I say they wanted to get him cheap because Johnny was willing and able to stay in Boston and all it took for him to sign with New York was an extra $12 million. They have the money. If they wanted him back so badly and he was "the face of the team", spend the money and keep him. They pulled the same thing with Alex Rodriguez (tried to get him cheap from Texas) and that's why he's with New York too. However, I think a major reason why Johnny's in New York is because Theo wasn't in the front office during his time as a free agent. Had he been, he'd still be in Boston right now. I hate Theo!