Not sarcasm. The hiring manager is a person representing a company, which is exactly why they would find their downplaying the offer (because they were hoping

Not sarcasm. The hiring manager is a person representing a company, which is exactly why they would find their downplaying the offer (because they were hoping to increase it somewhat to meet the candidate in the middle, so they had to start low because they want to keep some gap there) embarassing and feel insulted. They may not be spending out of their pocket but they are spending out of their budget.