Is Cashman truly in "serious" talks with free agent Bill Hall?

Because that's what they're saying..

Cashman: So, lemmie get this straight: It they don't find the Higgs boson, we don't exist?

Hall: No, jeez, you're not listening. The Higgs is a hypothetical, ubiquitous quantum particle with a non-zero value in its ground state. When it interacts with other forces, it gives the universe mass.

Cashman: What if the whole universe is merely the figment of one child's imagination, there is no Derek Jeter, no Mariano Rivera... and no vast revenues to spend on free agents?

Hall: There would still be plenty to spend on players - in the mind of the universe-owner-child.

Cashman: But who imagines the owner-child? And where does the team payroll come from?

Hall: All of us! We are all the owner! Don't you see it? Can't you feel it?

Cashman: Wow. This is the most rewarding contract negotiation I've ever done. We're all the owner! How about $10 million a year, for five years!

Hall: Nay, Brian. As a fellow owner, I cannot accept $10 million a year. I cannot take advantage of you.

Cashman: Damn it, Hall, I've never known anyone like you. I love you!

Hall: And I, you, Brian. But it cannot be. I cannot sign.
Cashman: Is it my fate to forever have Eduardo Nunez as utility infielder? Is my fate to always know Chris Dickerson as my acquistion?

Hall: You shouldn't have traded Jesus, man. Now, we just gotta wait for that Higgs boson.