involved and drive the price up," Cashman said. "The outfield wasn't an area of need, but everybody kept writing Crawford, Crawford, Crawford, Crawford. And I was like, 'I feel like we've got Carl Crawford in Brett Gardner, except he costs more than $100 million less, with less experience.' "
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Doesn't that just feel right? There isn't anything wrong with what Cashman did with Crawford, and the Red Sox ultimately got their man anyway, so isn't this just a nice little wrinkle in the rivalry? I want this stuff to be happening constantly behind closed doors. I'm excited that we got a peek.