A Timeline of the Yanks' Signing of Teixeira

The Yankees kept quiet for the whole Mark Teixeira sweepstakes until the very end. This made it very difficult to know what was happening and who was in the lead. However, truth to be told, they were only winning at the very end. Here's a rundown of what happened:

• Right Before the winter meetings, the Yankees made a very low offer (lower compared to the others) to Teixeria and Scott Boras. However, that offer was quickly withdrawn as Boras informed them how much he was seeking.
• Over the next few weeks, the Red Sox, Angels, Nationals, and Orioles made offers with the highest one being that of the Red Sox. The Yankees actually didn't make another offer until Monday. 
• The Yankees organization was actually very pessimistic about there chances of getting Teixeira because Boras told the Yankees that they needed an 8-year offer with two option years following that (which makes a 10-year deal). The Yankees gave a response of "no way."
• Around noon on Tuesday, Boras said that Teixeira would only agree to an 8-year deal if the annual value was $24 million, making the total contract $192 million. The Yankees conferred, but again stood pat on their offer.
• Boras then responded by saying that Teixeira would likely become a member of the Red Sox. He did this in hopes of getting the Yankees to raise their offer out of fear that he might go to their hated arch-rivals. However, the Yankees still refused to budge.
• 20 minutes later, Boras called them back to inform them that Teixeira would accept their 8-year, $180 million offer. Mark Teixeira would be a Yankee
• It turns out that the closest bid from a contending team (Teixeira wouldn't go to the Nationals) was a $168 million offer from the Boston Red Sox. So in the end, the Yankees outbid them by $12 million