I need an example of a player that the Yanks were set on acquiring that the Sox got.
Which is why i use the "When the Yankees really want a player" caveat. Because, when the Yankees really want a player, they get him. (Jason Giambi, Sabathia, Teixeira, A-Rod, Pavano, Wright, Contreras, among others).
"Incredible financial lengths" when compared to who? Because the fact that the Yankees signed this player at a rate that is slightly beyond the Sox' realm of possibility is still an effective showing of their financial advantage, but we already know that, so i see no base for the argument.
To say it's unlikely isn't true, either.
They have a set price for players, driving the price up while handcuffing themselves if, by a miracle the player ends up taking their offer is not a smart move, because, until this year, the only team without financial constraints was the Yankees. Trying to state otherwise is ignoring the elephant in the room.
We agree on this, but why? Because other teams have a problem getting "stuck" with players because they actually had a payroll "ceiling", which the Yankees didn't have until apparently this off-season.