The Red Sox may want Mark Teixeira, but they aren’t about to bid against themselves to get him.

The Providence Journal Gretchen Ertl

BOSTON — When Red Sox principal owner John Henry dropped the bomb that the Red Sox were pulling out of the Mark Teixeira sweepstakes late Thursday night, it was immediately greeted with skepticism in some corners.

Henry, team president Larry Lucchino, and general manager Theo Epstein had flown to Texas Thursday night with the intention of signing Teixeira; they came back empty-handed, saying that they were likely out of the chase — but not necessarily that they were no longer bidding.

“We met with Mr. Teixeira and were very much impressed with him,” Henry wrote in an e-mail to the Journal that night. “After hearing about his other offers, however, it seems clear that we are not going to be a factor.”

Immediately, many wondered whether this just a ploy, and whether the Red Sox are calling Agent Scott Boras’ bluff.

The Red Sox consider themselves out, for now, but nowhere in Henry’s message does it say that the Red Sox are no longer suitors, or that they have pulled their bid; Henry implies only that the other offers that Boras has professed to have in hand are larger than the Red Sox’ bid, which is reported to be in the neighborhood of $170 million over eight years.

How much of this is posturing to outmaneuver Teixeira’s agent, Scott Boras, and how much is reality? Are the Red Sox simply trying to draw out Boras, and show that they won’t bid against themselves?

The two sides have a history together, with Boras having represented many of the Sox’ biggest stars, from Manny Ramirez to J.D. Drew to Daisuke Matsuzaka, and now, of course, Jason Varitek.

Unfortunately, the Red Sox brass are in no mood to give an on-the-record answer; beyond Henry’s e-mail, team officials are playing this very close to the vest.

Epstein was found at Logan Airport yesterday, where the Red Sox announced that JetBlue would be the team’s official airline. Epstein said he wasn’t talking any Teixeira today.

“Nothing, sorry,” he said, walking away after the JetBlue event ended.

Red Sox senior vice president Sam Kennedy joked that the only Teixeira-related comment Epstein would make was that the front office “loved the TVs,” on their JetBlue flight back from Texas.

Lucchino, likewise, when reached by phone, said that he had to say “no comment” to anything Teixeira related.

That in and of itself may be a clue that these negotiations are not ended. When the Red Sox have felt that the time for a deal is past, their front office has felt free to speak publicly — Lucchino’s famous quote labeling the New York Yankees as the “Evil Empire” came just after Lucchino heard that New York had likely beaten out the Red Sox for pitcher Jose Contreras.

So the question remains whether the “other offers” that Henry spoke of are real, or embellished. Four other teams were reportedly bidding on Teixeira: the Yankees, Teixeira’s hometown Baltimore Orioles, the Washington Nationals, and the Los Angeles Angels, Teixeira’s most recent team. The front offices for the Yankees and Angels said on the record yesterday that they didn’t think they had outbid the Red Sox.

Assuming that’s the truth, that leaves the Orioles and Nationals. The Orioles had been assumed to be the low bidder all along, while a deal that tops $180 million would be dramatically out of character — but theoretically possible — for the Nationals.

It also bears asking how the fate of Jason Varitek plays into the Teixeira negotiations. Boras is seeking more years, and more money, for the longtime Red Sox catcher than the organization wants to give. Is it possible that both are in play at once, with both sides realizing that any negotiations on salary numbers impact two players?

If the Red Sox do sign Teixeira, who hit.308 with 33 homers and 121 RBI in stints with the Angels and Braves last season, the talk has been that they will shift Kevin Youkilis back to third base, and trade away third baseman Mike Lowell, who is recovering well from hip surgery.

Teixeira has long said that he wants to have a deal done by Christmas. With the way this saga is playing out, the only thing now certain is that it isn’t over yet, for Teixeira, and possibly not for the Red Sox either.

dbarbari@projo.com