This article has no by-line but according to the Daily News, here are “Five Free Agents the Yankees are Eyeing”:

1. RHP John Lackey (11-8, 3.83 ERA): The Yankees will be hesitant to pay him what he wants, but if Andy Pettitte retires, they may have to.

2. INF/OF Mark DeRosa (.250, 23 HR, 78 RBI): Jersey native may be perfect fit to give other aging starters their turns at DH.

3. OF Jason Bay (.267, 36 HR, 119 RBI): If Johnny Damon departs, Bay will be less expensive option than Matt Holliday.

4. RHP Ben Sheets (13-9, 3.09 ERA in 2008; did not pitch in 2009): Cashman hasn’t been afraid to gamble on post-surgery pitchers. Sheets could be a bargain.

5. RHP Roy Halladay (17-10, 2.79 ERA): Not a free agent, but he’ll be the story of the winter. It will take a lot to pry him from Toronto, but don’t think the Yankees aren’t going to try.

See this list? Notice that it has no indication other than whatever the writer decided that the Yankees are eyeing anyone. No anonymous club sources, nothing. But by saying that the Yankees are interested, even without sources, you can get people to believe what you write because of the authority afforded to the writer by being a member of the NY Daily News’ staff.

On top of that, the list isn’t “Five Free Agents the Yankees Might Be Interested In”, it is intentionally presented as free agents they are interested in signing which is what makes articles like this annoy me.

Here are some things that instantly make me discredit each point here:

1. Are there any indications Andy Pettitte is going to retire? No. So why even mention this?
2. Does anyone actually believe that the Yankees are going to do the rotating DH thing instead of actually finding a fulltime guy? No? Good.
3. Bay will be less expensive than Holliday, sure, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be worth the money he gets. And don’t think that Brian Cashman doesn’t know this. I mean he just turned down a 4/$60million contract which is already too much money for his skillset.
4. Alright this one makes sense, but I’m not sure what post-surgery pitchers they’re thinking of. Sergio Mitre? Sheets is on a different level, there’s no reason to think he’ll be a bargain.
5. Not a free agent so you shouldn’t mention him in a list of free agents. Sure the Yankees will “try” but I doubt they’ll try very hard given the team’s stance on giving up prospects and money.

This is a list not founded in the reality the Yankees inhabit. It purports to be a list of players that they’re eyeing, then offers no evidence only little blurbs that make varying amounts of sense. At least give me an anonymous source if you’re pretending to know what’s going on inside the head fo the front office.

I also want to add this from their “five overvalued” list because it stuck out to me as the dumbest thing.

2. Aroldis Chapman, LHP (5.68 ERA in World Baseball Classic): Unpolished Cuban defector could be gamble.

Chapman has fantastic raw skill that you find once in a blue moon, and teams like the Yankees and Red Sox would never in a million years see him fall to them in the draft. I guess he’s overvalued because he’s going to get a lot of money but that’s a ridiculous position, nobody is looking at him to fill a spot in their rotation right now. The entire point of Chapman, like all prospects, is that you take a gamble on the talent. You don’t just sit back, make a smug face and sign some high floor/low ceiling guy because he’s more of a sure thing.

I really cannot fathom how you could put Chapman on a list of overvalued free agents if you understand anything at all about how the farm system in baseball works. First you identify the talent, then you acquire it and hope that it all sticks together.You have to invest money in your developing talent or you become the Houston Astros.

The rest of the article is just your typical hot-stove schlock but this one actually annoyed me.