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...

MLB's Best of the Decade: Pitchers

A little while back, we looked at the best hitters of the decade. Now, let's look at the top pitchers in every category, courtesy of Baseball-Reference's Play Index (all averages min 700 innings) :

• Decisions - Livan Hernandez (252), Javier Vazquez (243), Barry Zito (239), Andy Pettitte (236), Greg Maddux (235)

• W - Pettitte (148), Randy Johnson (143), Jamie Moyer (140), Roy Hallady (138), Tim Hudson/Roy Oswalt (137)

• L - Livan (124), Vazquez (115), Jeff Suppan (109), Jeff Weaver (106), Zito (106)

• SV - Mariano Rivera (397), Trevor Hoffman (362), Jason Isringhausen (284), Billy Wagner (284), Francisco Cordero (250)

• W-L% - Pedro Martinez (.691), Roger Clemens (.682), Johan Santana (.670), Halladay (.667), Oswalt (.662)

• Games - David Weathers (712), LaTroy Hawkins (652), Rivera (649), Alan Embree (642), Kyle Farnsworth (626)

• Starts - Livan (331), Vazquez (326), Suppan (319), Zito (319), Moyer (315)

• CG - Halladay (46), Livan (36), Big Unit (32), CC Sabathia (28), Curt Schilling (26)

• SHO - Halladay (13), Big Unit (12), Hudson (11), Sabathia (11), Chris Carpenter/Mark Mulder (10)

• Games Finished - Rivera (587), Wagner (465), Hoffman (464), Izzy (447), Cordero (425)

• IP - Livan (2195), Vazquez (2157), Buehrle (2055), Zito (1993.2), Moyer (1980.1)

• ERA - Rivera (2.09), Pedro (3.00), Johan (3.12), Oswalt (3.23), John Smoltz (3.24)

• ERA+ - Rivera (214), Pedro (152), Johan (143), Brandon Webb (142), Big Unit (137)

• SO - Big Unit (2180), Vazquez (1992), Johan (1733), Pedro (1618), Sabathia (1587)

• BB/9 - Brad Radke (1.36), David Wells (1.40), Maddux (1.43), Schilling (1.47), Jon Lieber (1.50), Josh Towers (1.51)

• HR/9 - Rivera (0.48), Webb (0.63), Julian Tavarez (0.66), Halladay (0.73), Hudson (0.73), Derek Lowe/Carlos Zambrano (0.73)

• SO/9 - Big Unit (10.42), Kerry Wood (10.05), Pedro (9.95), Rich Harden (9.35), Scott Kazmir (9.33)

• H/9 - Rivera (6.92), Wood (7.14), Pedro (7.16), Harden (7.20), Chris Young (7.43)

• WHIP - Rivera (0.962), Pedro (1.034), Johan (1.113), Big Unit (1.114), Schilling (1.129)

• K/BB - Schilling (6.01), Rivera (4.88), Pedro (4.64), Big Unit (4.50), Smoltz (4.26), Mike Mussina (4.09)

• SB% - Krik Reuter (0.27), Carpenter (0.37), Mike Maroth (0.38), Bartolo Colon (0.39), Buehrle (0.41)

• Pickoffs - Buehrle (66), Pettitte (45), Doug Davis (43), Mark Mulder (36), Brian Anderson (34)

• GIDP - Buehrle (240), Livan (218), Jon Garland (215), Lowe (214), Suppan (208)

• BAA - Rivera (.210), Pedro (.216), Wood (.219), Harden (.220), Chris Young (.222), Johan (.225)

• OBP against - Rivera (.256), Pedro (.273), Johan (.281), Schilling (.284), Big Unit (.288)

• SLG against - Rivera (.285), Harden (.342), Pedro (.344), Zambrano (.351), Webb (.352)

• OPS against - Rivera (.541), Pedro (.617), Harden (.647), Santana (.649), Clemens (.659)

• OPS+ against - Rivera (56), Pedro (65), Webb (73), Clemens (73), Schilling (76)

• Avg. Game Score - Pedro (61), Santana (60), Big Unit (59), Schilling (58), Clemens (57)

• Quality Starts - Vazquez (192), Zito (192), Buehrle (189), Big Unit (187), Oswalt (185)

• Quality Start % - Oswalt (.683), Webb (.672), Johan (.667), Big Unit (.665), Pedro (.659)

• Pitches/start - Zambrano (106.0), Livan (105.7), Justin Verlander (105.7), Al Leiter (105.6), Jason Schmidt (105.1)

• Strike % - Schilling (.694), Wells (.686), Rivera (.685), Paul Byrd (.684), Brad Radke (.684)

• Franchises Played For - Rick White (11), Bruce Chen (10), Dennys Reyes (9), Julian Tavarez (9), Ron Villone (9)

• 20-win seasons - Schilling (3), Oswalt (2), Halladay (2), Colon (2), Moyer (2), Big Unit (2)

• 200-K seasons - Johan (5), Vazquez (5), Pedro (5), Big Unit (5), Jake Peavy/Halladay/Wood/Schilling (3)

• Sub-3.00 ERA (qualified for ERA title) - Johan (4), Peavy (4), Pedro (4), Big Unit (4), Halladay (3)

• Cy Young Awards - Big Unit (3), Clemens (2), Johan (2), many tied at 1
  

So who is the best pitcher of the decade? I lowered the innings limit to 700 to get a lot more people involved, but also to show how great Mariano Rivera is compared to his peers. His averages should be higher only pitching one inning, but he was great this past decade. He's my vote but there are some other great candidates.

What about The Big Unit? He won the most Cy Young's this decade and had the second most wins and most Ks this decade. He also had a second place finish in 2004.

Or is it Roger Clemens who ended the decade on a bad note but pitched unbelievably earlier on and pitched in 4 World Series this decade?

Or is it Johan Santana or Pedro Martinez who you saw near the top of almost all the major categories? Pedro finished second in the Cy voting in 2002, third in 2003 and 4th in 2004 and came 5th in the AL MVP voting in 2000. Johan finished 3rd in 2005 and 2008 and had a 5th and 7th places finish.

Or maybe Javier Vazquez (consistency with double digit wins every season) or Andy Pettitte (overall wins) or Curt Schilling (early decade dominance with Red Sox and D-backs) or Roy Halladay (late decade dominance with a Cy and a 3rd, 5th and 2nd place finish) or the forgotten about Roy Oswalt (5 top-5 Cy finishes) or Mark Buerhle (quietly put up a very nice decade)?

I'll put up the choices and you can vote in the poll to the right. When you vote, let us know who you voted for and why in the comments. I'll reveal the answers once the poll is closed

NYaT Readers Pick The Best Hitter of the Decade

I wanted to close out the poll on the right by looking at the results. Thank you to all who voted (and there were quite a few of you this time).

Who Has Been the Best Hitter of the Decade?

		Albert Pujols	55%
		Ichiro Suzuki	20%
		Alex Rodriguez	13%
		Manny Ramirez	0%
		Other	10%

Albert Pujols wins it in a landslide. I have to agree there. He didn't even play in 2000 but has been raking it at an incomparable level ever since.

It was an oversight at first not to put Derek Jeter on here but I wanted to see how many of you voted "other". Not sure if Jeter is the "other" you were trying to vote for, but, regardless, other came in 4th.

Manny Ramirez got zero love from the fans. I wonder what would have happened to him in this poll had the steroid revelations not come out about him this year.

I also wonder what would have happened to A-Rod had he not got caught up in the Spring Training steroids mess. 13% seems awfully low for him considering how good he was this season.

A lot of you value the base hit and Ichiro got a lot of those and 20% of your vote.

But congrats to Albert Pujols who won the NYaT hitter of the decade. We'll take a look at the pitchers of the decade a little later.

MLB's Best of the Decade: Hitters

As the last few weeks of regular season come to a close, it's time to look back at who were the best players of the decade. There's still a little time to gain in these categories with a few weeks to play. Here they are courtesy of Baseball-Reference's Play Index:

• Games - Miguel Tejada (1,568), Bobby Abreu (1,563), Orlando Cabrera (1,519), A-Rod (1,514), Carlos Lee (1,501), Derek Jeter (1,490)
  

• PA - Abreu (6,887), Derek Jeter (6,881), Tejada (6,773), Johnny Damon (6,732), A-Rod (6,731)

• Runs - A-Rod (1,182), Damon (1,113), Jeter (1085), Albert Pujols (1066), Abreu (1054)

• Hits - Ichiro Suzuki (2,015), Jeter (1,925), Miguel Tejada (1,836), Vlad Guerrero (1,741), Damon (1,740)

• 2B - Todd Helton (428), Abreu (406), Pujols (382), O. Cabrera (367), Mike Lowell (366)

• 3B - Jimmy Rollins (94), Carl Crawford (92), Christian Guzman (82), Juan Pierre (77)

• HR - A-Rod (430), Jim Thome (368), Pujols (366), Manny Ramirez (348), Carlos Delgado (324)
  

• RBI - A-Rod (1,228), Pujols (1,105), Manny (1,102), Delgado (1,045), Tejada (1,036)

• BB - Barry Bonds (1,128), Abreu (1,034), Helton (993), Thome (973), Lance Berkman (960)

• SO - Thome (1,429), Adam Dunn (1,421), Mike Cameron (1,411), Pat Burrell (1,385), A-Rod (1,235)

• SB - Pierre (456), Crawford (361), Ichiro (340), Rollins (324), Reyes (301)

• CS - Pierre (155), Luis Castillo (108), Chone Figgins (95) , Abreu (90), Scott Podsednik (84)

• HBP - Jason Kendall (155), Jason Giambi (138), David Eckstein (134), Craig Biggio (132), Delgado/A-Rod (126)

• BA (min. 1000 games played for all average categories) - Pujols (.334), Ichiro (.333), Helton (.330), Vlad (.324), Manny (.318), Jeter (.316)

• OBP - Helton (.436), Pujols (.427), Manny (.419), Giambi (.418), Chipper Jones (.414)

• SLG - Pujols (.630), Manny (.602), A-Rod (.585), Vlad (.570), Helton (.569)

• OPS - Pujols (1.057), Manny (1.021), Helton (1.005), A-Rod (.986), Berkman (.972)

• OPS+ - Pujols (172), Manny (160), A-Rod (154), Giambi (152), Berkman (148)

• ISO - Pujols (.296), Thome (.292), Manny (.284), A-Rod (.282), Dunn (.272)

• Runs Created - A-Rod (1,380), Helton (1,356), Pujols (1,356), Manny (1,246), Berkman (1,232)

• GIDP - Tejada (223), Paul Konerko (193), Vlad (191), Pujols (178), Magglio Ordonez (172)

• Franchises Played For - Rick White (11), Paul Bako (10), Bruce Chen (10), many tied at 9

• 25-homer seasons - A-Rod (10), Pujols (9), Vlad (9), many tied at 8

• 100-RBI seasons - Pujols (9), A-Rod (9), Manny (8), Carlos Beltran (7), Abreu (7), Vlad (7), Delgado (7)

• 200-hit seasons - Ichiro (9), Michael Young (5), Pierre (4), Jeter (4), Tejada (3), Vlad (3)

A few observations:

1. The big race is for the decade's batting title. Pujols is at 0.33379 and Ichiro is at 0.33295. I think Albert has it, but I won't count out Ichiro until it's all over
   
2. Barry Bonds hasn't played in a few years but still has walked more than anyone
3. Albert Pujols was a rookie in 2001, so he missed out on a year there (plus any development he underwent as the years went on). He still will probably end up being second in home runs and at or near the top of most of these lists. Amazing.
4. Ichiro was also a rookie in 2001. So that hit total is missing a year of the decade. He and Pujols have to be the two greatest hitting rookies to come out the same year, right?
   
5. Miguel Tejada and Bobby Abreu were both very durable and very good. I don't think this equates to the Hall of Fame, however. It is not a place for compilers. But each one should get a nice contract this off-season, one would think.
6. A-Rod has been so consistent, but so has Manny. If he didn't have an off year in 2007 for Boston, or get suspended this season, or sit out all of those games pouting, Manny might have run away with this. It makes you actually appreciate A-Rod a little more because despite all his troubles, he always put on the uniform and played, minus the hip injury this season. And even if you look at Manny's season vs. A-Rod's season with the time they both missed, I think you maybe go with A-Rod as having a better season overall.
   
7. I was surprised to see Lance Berkman make it up there on some of those lists. I think it just shows he's more underrated than he should be. And he was a rookie in 2000 and missed a big chunk of this year and 2005. His numbers could be better

Ok...who is your hitter of the decade? Is it A-Rod, Pujols, Manny, Ichiro or someone else? I've put the poll over to the right so make sure to vote!