My Top Ten Sports Memories of the Decade

Everyone has a different list and mine may be a bit out of order. But I figured as this decade comes to a close, it's a good time to go through my top 10 list of sports memories/moments from the past decade. Enjoy:

Honorable Mention. Stubhub/Craigslist and other ways I used arbitrage skills in the market. Tickets are never worth their face value. The price doesn't change based on supply and demand so the price never reflects the actual value. So in this past decade I must have manipulated the market hundreds of times to my advantage. Did I feel guilty about this? Not really. Teams and scalpers were profiting off of this and I wanted a piece of the action. Whether selling tickets for more than face value or finding great deals on unwanted tickets the day of games, I've found a way to attend more sporting events that I could ever dream of and not really paying for them. The past two years combined I've attended over 60 sporting events, something that most people in my income bracket only dream of. And without sites like Stubhub, Craigslist and others, I wouldn't have been able to. And I got to see a lot of those games with my friends which I will always remember as a special experience. As someone who earned a Masters in economics and finance, I'm glad that what I learned about arbitrage actually came into use in real life.

10. Starting this blog. All I can say is that I should have started this earlier. I've been discussing sports with my dad and my friends for years now and I wish I would have utilized an outlet like this. I really just started this as a way to post links and thoughts about sports for my friends to see, but the readership slowly grew and many of you come back day after day. It's been a pleasure and I look forward to more great things as we celebrate the one year anniversary of "No, You're a Towel" in January and continue to provide great sports coverage.

9. The Giants 2000 playoff run. It was unexpected but a lot of fun. Behind Ron Dayne and Tiki Barber's "Thunder and Lightning" the Giants finsihed 12-4 in the regular season. After a first-round bye, they beat the Eagles in a dramatic game featuring an amazing Jason Sehorn interception and in the NFC Championship Game they walloped the heavily favored Minnesota Vikings 41-0. They would lose badly in the Super Bowl that year (in a game my dad still swears Kerry Collins threw because of gambling issues), but the run was so much fun it makes the list.

8. The Rangers return to glory following the lockout. My New York Rangers were an awful team to watch for a few years. They got every star in the world but couldn't make the playoffs. Then came the lockout and with it, a very, very important salary cap. Now that the Rangers couldn't spend ridiculous amounts of money, they needed to be savvy. And although they're yet to get to the Finals, they've been in the playoffs every year since the lockout, mostly due to their goaltender, "King" Henrik Lundqvist.

7. The 2000 Yankees World Series. The season had a lot of memories from Glenallen Hill's amazing month to Jose Canseco joining the team to their almost-September collapse. But I'll remember the ALCS and World Series. The ALCS was great with David Justice leading the way including a home run off Arthur Rhodes and Michael Kay's hoarse radio call to "get your tokens ready" for the Subway Series. And then beating the crosstown Mets, whose fans thought there was no way they could be beaten by the Yankees, was great too. Luis Sojo and Jose Vizcaino had huge hits, David Cone came out of the bullpen to retire Mike Piazza, and the Todd Zeile ball hitting the top of the wall at Yankee Stadium was a huge play as the Yankees took home their 4th World Series in 5 years.

6. Broadcasting NCAA Basketball Tournament games and everything else having to do with college radio. When I went to college, I had no clue that Brandeis University had a radio station and it wasn't until my second semester that I realized that WBRS, the radio station, had a sports department. I got involved my sophomore year doing stats for basketball and baseball games and appearing as a regular on the Thursday night Double Overtime sports talk show. I slowly worked my way up in the department until I was announcing games, hosting Doubt OT, and finally became the Sports Director of the radio station my senior year. But the greatest thrill of all from the radio station had to be during my senior year when I got to broadcast Brandeis basketball's first ever NCAA tournament game. Sure it was DIII and sure it was women's hoops, but I didn't care. The team was exciting, they games were thrilling, and although they lose in the second round, I think all of us who were there that day (including Ben and Jay) will always remember that as our favorite and best broadcast. Every once in a while I turn on the MP3 of that broadcast and think about the awesome opportunity that was.

5. The three home games in the 2001 World Series. The Jeter flip play was from the ALDS and the ALCS featured them beating a Mariners team that had just set the record for regular season wins, but the World Series is what I will always remember. HBO did an unbelievable documentary called Nine Innings From Ground Zero which I would highly recommend watching. But for those who truly remember it, this was an amazing time. We were all scared shitless by the September 11th attacks and weren't sure what was coming next. The World Series was on the world's biggest stage and those three nights I will never forget. George W. Bush throwing out a perfect strike and Roger Clemens pitching an amazing game in Game 3. In Game 4, the Yankees were down 3-1 and down to their last out when Tino Martinez stepped to the plate with a man on base. Tino had been 0-9 in the series so far but he did something no one had done before and blasted a home run in that spot to tie the game at 3. In the bottom of the 10th, Derek Jeter, who was 1-15 in the series at that point had an 0-2 count but battled back to 3-2 and then hit one into the November night to send the Yankees home victorious. The next night, Scott Brosius came up with two outs, one on and a 2-0 deficit and did the exact same thing. Alfonso Soriano finished off that game as a tattered flag from The World Trade Center hung in the background. I will never forget those two nights.

4. The All-Star Game, the last game at Old Yankee Stadium and the first game at New Yankee Stadium. I was at all those and will always remember it. The All-Star game and Old Yankee Stadium finale were tickets that were found right before gametime in memorable stories that have been recounted on this blog. Ben and I were at all three (and I took my dad to the second game at the new place and returned the favor for all those sports first he gave me) and I will remember each one for different reasons. The tickets from the All-Star game and the last game at Yankee Stadium are hanging framed in my room (thank you, Sarah) as we said good-bye to the old place and welcomed in the new stadium. I will miss that feeling you got from walking out of the tunnel in the Old Stadium but the New Stadium provided many great memories this year and hopefully will for many years to come.

3. 2009 Yankees World Series run. It had been only 9 years, but it felt like way too long. We've covered it all on this blog, but from the regular season through the playoffs, from pies and belts to double steals and playoff magic, this team was special. I was at two games this playoffs: Game 2 of the ALDS with A-Rod's tying HR and Teixeira's walkoff and Game 1 of the ALCS with Sabathia pitching a gem to the chants of "CC" from the crowd. It was the perfect way to break in the new stadium and the perfect way to bookend the decade. It was especially perfect having Andy start and Mariano relieve and wrap it up at home.

2. The Giants 2007 playoff run. Most never thought they'd beat Tampa Bay in the Wild Card round but then they went into Tampa and did just that. Then many thought they'd lose to the Cowboys in Dallas but they went in there and beat them too. But the Giants were going to have to go through Brett Favre and Green Bay in a frozen Lambeau Field. There's no way they could do that...right? Well sitting in a sports bar in Atlantic City I was hopeful. Then Lawrence Tynes missed a field goal to win it in regulation...and then the Packers got the ball to start OT. A great pick led to a tough decision. Go for it or kick? Well the Giants decided to kick and I watched through the holes in my jersey as Tynes somehow made the kick of his life, sent the Giants to the Super Bowl and sent the bar into a frenzy which involved me losing my phone (then finding the phone but not the battery, before finding the battery on the sink in the bathroom--somehow). The Super Bowl was just as unlikely, going against the 16-0 Patriots, a team that had beat the Giants in Giants Stadium a few weeks back. Then Manning threw the helmet pass, just missed the outstretched arms of Asante Samuel and then found Plaxico Burress in the endzone to complete an improbable win. I watch the Super Bowl video and still wonder how the hell they pulled it off. This was a true underdog win and I think that's what made it even more memorable.

1. The Aaron Boone homerun. As a Yankee fan, I should have thought twice about going to school in the Boston area. The Red Sox-Yankees rivalry is one of the fiercest in sports and I was placing myself on the wrong side of the Connecticut border. I was a sophomore in the fall of 2003 and unaware that my Yankees could ever be beaten by the Red Sox. So on a Thursday night in October of 2003, and I headed over to a friends dorm suite to watch Game 7 of the ALCS with some Red Sox fans and some Yankee fans. A quick lead for the Red Sox left me bummed and I headed back to my dorm to watch the rest with Jay. We slowly watched as they scratched back from the deficit and jumped in the air as Jorge Posada tied the game. But we had a radio show that night in the campus center at midnight and it was getting very close to that time. So we sprinted (and I mean sprinted) to the campus center where they were showing the game on a projected screen. We had Ben, who was there already, put music on the radio as we waited for the game to end. Jay and I were standing on the second floor of the campus center when Aaron Boone stepped to the plate against Tim Wakefield. I said to Jay: "He needs to crush one here." And, sure enough, he did so. His high majestic shot went into the night and Jay and I tackled each other (with Ben looking on trying to figure out what happened). It was a night of jubilation and one of the most fun radio shows we had with callers who were at the game or watching from different locales calling to tell us about their experience. I know it may be high for a list like this, but when you go to school in Boston and had the lowest point in sports happen exactly a year later, this one stands out as the most memorable. I will always remember that night and Aaron fucking Boone.


Thanks to all of you who have been on the blog throughout the year. On behalf of Ari, Ben, Jay, Sarah and myself, I want to wish you all a Happy New Year and hope to see you on NYaT many times in 2010 as we look forward to new and exciting things.

Worst Yankees Trades of the Decade

After compiling a list of the best Yankees trades of the past decade, Andrew has given me the honor of ranking some of the worst deals that the Yankees made this past decade. Here's what I came up with:

1. July 5, 2002 As part of a 3-team trade, traded Jason Arnold, John-Ford Griffin, and Ted Lilly to the Oakland Athletics. Received Jeff weaver from the Detroit Tigers. In addition, the Oakland Athletics sent a player to be named later, Frankly German, and Carlos Pena to the Detroit Tigers; and the Detroit Tigers sent cash to the Oakland Athletics. The Oakland Athletics sent Jeremy Bonderman (August 22, 2002) to the Detroit Tigers to complete the trade. This trade looked like a solid baseball trade for the Yankees. Jeff Weaver was regarded as one of baseball's young stud pitchers, with his nasty sinking fastball. He was only 25 at the time and locked up to a reasonable extended contract. Ted Lilly had shown promise in his year and a half in the Bronx but his stuff was not as good as Weaver's and Lilly never had the ace label that was commonly applied to Weaver. For the Yankees, they believed they were acquiring their next ace of the future. Unfortunately for the Yanks, it was Lilly who turned out to be the far more effective pitcher. Lilly went on to compile a .571 winning percentage from 2003-2009 and while he was never considered an ace, he certainly was considered more desirable than Jeff Weaver. Weaver's results were sporadic at best and when he gave up a game 4 World Series home run to Alex Gonzalez pitching in relief, the Yankees knew he had probably thrown his last pitch.

2. January 11, 2005 Traded Brad Halsey, Dioner Navarro, Javier Vazquez, and cash to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Received Randy Johnson. The Yankees had tried to acquire Johnson during the Summer of 2004 but were unsuccessful (apparently the Diamondbacks were not interested in Chien-Ming Wang and Robinson Cano). And the winter before, the Yankees were unable to acquire Arizona's other former ace, Curt Schilling. After being humiliated in the 2004 ALCS, the top of the Yankee hierarchy (specifically Randy Levine) made acquiring The Big Unit a priority. The Yankees finally worked out a deal for Johnson and said goodbye to Javier Vazquez, the pitcher who the Yankees so firmly believed would be their ace just one year prior that they promptly gave him a four year extension. Also gone was lower-end of the rotation lefty Brad Halsey and top catch prospect Dioner Navarro. Johnson was only a shadow of his former self, as he fought off constant nagging injuries. He pitched well in the second half of 2005, but was atrocious in his one start in the ALCS. He struggled all throughout 2006 and never came close to performing as expected. Vazquez pitched decently in his year with Arizona and then became a workhorse for Ozzie Guillen's White Sox. After being dealt to the Braves last off season, he posted what might be his best single season numbers in 2009, leading the NL with 238 strikeouts. Halsey stayed in the league for a few years with Diamondbacks and the A's, while Navarro was shipped to the Dodgers and then the Rays, where he was the starting catcher for the 2008 AL Champs. The Yankees may be able to salvage a bit of this deal, as they were able to reacquire Vazquez this winter.

3. December 13, 2003 Traded Brandon Weeden, Yhency Brazoban, Jeff Weaver, and cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Received Kevin Brown. The Yankees made this deal the day after Andy Pettitte left town for the Astros. Gone was enigmatic, but talented, Jeff Weaver, along with a few prospects who most of us had never heard of. In exchange, the Yankees received the oft-injured Kevin Brown, who was coming off a solid year in which he stayed healthy for the duration of the season. Brown was going to be depended on to be the team's ace coming into the year, replacing Roger Clemens. The results were far from Clemensesque. After starting off 5-0, Brown crumbled. His back eventually gave out and he made a trip to the DL. Upon returning, the results were much of the same as before and in an immature act of rage following a poor performance, he punched a wall with his non-pitching hand, breaking it. He would return to pitch in the postseason, where he was unable to do much against the Red Sox and put them in an early hole in the disastrous Game 7. 2005 wasn't much better for Brown, as he only managed to get through half of the season before shutting it down for good. Weaver, while he did not pitch well in New York, pitched well for the Dodgers from 2004-2005. He bounced around for the next couple of years, but helped the Cardinals win the World Series in 2006. Brazoban was electric during after his call up to the majors, but soon fought injuries and pitched a total of 9.2 innings since 2006.

4. June 13, 2001 Traded Damaso Marte to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Received Enrique Wilson. Not much to say about this one. The Yankees traded one of the better left-handed relievers of the decade for utility infielder who's only claim to fame was that he hit Pedro Martinez well. Wilson stuck with the Yankees through 2004, where in his final season he shared playing time at 2B with Miguel Cairo. The Yankees eventually reacquired Marte in 2008 and while the initial results were less than to be desired, his performance in the 2009 World Series has elevated his status significantly.

5. December 16, 2003 Traded Randy Choate, Nick Johnson, and Juan Rivera to the Montreal Expos. Received Javier Vazquez. The Yankees thought they were getting their next ace of the future (they had basically given up on Jeff Weaver taking on that roll). But to get Vazquez, the cost would be pricey. Gone was former top prospect Nick Johnson, who many believed was primed to have a breakout year. Juan Rivera had showed promise as well and Randy Choate had shown some ability to get left-handed hitters out. Vazquez put up solid numbers in the first half of 2004 and made an All-Star Appearance. However, an unspoken shoulder injury severely hampered his abilities during the second half. He was an abomination during the postseason and helped seal the deal for the Red Sox when on his first pitch of Game 7 in relief Johnny Damon hit his infamous grand slam. Johnson battled injuries for much of the past few years, but when healthy has been productive. Rivera was eventually dealt to the Angels and is now a very productive member of their outfield. Both Johnson and Vazquez are back with the Yankees so it will be interesting to see how they perform in their second stints.

6. July 12, 2000 Traded Jackson Melian, Drew Henson, Brian Reith, and Ed Yarnall to the Cincinati Reds. Received Mike Frank and Denny Neagle. The Yankees thought they were upgrading their rotation by acquiring Neagle and he briefly proved them right, starting out 2-0, including a complete game pitched against the Devil Rays. It simply went downhill from there, as he posted an ERA of close to 6.00. He pitched decently in the postseason but the Yankees wisely bid him goodbye after the season. Fortunately, Cincinnati received very little reward from this deal. None of the prospects traded made an impact and Drew Henson, a top prospect for the Yankees and multi-sport athlete, was dealt back to the Yankees, only to bomb out in both MLB and the NFL.

7. July 1, 2002 Traded Scott Wiggins to the Toronto Blue Jays. Received Raul Mondesi. The Yankees hosted the Mets the weekend before this deal was made. Due to various injuries and other circumstances, Joe Torre was forced to play infielder Enrique Wilson in RF. The results were disastrous. George Steinbrenner was livid and went out made a quick deal for the talented, but unpredictable Raul Mondesi. Mondesi was known as a gritty player with a powerful bad and a feared right-field arm. Unfortunately, he was also a free swinger and was incredibly moody. He contributed greatly to the strikeout department, swinging at almost everything he saw. After working with Reggie Jackson and putting up solid numbers during the first part of 2003, he soon found his way back to his old habits and was dealt prior to the trade deadline.

8. June 13, 2001 Traded D'Angelo Jimenez to the San Diego Padres. Received Jay Witasick/July 1, 2001 Traded Ricardo Aramboles to the Cincinnati Reds. Received Mark Wohlers. I am bundling these two deals into one since both of the players acquired were expected to fill the same role and neither one came close to doing so. The Yankees unwisely let Jeff Nelson walk after the 2000 season over a matter of nickels and dimes. His departure left a huge void in the Yankee bullpen. After Brian Cashman tried to fill the role with various journeymen auditioning on minor league contracts, he turned to the trade market, acquiring Witasick and Wohlers. Witasick had pitched well in relief for the Padres and with the emergence of Alfonso Soriano, the Yankees felt they could part with the once highly regarded D'Angelo Jimenez. Wohlers, the once elite closer for the Braves, had fallen far from his star status, struggling with his control and eventually with injuries. He had put up solid numbers for the Reds so Cashman took a shot. Neither pitcher managed to make a positive impact and simply made the loss of Nelson look ever so important. Wohlers was left to walk after the season and Witasick was dealt for outfielder John Vander Wal.

9. March 21, 2001 Traded Wily Mo Pena to the Cincinatti Reds. Received Michael Coleman and Drew Henson. The Yankees never really wanted to deal Drew Henson the summer before. Henson made it clear that in choosing between baseball and football, baseball only remained an option if he was going to be playing for the Yankees. The Reds were forced to make a deal to send Henson back to the Yankees. Henson appeared in 8 games for the Yankees and never managed to overcome his tendency to strike out. Michael Coleman contributed in the early part of 2001 before being cut. Wily Mo Pena had a high ceiling and was eventually dealt to the Red Sox for Bronson Arroyo.

10. July 31, 2004 Traded Jose Contreras and cash to the Chicago White Sox. Received Esteban Loaiza. Contreras, once known as "El Titan de Bronze" in his native Cuba, was the object of a bidding war between the Yankees and Red Sox during the Winter of 2002-2003. The Yankees won the bidding war (and rumor has it that newly appointed Red Sox GM Theo Epstein broke a window over this loss). Red Sox President Larry Luchino dubbed the Yankees with the infamous title of "The Evil Empire" after this incident. Perhaps the Red Sox should consider themselves lucky. Contreras showed the ability to look brilliant at times, but never looked comfortable, nor did he show the electric stuff that scouts had once spoken of. The Yankees finally gave up on him after a year and a half, dealing him veteran Esteban Loaiza. Loaiza had come off of a career year in 2003 but seemed to have lost whatever magic he had on his cut-fastball the year before. He performed poorly for the Yankees, losing his spot in the rotation. He pitched well in the ALCS, despite losing game 5. Contreras would go on to contribute to the 2005 World Champs and put up solid numbers the next season. He then tumbled into mediocrity, before finding his way as a reliever for the 2009 Wild Card Rockies.

Best Yankees Trades of the Decade

From 2000-2009, the Yankees were the best team in baseball. Now that the decade has ended (and yes, Red Sox fans, it has ended), let's look at the best and worst deals the Yankees made in the decade. We'll leave out the deals made this last off-season since it's way too early to judge them. First are the best deals. Thank you to Baseball-Reference for help in finding these.

Best Yankees deals:

1.November 13, 2008 Traded Jeff Marquez, Wilson Betemit and Jhonny Nunez to the Chicago White Sox. Received Kanekoa Texeira and Nick Swisher. I would have taken a bag of balls for Betemit. Instead, we got a starting rightfielder and one of the most patient hitters in baseball. River Avenue Blues called this a great deal from the start. Swisher is the opposite of Paul O'Neill in some ways out in right, but Swisher's working of a pitcher and the count reminds me a lot of how we ended the last decade. Texeira was selected in the Rule 5 draft by the Mariners but many think he'll be returned at some point, especially with Seattle trading for Brandon League. Nunez is still young, but posted a 9.53 ERA in the majors last year and Marquez was worse (9.85 ERA) in AAA. A championship ring in 2009 to boot makes this deal the biggest steal of the decade.

2.December 22, 1999 Traded Hideki Irabu to the Montreal Expos. Received players to be named later and Jake Westbrook. The Montreal Expos sent Ted Lilly (March 17, 2000) and Christian Parker (March 22, 2000) to the New York Yankees to complete the trade. I know, it's before 2000. But since we're excluding December 2009 and the trade wasn't completed until March of 2000, I figured we could add this one in. Why is this #2? Because the Yankees took an absolutely worthless, overweight, 30-year-old part and traded it for 2 pitchers who ended up being very good. The best part of this deal is former Expos owner Jeffrey Loria's excitement of the deal to The Star Ledger calling him one of their "top starters". Parker started one game in 2001, got bombed, and never pitched in the majors again. The Yankees gave up on Lilly too early and should have signed him instead of Kei Igawa, but that does not mean he hasn't been an excellent major leaguer. And Westbrook ended up being traded for David Justice...

3.June 29, 2000 Traded Zach Day, Ricky Ledee and Jake Westbrook to the Cleveland Indians. Received David Justice. I debated whether this one should be one or two before I dropped it down to 3 (Sports Illustrated puts it in their top deals since '94 list done in 2005 and provides the picture above). The Yankees had lost 10 of 13 when they made this deal and only lead the Red Sox by 2 games. They got Justice in this famous deal (Brian Cashman was calling about getting Gary Tuck his World Series ring) and won 8 of 10. Justice hit .305/.391/.585 the rest of the way with 20 HRs. He then slugged .538 with 2 HR and 8 RBI in the ALCS against Seattle with a huge home run in the final game to lead the Yankees to the Subway Series (and Michael Kay's famous, very hoarse announcement on the radio to "get your tokens ready") and eventually to a 2000 World Series win. He was not only the ALCS MVP, but as the USA Today wrote at the time, Justice seemingly in the middle of all their rallies in that series. All three of the players the Yankees traded ended up becoming decent major leaguers so it wasn't a steal (and Justice's struggles in the 2001 World Series was one of the reasons they didn't win), but delivering one of two World Series' this decade puts this trade on the list.

4. February 16, 2004 Traded a player to be named later and Alfonso Soriano to the Texas Rangers. Received Alex Rodriguez and cash. The New York Yankees sent Joaquin Arias (April 23, 2004) to the Texas Rangers to complete the trade. ESPN's headline was "Selig gives blessing to mega-merger" when the deal was finally completed. I do have mixed emotions about this deal. But the truth is despite his past playoff failures and his off-the-field problems in New York, A-Rod has been one of the best players of the decade and helped lead them to a World Series win this past October/November. Soriano has had a very good major league career since leaving the Bronx but I don't think he would have ever stuck with the Yankees. Arias had a good year as a utility infielder in 2008 but only played in 3 games in 2009. Although it took a while, the Yankees did come out winners in this deal.

5. July 30, 2006 Traded C.J. Henry (minors), Carlos Monasterios (minors), Jesus Sanchez (minors) and Matt Smith to the Philadelphia Phillies. Received Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle. Abreu seemed to be underappreciated in Philadelphia where his power went down after he won a homerun derby but his batting eye never did (.404 career OBP). The Yankees acquired Abreu because they had lost Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui to injury and had a gaping hole in the outfield. Keith Law of ESPN loved this trade for the Yankees. They filled it more than capably with Abreu (.330/.419/.507 the rest of the way) who helped them hold off Toronto and then lay a famous 5-game massacre of smack-down in Boston to keep the Red Sox from the playoffs. Lidle was good for the Yankees and could have been a part of their 2007 rotation (and may have prevented them from signing Kei Igawa) had he not died in a plane crash following the season. Monasterios was just drafted in the Rule 5 draft so he is the one player acquired by Philly who may have an impact in the majors. The only blip for the Yankees is that they never won a playoff series in the 2+ years they had Abreu.

6.July 31, 2003 Traded Robin Ventura to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Received Bubba Crosby and Scott Proctor. Traded Brandon Claussen, Charlie Manning and cash to the Cincinnati Reds. Received Aaron Boone. Two trades, one day. Amazingly, the Yankees got a lot more value out of what they received for Ventura than the Reds did for what the Yankees gave them for Boone. Boone hit one of the most famous homeruns of the decade and extended Red Sox suffering for another year. Proctor was a useful reliever for the Yankees for a while until his arm started to get worked off by Joe Torre and Bubba Crosby was almost their starting CF. Boone's injury in a pickup basketball game after the season voided his contract which may have been a blessing for the Yankees because he didn't really hit all that well in the Bronx, but Sports Illustrated recognized that deal as one of the best.

7.July 21, 2000. Traded Ben Ford and Oswaldo Mairena to the Chicago Cubs. Received Glenallen Hill. At the time the Yankees were only only a half game in front of the Red Sox with the rest of the AL East no more than 3.5 back. Well Hill took over August hitting a ridiculous .411/.456/.877 with 10 HR and the Yankees were propelled by their strong July and August into the playoffs. This trade was overshadowed by the Justice trade a month earlier, but Hill was huge for the Yankees.

8. July 21, 2007 Traded Jeff Kennard (minors) to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Received Jose Molina. The Yankees didn't have a decent backup to Jorge Posada since Joe Girardi left town so this move was a lot bigger than it seems. Molina would never hit for the Yankees, but his defense was huge and the pitchers loved to work with him (especially A.J. Burnett).

9. May 15, 2004 Traded Brian Myrow to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Received Tanyon Sturtze. Sturtze was a useful player for the Yankees and a good find by Brian Cashman. He was never great, but in 2005, he started off the season with a 2.32 ERA through June 8th with a .546 OPS against and at least provided Joe Torre one reliable arm to throw out there every game.  

10. December 7, 2001 Traded David Justice to the New York Mets. Received Robin Ventura. Not a great trade by any stretch of the imagination but the Yankees took a declining player in Justice and made it into one useful year of Robin Ventura. Ventura was an All Star in 2002 and provided good defense over at 3B. And then they flipped him for some more useful parts as you see in #6 above. Much more useful than the Steve Karsay signing the same day.

Three I just couldn't figure out but lean positive:

• July 28, 2005 Traded Eduardo Sierra (minors) and Ramon Ramirez to the Colorado Rockies. Received Shawn Chacon. The Yankees rotation was a mess in 2005 until Chacon and Aaron Small came along. Chacon went 7-3 with a 2.85 ERA the rest of the way and actually pitched very well in the playoffs as well. Things didn't go so well for him the next season (7.00 ERA) and he was traded away for Craig Wilson. That second season and the way Ramon Ramirez has pitched in the majors pushes me to the fence on this deal. But the fact that Ramirez hasn't stuck with a team despite good numbers leads me to believe he would have never stuck with the Yankees either so I'll rate this deal positively.
• July 26, 2008 Traded Daniel McCutchen (minors), Jose Tabata (minors), Jeff Karstens and Ross Ohlendorf to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Received Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady. I have gone back and forth on this deal many times. Nady got injured all of this past season and Marte sucked all season long...but then all was forgiven as Marte was a big part of the Yankees World Series win this year. Only Ohlnedorf I believe would have stuck with the Yankees, and although I miss him, I don't know if you hold out on this trade because of it. And after reading Jeff Pearlman's piece on the trade recently, I like it a lot more. So I'll put it here instead of on the next post.
• August 7, 2000. Traded Chris Spurling to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Received Luis Sojo. This is less here about the players and more about the concept. Instead of resigning Sojo, the Yankees let Sojo get away before the 2000 season only to have to give up a player to get him back a few months later. Spurling never turned into anything and Sojo got a few huge hits in the World Series so I'll rate this one positively.

Will be back later with the worst Yankee trades of the decade...

Hot Stove Coal: Jason Bay to "Roam" Citi Field

Mike Francesa had an announcement to make at the beginning of his show today. I guess the Mets are letting WFAN scoop their stories because his big story was that the New York Mets had signed Jason Bay. Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog had the scoop that they had signed him to a 4-year deal for around $16.5 million a year to be heavily back-loaded.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post has more details (his writing in italics)

The Mets have reached agreement on a four-year, $66 million agreement with Jason Bay pending a physical, The Post has learned.

That's not so bad. The Mets were hesitant to bend on the 4 years so this makes sense, right?

Bay had been seeking at least a five-year deal. The Mets did not not bend on four guaranteed years,

Ok, nice job Mets, but why is there that comma in there...?

but the Post has been told that the fifth-year trigger for the option will not be difficult to reach if Bay is indeed healthy throughout the life of the contract.

So there we go...it's a 5-year deal. Oy But why didn't the Mets announce it?

Mets officials refused to confirm the agreement, largely because the results of a physical are not complete and the Mets do not want to embarrass themselves by confirming a deal then having to back away should Bay not pass the physical -- think the humiliation and legal hassle with Yorvit Torrealba a few years back.

Yeah...um...but the physical is just a formality, right?

And the physical might not be a formality. There has been a lot of talk in the sport that the Red Sox were hesitant to do a long-term deal with Bay because they were concerned about the health of his shoulders.

Oh boy. This just screams of disaster for the Mets. Bay was a Mets prospect (the picture above his from Sports Memorabilia.com) who they let get away in Jeff-Kent-like fashion. They seemed destined this offseason to get him back when the Red Sox signed Mike Cameron. The Mets seemed willing to wait for Bay to settle into their numbers, but felt the time was right to pounce now.

So the Mets are getting a good bat who is a negative defender, negative runner, and may have bad shoulders...but if he doesn't, he'll probably vest the 5th year of this deal which the Mets were trying to avoid giving him. Hmmm. Maybe the Mets were better off looking for players in Japan where the Mets are "highly regarded."

I think Bay makes them a better team, but I'm not sure how much better. The OF is cavernous in Citi Field and Bay even had trouble making up the ground to cover Fenway Park with the Green Monster in LF. So that's why the "roaming" in the title of the post is in quotes. Jason Bay isn't exactly Gold Glove Barry Bonds out there in LF. More like Barry Bonds in the 2002 World Series. The Mets may be able to hide Bay in LF for a year or two if Carlos Beltran comes back and plays a Gold Glove-caliber CF, but how much longer will Beltran do that and how much longer can the Mets afford to keep Bay in the outfield...especially without a DH spot to move him to. The Mets got away with having Carlos Delgado, a negative defender at 1st base for a few years, so maybe they can hide it for a while.

But with no extensive market for Bay now that Mark DeRosa had signed with the Giants, I don't think Omar Minaya needed to move so quickly. That all being said, the Mets finally got the slugger they were looking for. And Bay in the middle of that lineup--when/if everyone is healthy--is a good fit. A top 6 of Jose Reyes, Luis Castillo, David Wright, Bay, Beltran, and Bengie Molina (if they finalize signing him) would be very good (although very right-handed). And Bay killed the Yankees early in the season last year so I'm glad to see him gone from the AL. But this almost seems like a case of the Mets worrying about not being able to give away their money and trying even harder to do so.

On Power-Hitting Corner OFs and #4 Pitchers

"Javier Vazquez can relax now on the Yankees because he's the #4 starter." "The Yankees can't go into the season with Brett Gardner as the leftfielder because that's a power-hitting spot."

Have you heard either of those (or something similar) recently? I've heard it a lot which got me thinking: what's with the labels? Now, yes, traditionally, starters have been broken down into #1-#5 and you wanted power hitting corners in your infield and outfield...but haven't we evolved in our thinking to eliminate this problem? I mean we've moved past RBIs and Wins to advanced statistics, so why can't we evolve our thinking when evaluating team makeups?

Let's start with Javier Vazquez and this idea that Vazquez can relax more because he's a #4 starter with #1 starter stuff. Do I think that there's less pressure on Vazquez this time around? Absolutely. He's coming to a team that just won the World Series instead of a team that was beaten by an underdog. He's coming to a New York pitching staff that has CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, and A.J. Burnett as holdovers from the year before instead of one that was rebuilding with Kevin Brown, Jon Leiber, and Vazquez--who was supposed to be the "young ace".

But to say that Vazquez is going to be able to relax is ridiculous. Do you think he's going to be able to relax on Sunday night in Fenway against Josh Beckett because he pitches 4th in the Yankees rotation? Nope. Do you think that if he gets bombed in the first round of the playoffs fans will lay off him because he isn't the ace? Not a chance. Especially not with his last playoff memory in New York being the 2004 ALCS.

But I think that too often we fall into the trap as categorizing guys as #1s or #4s without realizing that those numbers don't matter. I don't think any team in the 5-man rotation era has ever gotten through a season with 5 starters going 1-5 every time. Just doesn't happen. If CC Sabathia needs to be skipped a start, is AJ Burnett suddenly their #1 starter? Nope. Is there any real difference between a #2 and #3 starter? A prospect like Joba Chamberlain may project as a #4 starter on the Yankees but as a #1 starter on a team like the Pirates--does that change his value at all? It shouldn't. The key is to find a way to get a certain amount of quality innings from your starters in a season. If you get 450 great innings from your "#4" and "#5" guys combined, is your rotation a failure? Nope...not at all.

I think the same type of narrow-minded thinking goes into evaluating where your hits come from. Traditionally teams were built with light-hitting guys up the middle (catcher, short stop, second and center) and power at the corners. But times have changed. A catcher, Joe Mauer, is winning batting titles in Minnesota, a second baseman, Dustin Pedroia, won an MVP two seasons ago, and a shortstop, Derek Jeter, posted a WAR of 7.4 last season. Yet when the Yankees think about starting Brett Gardner in leftfield, people go nuts. One of my favorite bloggers, Steven Goldman of Pinstriped Bible, was guilty of this in his 12/24 mailbag when he said of Garnder: "What I don’t know is if he has the bat for left field. Remember, left field is one of the more offensively productive positions in the game."

Now I only bring up Goldman's piece for a few reasons: 1) I read it today, 2) It perfectly displayed my issue and 3) I think of Goldman as a more progressive blogger so I was surprised to see this. The truth is that Gardner may not be an everyday player. But in a small sample size last year in centerfield, Gardner posted a WAR of 2.1. That was higher than AL East foe Jacoby Ellsbury or teammate Melky Cabrera. Now would Johnny Damon (3.0 WAR) or Matt Holliday (3.0 WAR) be more valuable? Sure. But at what cost?

The reason I say this is that for what Gardner may lack in his bat at this point of his career (and no one ever expects him to hit for power), he makes up for in he field. The goal of a team is to have more the most net runs possible. So a run saved on defense (or, in Vazquez's case pitching) is equal to a run earned on offense. The Oakland As, Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners have turned their focus away from big sluggers and have tried to improve their defense. The Yankees have an in-house way to do just that in Gardner. And Gardner is not a total wash on offense either. Bill James' projections (via FanGraphs) has him with an OBP of .368, a wOBA of .347, and a better BB% (with plus plus speed) for next year which could be valuable at the bottom of the Yankees lineup that will feature power at every position other than LF. Could the Yankees use a right-handed OF like Reed Johnson, Jonny Gomes, Marcus Thames, or someone like that (NOT Jermaine Dye who is an awful defender at this point in his career) with lefties in CF and LF? Sure. But I don't think they need to get a starting leftfielder just because Brett Gardner is penciled in on December 28th (and, truthfully, it may be all smoke and mirrors). There certainly is no "gaping hole" in leftfield. And if the Yankees truly need a leftfielder midseason, they can wait until the trade deadline and try to pick one up then as Joel Sherman writes.

Now, I do think the Yankees would be better off with Gardner in CF and Granderson in LF (and that may still occur) and IIATMS agrees. Gardner was the better defensive CF last year (and many forget his huge catch in the Angels series pictured above from The Star-Ledger). If you're going to play both, this may be your best defense. So if you move Gardner to CF and Granderson to LF, have you solved your problem of not having a power-hitting corner OF since Granderson is a power-hitting threat in LF, especially with the short porch? Haven't you basically just replaced Damon in LF and Gardner/Melky in CF from last year with a better version of Granderson in LF and Gardner in CF (especially defensively)? I think too often we get into traps of projecting positional traits when, as long as the whole is good, a team can have different strengths at different positions (as Ken Davidoff writes in Newsday). The Yankees may not have a better lineup with Brett Gardner instead of Jason Bay in their outfield, but when you factor in defense and money and speed and age, they actually may be a better team in 2010 and beyond sticking with what they have.

Sorting Out the AFC Playoff Picture

The NFC playoff picture is set (although the seedings are subject to change), but the AFC playoff picture is still very much up in the air. The four divisions have been clinched but 7 different teams are alive for the two wild card spots. Let's look at the possibilities (I've eliminated ties though those open up a whole new bad of worms):

The Denver Broncos are the only team that can get in after losing. The Dolphins are the only team that needs everyone else to lose to get in.

If the New York Jets win: A Jets win vs. Cincinnati would put the Jets in the playoffs and knock the Dolphins out of the playoffs. The Jets cannot clinch a spot by losing.

If the Baltimore Ravens win: A Ravens win vs. Oakland would put the Ravens in the playoffs and eliminate the Dolphins. The Ravens cannot clinch a spot in by losing either.

If the Jets and Ravens both win: If the Jets and Ravens both win, they would get the final two playoff spots.

Now it gets complicated...If the Jets win, Pittsburgh wins, and Baltimore loses: Pittsburgh needs to beat Miami to stay in the hunt. If this happens, the Jets are in. Miami, Jacksonville and Baltimore are out. How about that final spot?

• If Houston loses to New England, Pittsburgh is in.
  
• If Houston beats New England and Denver wins, Denver is in.
• If Houston beats New England and Denver loses, Houston is in.

Ok...If the Jets win, Pittsburgh loses and Baltimore loses. Still fighting for that last playoff spot...

• If Denver wins, they are in
  
• If Denver loses and Houston wins, Houston is in
  
• If Denver loses, Jacksonville beats Cleveland, and Houston loses, Jacksonville is in.
• If Denver loses, Jacksonville loses, and Houston loses, Denver is in

Deep breath...If the Jets lose and Baltimore wins. Well Baltimore is in and the Jets are out. Let's check out the rest of the scenarios:

• If Denver wins and Pittsburgh loses, Denver is in.
• If Denver wins and Houston wins, Denver is in.
• If Pittsburgh wins and Houston loses, Pittsburgh is in.
• If Houston wins, but Denver loses, Houston is in
• If Denver loses, Pittsburgh loses, and Houston loses, but Jacksonville wins, Jacksonville is in
• If Pittsburgh, Houston, and Jacksonville all lose, Denver is in no matter what they do

One more! Now let's say the Jets and Ravens both lose. The Jets and Ravens are out so let's see who is in...

• If Houston wins, they are in.
• If Denver wins, they are in.
  
• If Pittsburgh wins and Denver loses, Pittsburgh is in.
• If Pittsburgh loses and Houston loses, Denver is in no matter what they do
• If Pittsburgh loses and Jacksonville loses, Denver is in no matter what they do
• If Miami loses, Houston loses, and Jacksonville loses, Denver is in no matter what they do
  
• If Pittsburgh loses, Jacksonville wins, and Denver loses, Jacksonville is in
• If Pittsburgh loses, Jackonsville wins, and Houston loses, Jacksonville is in
• If Denver loses, Jacksonville wins, and Houston loses, Jacksonville is in
  
• If Miami wins, Houston loses, Jackonsville loses, and Denver loses, Miami is in

Got all that? Vote on the right of who you think will make it as the Wild Card seeds in the AFC

Hot Stove Coal: Vazquez Reunion in the Bronx

Last night Twitter was abuzz with a potential Yankee trade for a pitcher. Names were being thrown about but nothing had been confirmed. Well it seems that after calling the Pirates and asking about a few of their pitchers (including old friend Ross Ohlendorf), the Yankees have turned their sights to acquiring another former Yankee: Javier Vazquez. Joel Sherman says the Yankees are "working hard". And John Heyman has the details on the deal: @SI_JonHeyman: #yankees, #braves deal will send vazquez, boone logan to ny for melky, lhp mike dunn and a prospect (who seems to be Arodys Vizcaino--one of their top-10 prospects).

Now, I'll preface my feelings on this deal saying that I never thought the Yankees should have traded Vazquez in the first place. He had an OK year but he was young, affordable, and had great potential. But the Yankees ignored all of that and shipped him off for Randy Johnson. One of Vazquez's best seasons came last year with Atlanta when he went 15-10 in 219.1 innings with a 2.87 ERA, 1.026 WHIP, 9.8 K/9 and 5.41 SO/BB.

So what's the difference this time around? Well Vazquez is 6 years older now. And, unlike the last time he was in Pinstripes, he won't be asked to front a rotation--rather, he'll be the #4 starter.

So why did the Yankees do this? Well they needed to keep up the arms race with the Red Sox who signed John Lackey. Now the Yankees counter the Red Sox 5 of Beckett/Lester/Lackey/Dice-K/Bucholz with CC/AJ/Pettitte/Vazquez/Joba or Hughes. There are going to be some epic battles there. Plus, I'm sure that the Yankees looked at the durable Vazquez (whose only season that he didn't throw 200+ innings this past decade was his season with the Yankees when he threw 198) as a good compliment to injury-prone A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte and an over-worked CC Sabathia. Vazquez averaged 216 innings pitched over the past decade. Only 5 Yankee pitchers this decade have pitched 216 innings in a season (Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina in 2001, Randy Johnson in 2005, Chien-Ming Wang in 2006 and CC Sabathia last season). Vazquez won 10 games every season last decade and struck out 200 batters in half of those seasons

Now could this deal backfire? Sure. The fans certainly have a sour taste of Vazquez who was part of the epic Game 7 collapse against the Red Sox. Vazquez 2004 in Pinstripes was certainly not his finest year. And although he had great success in the NL East last season, he may not adapt well to the much better hitting AL East. Vazquez also may not be made for the big lights of New York. He's pitched in Montreal, Atlanta, Arizona and with the White Sox--and doesn't seem to love the spotlight. He's also not young anymore so the durability issues come into play. And the Yankees are giving up Melky Cabrera who is still young and could develop into a good starter (and how will Robinson Cano react?), Mike Dunn who they seemed unwilling to deal in the Granderson or Halladay talks, and Arodys Vizcaino who while still young was one of their top 10 prospects. The other player coming to the Yankees (Boone Logan) is a LOOGY who will replace Phil Coke as the second lefty in the bullpen.

Vazquez is signed for a manageable 11.5M this year, though, and this trade does improve the team today. Do I love this deal? No. Do I think this makes them better? Yes. And for $22.5 M the Yankees now have Curtis Granderson, Nick Johnson and Javy Vazquez for 2010 (in comparison, they paid Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui $26M combined last year). So I like the deals for 2010, but I just hope that the trades for Granderson and Vazquez don't come back to bite them in future.

Hot Stove Coal: How About Another Roy?

Brian Cashman's plan for the offseason was supposed to be "pitching, pitching, pitching," but so far, the Yankees have done nothing but subtract pitching and acquire hitting (except for the resigning of Andy Pettitte). They've gone out and added Curtis Granderson, Nick Johnson and Jamie Hoffmann. So what are they doing to improve their pitching? Well, a whole lot of nothing so far. The Yankees saw John Lackey go to the Red Sox, Randy Wolf go to the Brewers, Cliff Lee go to the Mariners, and Roy Halladay go to the Phillies. But could the Yankees try to add another Roy as in Roy Oswalt of the Astros.

The Yankees have been looking at a pool of free agents that include Jason Marquis, Joel Pineiro, Justin Duchscherer, and Ben Sheets. That group does not inspire the greatest confidence...to say the very least. Marquis and Pineiro are probably better suited for the National League and although Sheets and "Duke" have great upside and would probably be better free agent signings, they both bring with them serious injury risk. So in the world of speculation and the general public feeling that the Yankees have to add a free agent starter, today, the New York Post added another name to that list: Carlos Zambrano.

ESPNChicago columnist Bruce Levine knocks down the rumor and Jason over at IIATMS slams it down even more. The rumor itself was about as solid as jello, only saying "Cashman is believed to have inquired about Carlos Zambrano". That's the equivalent to saying that Tiger Woods may or may not be a womanizer. Jason rightly points out that if the Yankees were to acquire a Cub pitcher, Ted Lilly could make more sense*. But most don't see either one as a match.

*Side Note: the frustrating thing about Lilly is that he should have been a Yankee right now rather than a Cub if the Yankees had not decided to go with "Backwards" Kei Igawa instead. And the worst part that Lilly wanted to come to the Yankees; Igawa looks like he can't wait to get back to Japan. 

So while we're in the process of haphazardly throwing out names out there, I'm going to throw out the one I did a few paragraphs back: Roy Oswalt*. Now I will say that I have not read a rumor linking the Yankees to Oswalt and I do not believe they will be in on him...but let's explore the resume, shall we?

*Side Note: I can report with some confidence that Cashman is believed to have inquired about Roy Oswalt. Why can I say this was any amount of confidence? Because Cashman is a General Manager and Oswalt is a pitcher. If a GM leaves a stone unturned, I believe he isn't fully doing his job. And since Cash-money seems like he's doing his job, I'm sure he's asked if Roy Oswalt is available. I'm pretty sure "The Situation" asks every girl in Seaside Heights if she's available as well. It doesn't mean he's necessarily going to acquire any of them either.

Roy Oswalt does not equal Roy Halladay...but I do believe Oswalt is one of the more under-appreciated pitchers of the past decade. Oswalt had five top-5 finishes in the Cy Young voting, and as of the end of September, was in the top 5 of the decade's list (min 700 innings) in Wins (t-5th with 137), W-L % (5th with .662), ERA (4th at 3.23), QS (5th at 186), Quality Start % (1st at .683), and 20-win seasons (t-2nd with 2). Like Halladay, Oswalt will turn 32 this next season. According to Cot's Baseball Contracts, Oswalt signed an extension in 2006 for 5 years, $73M (with a 2012 club option) that will pay him $15M in 2010, $16M in 2011, and $16M or a $2M buyout in 2012. That means the rest contract is either $33M for two years or $47 for three years. It also includes a full no-trade clause. In the past, any rumors of Oswalt being dealt were met with a firm rebuttal from Astros owner Drayton McLane saying that he values his "personal relationship" with the pitcher, as Ken Davidoff via MLBTradeRumors reported last June. McLane was also reported as saying that he wanted Oswalt (as well as teammate Lance Berkman) to retire as Astros.

So why do I think that things could be different now? First, Oswalt seems to have expressed displeasure with the direction of the Astros and his limited time left with the team in an interview with MLB.com back in August saying:

I think about it all the time, especially if I'm going to stay on my game plan...I have two more years. Time is running out. That's why I'm trying to push them not to look two years down the road...

Everyone says we have great prospects in A ball...That's great for the organization, but I'm looking at now. I tell [owner] Drayton [McLane] all the time, 'The reason I signed here is I want to win, and let's do what we can do to win in the next two years.' Time is running out on me.

A few days later, as reported by the Houston Chronicle's Richard Justice, Oswalt openly questioned the effort of his teammates and said that "the team atmosphere is dead" and that the players were just "going through the motions". That was another sign to Jerome Solomon of the Chronicle that Oswalt may have been trying to talk his way out of Houston. As MLBTradeRumors reported, McLane was upset by Oswalt's comments saying that "these are problems you need to solve internally rather than through the media" but seemed to say that he would look into evaluating solutions. That led to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports (via MLBTradeRumors) speculating in September that Oswalt may be moved this off-season. Since, that, though, there's been little talk on Oswalt, even though Houston has seemed to pare back payroll even more. And although Oswalt had a rough season last year, some of it had to do with his bullpen which, Baseball-Reference points out, allowed 11 of the 12 inherited runners bequeathed by Oswalt to score (his ERA would have been 3.57 without that) and lost 7 wins for him last season.

I love Oswalt (he's 4-0 with a 3.66 ERA in the postseason as well), but I think this may be another "pass" for the Yankees. Oswalt's WAR according to Fangraphs hit 6.4 in 2004 but went to 6.1 in 2005, 5.7 in 2006, 4.6 in 2007, 3.6 in 2008 and 3.1 in 2009. That's a bad trend. He also is owed either 16.5M per for 2 years or 15.67M per for 3 years which is still a lot of money. Since McLane seems to adore Oswalt, I think it would also take a lot in terms of prospects to pry Oswalt away from the Astros. And that's if he would waive his no-trade clause.

I think that the Yankees will go another direction, especially if they're going to add a starter soon. MLBTradeRumors mentions a few other names like Derek Lowe, Aaron Harang, Gil Meche and Jeremy Bonderman. And River Avenue Blues points out that this New Years deadline declared by the New York Post article is probably as reliable as the Zambrano rumor itself.

My choice for a pitcher? Ben Sheets. The Yankees already have Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Sergio Mitre, Chad Gaudin and Alfredo Aceves so the only type of pitcher the Yankees need is someone with bigger upside than that group. Ben Sheets has that and the Yankees have the luxury of slotting one of those other five into the rotation if Sheets gets hurt. River Avenue Blues suggests that it's Duke, Sheets or standing pat. I tend to agree, though I wonder if Cashman has another move up his sleeve. I just don't think that move will be Roy Oswalt (stats below courtesy of Baseball-Reference and picture courtesy of The Houston Chronicle)



Update 4:00 PM: So maybe the Zambrano rumor wasn't so ridiculous: @KenDavidoff: Heard #Yankees did ask #Cubs about Zambrano, as NY Post reported - a few weeks ago. Would've worked only if CHI supplied $. No active talks.

Hot Stove Coal: Nick Johnson Close to Being a Yankee Again

The last piece to the Yankees' off-season puzzle seems like it won't be Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, or Vlad Guerrero. The Yankees are going back to a player they once had come up through their system: Nick "The Stick" Johnson.

Newsday's Ken Davidoff is reporting that Johnson has a deal in place for 1 year, $5.5 million pending a physical. Now, while "pending a physical" with Johnson is a big deal, this deal seems all but done. So what does this mean for the Yankees and was this a good deal? Let's look at what Johnson brings to the table.



As you can see, Johnson's biggest selling point isn't durability. He's only reached 450 PA three times in his career and missed an entire season. He's not exactly RonDL White, but he's close. That being said, Johnson has played his entire career as a first baseman. He had two ill-advised forays into the outfield in 2002 but otherwise, the only other "position" he's played is 89 games at DH while with the Yankees. And as LoHud's Chad Jennings pointed out, Johnson's primary position being DH may limit his injury risk since most of his injuries occurred while in the field.

Johnson's biggest asset right now is his OBP. Johnson has a .402 career OBP which is 9th among active players. 8th on the list is Bobby Abreu, a person who the Yankees hope will emulate in his Yankee hitting. Abreu averaged .295/.378/.465 with the Yankees with 95 doubles, 43 HR, 243 RBI, 190 BB, and a 120 OPS+ over 2 plus seasons in the Bronx. The Yankees could deal with that average of production, though with less Ks and less HRs. And less HRs is probably what you're getting from Johnson as River Avenue Blues points out that his ISO has fallen greatly in recent years.

Johnny Damon would have been a better option--if the price was right. I think that Damon for more than 2 years or more than $13 million a year is way too much. Damon's appeal was in his flexibility of being able to play left as well as DH. Johnson is blocked at 1st base by Mark Teixeira so Johnson's role is either the DH, 1st base when Tex has a day off on the field, or the bench when Jeter or A-Rod need a day at the DH spot.

The Yankees wanted to have flexibility and this is a different type of flexibility. Instead of having the flexibility of being able to play left and DH, the Yankees will have the flexibility of having a good player on a one-year, low-priced contract. If Jesus Montero continues to develop or Nick Johnson does not play well, the Yankees can dump Nick Johnson and not take a large financial hit. Johnson will also be 31 next season while Damon will be 36.

Which brings us to the bigger theme. While the Yankees continually try to get better, they also try to get younger. Like Cameron learned all too well in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, you can't turn back the odometer. Instead of trying to reverse the ages of their aging stars (Jeter, A-Rod, Pettitte, Rivera, Posada, etc.), the Yankees are trying to inject some new (read: youthful) players in their absence. Gone are Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui and in are two new left-handed batters: Nick Johnson and Curtis Granderson.

Let's look at the comparison with 2009 numbers:

#2 Hole:

• 2009: Johnny Damon, 36. .282/.365/.489, 36 2B, 24 HR, 82 RBI, 12 SB, 0 CS, 71 BB, 98 K, 126 OPS+, $13MM
  
• 2010: Nick Johnson, 31. .291/.426/.405, 24 2B, 8 HR, 62 RBI, 0 SB, 2 CS, 99 BB, 84 K, 122 OPS+, $5.5MM

#5/6 Hole:

• 2009 Hideki Matsui, 36. .274/.367/.509, 21 2B, 28 HR, 90 RBI, 0 SB, 1 CS, 64 BB, 75 K, 131 OPS+, $13MM
• 2010 Curtis Granderson, 29. .249/.327/.453, 23 2B, 30 HR, 71 RBI, 20 SB, 6 CS, 72 BB, 141 K, 100 OPS+, $5.5MM

Could the Yankees have resigned Matsui instead of Johnson for $1MM more? Sure. But I think the Yankees got as much as they could get from Matsui last year and feel more confident in a younger, more OBP-conscious Johnson. Nick Johnson's OBP was third to Joe Mauer (AL MVP) and Albert Pujols (NL MVP) and fits great into that second hole in front of the big bats. Joel Sherman of the New York Post points out that Johnson saw more pitches than even Nick Swisher last season and killed lefties--two important factors if you're going to be part of this Yankees offense. The speed you lose with Damon (and it was diminishing judging by the fact he only had 12 SB last year), you gain with Granderson (who may be given the green light more in the Bronx). You also have to figure that Granderson and Johnson are both due for bumps in their offensive numbers moving from pitching-friendly parks to one of the more hitter-friendly parks (especially for left-handed hitters) out there. Would they have been a better team with Damon this year? Probably. But I think that two and three years down the line, that contract would have been a mistake. And with the Giants very interested in Johnson, the Yankees didn't have time to wait for Damon and his agent, Scott Boras, to play their game and try to drum up interest.

Could the Yankees still go out and sign Damon, Matt Holliday or Jason Bay to play left? Sure. But I don't see it happening. I think the Yankees are OK with Melky Cabrera manning left (or Brett Gardner in CF and Granderson in LF), even though Steven Goldman of Pinstriped Bible doesn't seem to like that equation. The Yankees are looking ahead to the much more attractive free agent class of 2011 (Joe Mauer, Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, etc.) and will look to spend their money again there. I think the group of players you see now is more or less what you will see come opening day (with one more starting pitcher and maybe a bullpen arm to add). And I think the Yankees, even losing their World Series MVP and their World Series stealing hero are better off than they were yesterday if they complete this signing. Like adding Nick Swisher last year, it's not a deal that makes you excited with anticipation, but I think Yankee fans will come around when they see Nick "The Stick" back in Pinstripes in 2010. 

Hot Stove Coal: A Few Early Grades

It's never too early or too late to assign some early grades on moves made by Major League Baseball teams and players this off-season. Let's take a quick look:

Boston Red Sox: It's been a strange conversion from the slugging idiots that won in 2004 to this team. With trading away Mike Lowell (who was the worst defensive third basemen in the majors last year...though may not be traded just yet) combined with the signings of Marco Scutaro, Mike Cameron and John Lackey (who looks like "Haywire" from Prison Break) the focus has seemed to shift to defense, run prevention, and baseball savvy. I just don't know where the offense will come from this team unless Big Papi has a bounceback year or Mike Cameron finds the fountain of youth in Boston--he's 37 and Jorge Arangure tweets: "@jorgearangure: Bill James Handbook not very optimistic about Mike Cameron. Predicts .237/.328/.428 season in 2010." (shouldn't Bill James, a Red Sox employee, alert them to these matters?). If healthy, the trio of Lackey, Josh Beckett, and Jon Lester is as devastating as they come...but that's a big if with the first two. I don't think they're done, though. Adrian Gonzalez for Clay Bucholz (with Lackey now in the rotation), Jacoby Ellsbury (with Mike Cameron on the team), and a high level prospect seems like the way to go for the Sox. But if they trade Ellsbury, they need to find a corner infielder (to replace Lowell) and a corner outfielder (since Cameron would shift to CF, his natural position). Some really like their moves but it seems to me like a lot is still in the works so I'll give the Red Sox a B so far.

New York Yankees: I had to follow one with the other, right? The Yankees are coming off a World Series championship (which they are still celebrating) and need to balance "if ain't broke, don't fix it" with "never be satisfied". The trade for Curtis Granderson continues their quest to get younger and the signing of Andy Pettitte fills a hole in the rotation, but the team still needs a left fielder/DH and probably another pitcher. Johnny Damon is a good option for the Yankees but they'll only wait so long for him to decide (though many think he'll end up back in the Bronx including me). If not, guys like Matt Holliday/Jason Bay, Nick Johnson, Vlad Guerrero, and others start looking like other options. And as for starter, now that Roy Halladay and John Lackey are unavailable, look for the Yankees to look at low-risk/high-reward guys like Ben Sheets, Justin Duchscherer, Chien-Ming Wang or even a guy like Jarrod Washburn. The Yankees aren't done but they're improved. And the biggest thing? The Yankees didn't clean out the farm system going after a Halladay or clean out the bank account going after a Holliday just because the Red Sox did something showing this is definitely not George Steinbrenner's teams of past. Sometimes you can have a grand day without doing anything. I'd give the Yankees off-season so far a B as well.

New York Yankees 2010 Postseason: The Yankees are screwed. Why? Not because they lost their World Series MVP or the guy who pulled off a double steal on the same play or even because Cody Ransom left the organization. It's because A-Rod and Kate Hudson split. Nooooooooooooooooo! F!

Scott Boras clients: Not really working out so well for them so far. Johnny Damon seems to think he's going to get another 4-year, $52 million contract from someone but who would be dumb enough to give that to him at 36? He better start looking around. Matt Holliday? Still on holiday and waiting for that Mark Teixeira-like deal. Adrian Beltre? He might price himself out with the Red Sox which would leave him in a precarious situation since there's not a lot of other teams who can afford to pay him what he wants. Rick Ankiel? Not on anyone's radar. Somehow the one Boras client to get signed was Ivan Rodriguez. Oh those Nationals... I'd give Scott Boras a C- so far

Seattle Mariners: I want to declare them big winners of the winter for getting Cliff Lee and Chone Figgins...but they depleted their minor leagues and they still don't have any power in that lineup. Hopefully Figgins and Ichiro can steal home a lot. Still, the duos of King Felix and Lee at the top of the rotation and Ichiro and Figgins at the top of the lineup will be hard for many teams to deal with. I just can't give them higher than a B right now.

Cliff Lee: You know the Seinfeld episode where Jerry's girlfriend asks Jerry to decide between "the voice" and her? He surprises her and everyone by choosing "the voice" (hellloooooooo!). I think that's sort of what Cliff Lee must have felt here. Lee's contract demands were said to be about what CC Sabathia got. So Philly decided to basically trade one year of Lee and heartache when he leaves for four much cheaper years of Roy Halladay. In the end, Jerry's choice of "the voice" doesn't work out (and I'm not sure the Phillies choice will either), but the person most hurt in the end is the ex-girlfriend (who in this metaphor is Lee). Lee might have missed they money fountain and goes from the NL favorites to a good, but not great team so I'll give Lee a C.

Philadelphia Phillies: I don't know. I'm not a big Placido Polanco fan, but then again I wasn't a big Raul Ibanez fan and look at the season he had. I think they were better off going for it all with Halladay and Lee or just keeping Lee...but you can't argue with having Roy Halladay. I just think they took a big dent in their farm system (maybe a really big dent) without greatly improving their team which is a tough swallow and I would have gone a different avenue. They also need a better alternative in the 'pen (John Smoltz?) in case Brad Lidge falters again next season. At least they have Cody Ransom I'll give the Phillies a C+ so far.

Los Angeles Dodgers: The organization is a mess because of the divorce of the McCourts. They didn't offer arbitration to their free agents because they didn't want to pay the draft picks. They won't make any big trades or signings. The only trades they made were to acquire cheap Rule 5 picks and to get rid of Juan Pierre's high salary. This is a big mess for Scott Boras, especially. This was a team on the cusp of the World Series which is going to watch everyone else get better around them. I think you have to give them an F.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Two winters ago they lost Mark Teixeira and K-Rod. This winter they lost John Lackey, Chone Figgins and Vlad Guerrero. Their one big addition? Hideki Matsui. Matsui is an upgrade over Vlad (and may steal Japanese reporters from the Yankees), but they're losing ground to other teams. Not a good start for Arte Moreno's squad: C+.

Bud Selig: The World Series ended with huge questions about instant replay, the length of the playoffs, announcing, etc. Where are those issues now? Drowned out by Tiger Woods and the Hot Stove. His two biggest announcements of the off-season were that he may be stepping down and that he's forming a committee. Small market teams are spending money and big market teams are being thrifty bringing about the parity that commissioners dream of. I always believe a sport is best served when the commissioner is not part of the news. Nice job, Bud, you get an A-.

Chicago White Sox: I'll let Twitter handle this one: @CliffCorcoran: Updating prev tweet: Rios! Teahen! Kotsay! 43-year-old Vizquel! Bloated corpse of Andruw Jones! De Aza! Putz! Pierre! White Sox in '10! D

New York Mets: Well at least they have depth at catcher (?). At least Johan Santana is popular in Venezuela (?). They missed out on all the pitchers (including cheaper options like Randy Wolf). They made a good Rule 5 pick and then traded him away. Their rightfielder had serious ligament replacement. Their shortstop has been day-to-day for six months and "doesn't want to be a leader". Their star centerfielder may or may not be healthy. Their best bet may be to overpay for a left fielder who may better as a DH and was once on the Mets. And they can't sell seats. At least they painted the Stadium colors of their team. So far, they get a D+.

Toronto Blue Jays: They got rid of B.J. Ryan, Roy Halladay, Scott Rolen and Alex Rios. They played the Red Sox and are going to get two picks from them just for giving them the pleasure of singing Marco Scuatro. They got the prospects they wanted from the Blue Jays and didn't trade him within the division. They still have an albatross in Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay is better off traded, but I like what they've done to start over. That being said, they probably won't be good next year. I'll give them a B.

Joe Mauer: The less money the Yankees and Red Sox spend this winter, the more they have available to give him a huge contract next off-season. He's hoping that Matt Holliday and Jason Bay go to someone else so he can pave his way to a huge payday as he finds a mantle for his MVP award. I'll give him an A.

Atlanta Braves: Derek Lowe is now a hot pitching commodity that they can get a decent player from the Angels for...who would have thunk that? A-

Technology, Twitter and Statheads: No one had a better winter than this group (which I just grouped together for the heck of it). The two Cy Young winners were picked not because of wins and the AL MVP was picked not because of home runs. Then the creator of Baseball-Reference was admitted into the BBWAA and Bloomberg got into the baseball statistics game. But no one had a better off-season than Twitter which has become a big player in baseball--where rumors and deals and everything in between are broken first and where the rumor mill churns fastest. Sure there are false reports that get leaked, but it's not like that didn't happen already. Baseball writers have forgone their papers, their columns, their radio spots and their blogs to be the first one to tweet the big scoop. Twitter has become the go-to source for all baseball moves and that's why they get my only A+.

Guess the sports song

H/T to Richard for this one

A Trade Evolution: Mulder to Halladay/Lee with Holliday in Between

Sometimes, trades just continue to flow. Here is a cool one for how Mark Mulder actually ended up getting involved in the Roy Halladay-Cliff Lee deal being finished up and how Holliday and Halladay are closer than you think...and how that wily Billy Beane seems to be a part of all of this.

The Oakland A's traded Mark Mulder to the St. Louis Cardinals for Daric Barton, Kiko Calero and Dan Haren.

The Oakland A's traded Dan Haren with Connor Robertson to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Chris Carter, Brett Anderson, Aaron Cunningham, Dana Eveland, Carlos Gonzalez and Greg Smith.

The Oakland A's traded Carlos Gonzalez, Greg Smith and Huston Street to the Colorado Rockies for Matt Holliday.

The Oakland A's traded Matt Holliday to the St. Louis Cardinals for Brett Wallace, Clayton Mortensen and Shane Peterson.

The Oakland A's have agreed to trade Brett Wallace for Michael Taylor who is being traded to the Blue Jays with Travis d'Arnaud and Kyle Drabek for Roy Halladay (who is being dealt in the same deal as Cliff Lee).

Got all that (H/T to Baseball Reference for all the deals)? You would be missing a few positions, but you could field a pretty good team with all those players.

Reviewing the NFC Playoff Picture

Earlier we reviewed the AFC Playoff Picture. Let's take a look now at what's going on in the NFC.

NFC:

1. New Orleans Saints. 13-0

The Saints have already clinched the division and a first-round bye. They can clinch home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs with a win vs. Dallas and a Minnesota loss vs. Carolina. With games left against Tampa Bay and Carolina, it may just be a formality at this point for the home-field advantage, the real question is whether this team can go 16-0. If they beat Dallas this weekend, it looks like smooth sailing the rest of the way.

2. Minnesota Vikings. 11-2

Amazingly, all Minnesota has clinched so far is a playoff birth. The Vikings can clinch the division this week with a win or a Green Bay loss and they can clinch a first-round bye with a win and a Philly loss. Playing Carolina this week, they should at least wrap up the division and the Giants are hoping they can wrap up the bye before their Week 17 game.

3. Philadelphia Eagles. 9-4

The Eagles had a chance to lose a bad game to the Giants and have a chance of falling out of the playoff race. Now they're driving the playoff race and trying to wrap up the #4 seed. The Eagles can clinch a playoff spot with a win and either a Giants loss or a Dallas win. Yes, the Eagles, if they win, will be rooting for their enemies, the Dallas Cowboys, to do the same. Strange times. The Eagles play hot San Francisco and Denver at home before going to Dallas for Week 17. The Eagles will have to continue to play strong to win the division. 75% of NYaT voters thought that the Eagles would make the playoffs and that % should go up this week?

4. Arizona Cardinals. 8-5 / San Francisco 49ers. 6-7
I know it's weird to put them together but San Fran's only way into the playoffs is through the last divisional spot. The Cards lost a chance to clinch the division and lost Larry Fitzgerald last night against the 49ers. But I don't think they have much of a chance of losing the division. Arizona needs a win against lowly Detroit this next week and for San Francisco to lose to the Eagles in Philly to clinch the division. Even if somehow they don't do it this week, the Cards play St. Louis in Week 16...but the 49ers also get the Rams and Lions after Philly. So if San Fran can get through Philly, they should be 9-7 which means that Arizona needs to find a way to win a few games here. 75% of people voting in the poll thought the Cards would make it but 0% thought the 49ers would. I wonder if that % goes up this week?

5. Green Bay Packers. 9-4.

If this team didn't lose to lowly Tampa Bay, they'd be competing for the division. The Packers can clinch a playoff spot with a win vs. Pittsburgh and either a Dallas loss or a Giants loss. Their situation may be even more complicated than that. From CBS Sports' "Tiebreaker Expert" Joe Ferreira (see if you can keep up with this): "The GB situation is interesting.  Since GB beat DAL H2H and there is no other team that DAL can use from another division in a three-team tiebreaker, DAL would need to win the East division title to keep GB out.  If DAL loses this week to NO, the potential three-team tie for the division title among PHIL, DAL and NYG could stretch out to strength of victory if PHI win is against DEN.  However, it appears there is no way in that scenario that DAL could finish ahead of NYG, meaning DAL would have no chance to win the division, which means they could not clinch a playoff spot ahead of GB." With games against Pittsburgh, Seattle and Arizona, Green Bay has a chance of having a very good season and should give fits to whoever gets the #4 seed. Only 62% of you thought they'd make the playoffs in our last poll, but that number should be much higher this week.

6. Dallas Cowboys. 8-5.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say I think the Giants are going to make the playoffs over Dallas. Why? Dallas schedule the rest of the way is brutal and they may not have DeMarcus Ware for a little while which would put even more strain on a bad secondary. Dallas has games left at New Orleans, at Washington and then against Philly. Ouch. Dallas is only 3-3 on the road this season as well. This could be a 9-7 team. 87% of voters thought the 'Boys would make the playoffs but I don't know if anyone is as confident anymore.

7. New York Giants. 7-6.

This team doesn't deserve to make the playoffs. Their defensive coordinator should be fired. Their star defensive player (Osi Umenyora) looks like a shell of his former self and is just getting manhandled on the field. Their wide receivers can hold on to the ball. Their special teams coverage stinks. And their two kickers should be cut. Yet this team has a clear shot at the playoffs. The Giants remaining games are at Washington (who they beat in Week 1), at home vs. Carolina (who they should beat at 5-8), and end on the road at Minnesota (who should have everything locked up by then and be resting starters). If they win 3 games, they're not guaranteed a playoff spot, but Dallas would have to win out and Philly would have to win their first two and then lose against Dallas. The Giants controlled their own destiny and now need help. Their schedule may be the greatest help. And this is a Giants team that won the Super Bowl two years ago as a #6 seed that looked like it had a lot of holes coming into the playoffs and everyone expected would get bounced early.

8. Atlanta Falcons. 6-7.

I don't see a scenario where they get in, but it is mathematically possible and with games against the Jets, Buffalo and Tampa, it's likely they'll get to 9-7. But I don't know if 9-7 gets you in, especially not ahead of the Giants or Cowboys who hold the tiebreaker against the Falcons. And I don't know if they get to 9-7 if Matt Ryan and Michael Turner are still injured. Sorry Atlanta. Their 12% confidence should go down a lot this week.

What do you think? Who will join the Saints and the Vikings in the playoffs.