I've absolutely no idea how this may or may not have played into things, but let me ask a question to those fixated on Yamamoto visiting both New York teams on Sunday and not going to Fenway. Is it at all reasonable to consider the possibility that Yamamoto had no intention of flying to Boston on Sunday after taking two meetings in New York? And a follow up question... could the fact that weather affected 130 flights at Logan on Monday have played a part in all of this as well? I mean that's assuming that any of us has even the faintest idea of what is happening here.
I think there are a couple of possibilities in play here.
Best case scenario for the Sox is that YY flew to NYC to more easily meet with the top brass of the east coast teams at one location, like a hotel - Phillies, Yanks, Sox, and Mets.
Worst case is for the Sox is if he went to Citifield or Yankee stadium and spent significant time there, and just took the Phillies and the Sox offers as courtesies (and to help drive up the price.)
Unless he's very comfortable with a virtual walk through, I think it's unlikely that he signs with a club where he hasn't visited the facilities and the park. That seems a reasonable given, but what do we know?
Of course, if that's true, it does not rule out a visit to Philly or Boston between now and Jan 4, should one of those teams become a finalist.
What I'd like to know (there's so much noise on this and so little signal) is what his NYC visit was actually like. Did he even go to Yankee stadium? Knowing something like that might lead to slightly better informed guessing at where things currently stand. I'd also be curious to know if he ever visited the US before and if so, where he's been.