Lies or Ghosts?

The Yankees agreeing to terms with Eric Chavez must mean one of the following 3 things is true:

1. Joel Sherman was just making shit up when he wrote that the "current Hal Steinbrenner budget even after AJ trade has room only for Chavez or LH DH (likely Ibanez) not both.".
2. The Ghost of Baseball Yet To Come visited Hal Steinbrenner after Hal pretended to his GM that the poverty-stricken Yankees just could not afford to hire any help. Presumably all the Ghost had to do was flash a few visions of Eduardo Nunez fielding blunders in order to reduce Hal to a cowering, whimpering, gelatinous shell of a man.
3. The Yankees used the media to negotiate Chavez down $100,000 or so by leaking phony rumors about Hal's strict budget. Classic bad-cop good-cop - Hal seemingly puts his foot down, then Cashman calls Chavez' agent and said "I might be able to persuade Hal if the contract is less than a million...."

I'd be shocked, shocked to find that lying was going on in baseball. So if everyone was truthful, then  the Ghost must have visited Hal to wreak some havoc.

"That's only Nunez' 32nd error, I've got 15 more to show you."




(image info:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Last_of_the_Spirits-John_Leech,_1843.jpg
- Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come)