Top Ten MLB Games of the Decade. Because I know you all care, my thoughts.
10. Maybe not top ten, but I loved this game. Obviously.
9. I remember watching this game and being like "holy shit this is kind of hilarious. And WOW they are cursed!" IIRC, the Red Sox were favored in the ALCS that year, too, so everyone was like "Red Sox/Cubs WS!!!!" and then it ended up being the Yankees for the sixth time in eight years and the goddamn Marlins, who had the lowest attendance in the entire big leagues. And the Marlins won. UGH. But this game was still... wow. Watching the Cubs implode against the Dodgers, who seem to annually implode against the Phillies these days, was kinda crazy too.
8. I didn't see this game because I was abroad, but from what I've read about it, it basically seems absolutely insane and should probably be higher than...
7. Again, from what I've heard, probably not as good as #8... but this was an amazing, amazing game. And you know that Tiger batter was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and therefore the Twins would have only tied it in the next inning (maybe. You can't predict baseball! /michaelkay), making it EVEN MORE EPIC. There was definitely a point where I thought the two teams would be still be playing this game when they were supposed to be playing the Yankees the next day...
6. Insane. I mean, the Mets were at Shea, and they were frankly better than that Cardinals team, and Perez really pitched the game of his life, and Endy made that UNBELIEVABLE catch and pulled that crazy double play, and you just KNEW they were going to win because teams just don't make miracle plays like that and not win and then... hello, heartbreaker. And oh my God that curveball was so filthy. I'm not a Mets fan, but Beltran just standing there as strike three was called and then Wainwright and Molina celebrated is just as vivid in my head as Luis Gonzalez frigging spazzing out like a spider monkey. The scariest thing? It's all been downhill from there for the Mets after that curveball.
5. The 2002 World Series is hideously underrated because it was a West Coast WS. It featured, among other things, this really awesome game and Barry Bonds destroying the entire world. I think the 5-0 deficit the Angels came back from was the biggest deficit ever from a team on the verge of elimination. I swear, that fucking Rally Monkey...
4. This was an awesome game too, but awful, if you know what I mean and considering my allegiances, that shouldn't surprise you.
3. These might be the two most important games played at Yankee Stadium, ever. I'm obviously not happy about how the Series ended, but it's not like 2004 where I kinda wish the Yankees had never reached the postseason to begin with. It's also kinda funny how the "Mr. November" thing hammered home Jeter's clutch reputation when he batted like .100 in that series (it's okay, everyone did, that's what happens when you face prime Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling like 17 times).
2. YES. I won't ever forget this game. Here is a fun story... I had actually tuned out (!!!! and my mom, who might be a bigger die-hard than I am, had GONE TO BED!!!!!) soon after Wells came in and gave up that home run to Ortiz, just because Pedro was so, so damn good at the beginning and it seemed nigh-impossible the Yankees were going to come back. So I TURNED OFF THE GAME AND WENT TO DO SOME HOMEWORK. YES, SERIOUSLY. IT WAS GAME 7 OF THE ALCS VERSUS THE RED SOX, AND I TURNED IT OFF TO DO HOMEWORK. Then, though, I heard the entire street shaking and turned the game on just in time to see Matsui and Bernie standing on second and third, with Posada at the plate... and you know what happened after that.
1. I HATE THIS FUCKING GAME AND IT WILL HAUNT ME FOREVER but it was an amazing game and an easy choice for #1. Also, guys, way to fact-check, it was a one-run single; the game was already tied (everyone remembers the Gonzalez bloop single; no one remembers the Womack double.). It was definitely an "important" loss in Yankee history, to say the least. Like... this will make no sense, but in retrospect, it's good that I/everyone could get that upset about baseball. It's not a "good" loss like the 1995 ALDS, which more or less led to the Yankee dynasty (I've heard many a story about people who had Red Sox fans who were crowing "Edgar Martinez for President!!!" after that Game 5, but then after 1999 or so, they were like "I really wish that asshole had just grounded into a double play!!!"), and which I totally got over considering that the Yankees annihilated that 116-win Mariners team. The 1997 ALDS was also a "good" loss, because it made those guys hate to lose. Again, this game wasn't a "good" loss, but we definitely saw one of the best World Series of all time, maybe the best and, considering all the other shit going on in the world at the time... honestly, it meant something just to have that.
MLB's All-Decade Team
1B. Yup. Pujols is insane. I don't think he's human. AND HE'S ONLY 29! THIS IS INSANITY.
2B. Yup again. Utley is so much better than every other 2B out there right now, I gotta say. Giving you 1B offensive production while playing elite defense? Yes please. I don't remember if there were guys that good earlier in the decade. Also, WORLD FUCKIN' CHAMPIONS!* And remember when he said "fuck you" at Yankee Stadium because he was all surprised to get booed? He's kind of amazing.
SS. Can't really complain. Wait... "He twice won the Hank Aaron award as the league's best offensive player when there seemed to be clearly better hitters out there." Um, he hits like he does and he's a shortstop. That should mean something to you. I don't disagree that the Hank Aaron award should go to the best hitter by stats alone in the game/league/whatever, but saying that there are "better hitters" is not a reason for him not to get that award when he's one of the best hitters and again, he's a shortstop. Of course, one of the years he won that award was this year when the best hitter in his league was a catcher, so yeah. That award is silly and voted on by the fans.
3B. Or maybe I can complain. Alex Rodriguez is/was a much better shortstop than Derek Jeter. He's obviously a fucking monster offensively and always was, but defensively he was siiiiick too. It's not like I ever saw him play, but Honus Wagner was crazy good; however, there's a pretty strong case to be made for A-Rod as the best shortstop ever. Plus, Honus Wagner has a silly name and, if Wikipedia is to be believed, was doofus-y-looking. That said, if A-Rod's not the 3B, I don't know who would be. Wright?
LF. An OBP of .609 IS INSANE. INSANE! Yes, Bonds gets the nod here. "Bonds stuck around for the 2006 and 2007 seasons, and while he wasn't the same, he did lead the league in on-base percentage both seasons." Um, having the guy who makes the fewest outs in the league is never a bad thing aaagh. Oh and his OPS+ was ONLY 156 and 169 in those seasons; his SLG in 2007, while definitely down from his peak years, was the same as Mark Teixeira's 2009. I will have that be a "down year" any day. Also, let it be known, yes the smallest possible sample size, but oh my goodness this amuses me/makes me so very happy. It was in 2002, too!!! I wish I remembered the exact way it happened so I could appreciate it. (ETA: Eh maybe not, Mariano did take the loss by allowing a run that inning. Oh, Mariano in tie games...)
CF. I really like what I've seen of Beltran, so I can't argue. He's a dangerous hitter. Didn't he score like 21 runs in six games in the 2004 postseason or something like that? Straight-out nasty. I feel like there's a center fielder that might have been better, but I can't think of who would have been right now.
RF. Vladdy is also INSANE. I can't believe how slow he's gotten, though. I mean, I am terrified of him, but he's also kind of hilarious to watch. Also, Mariano almost walked him in the last game of the ALCS (Mo's "no no no, that's ball three!" thing was kind of hysterical. Mariano is love.), which would have been even more hilarious.
C.Give him as little as one more year and I'm pretty sure Mauer can fully belong here. But read what you just wrote, Sports Illustrated... "The Yankees' Jorge Posada had the more complete body of work, but how can you deny Mauer?" You can deny Mauer because Jorge Posada had the more complete body of work over ten years. That's how you can deny Mauer. I know you already had two Yankees on that list and that's probably why you honestly left off Posada, but he deserves to be here. And wasn't Ivan Rodriguez pretty darn good offensively for a while this decade?
DH. Yes, probably. Also, "Steroid accusations at the end of the decade dimmed somewhat one of the great stories and characters of the 2000s." I love the accusations thing. Uh, he did steroids. So did A-Rod. So did many, many, many, many others, both superstars and guys who never got out of the minors or were bench players on last-place teams. It doesn't make it right, but it happened and our reaction shouldn't be "oh no poor Big Papi!" Like, a guy who was DFAd by the Twins suddenly turned into a superstar on the Red Sox. Not surprising, guys (but omg they were just teaching him to pull the ball the opposite way!!! or whatever they said).
Pitching. Pedro had a DISGUSTING 2000. It was UNREAL. I love Johan and Halladay, and Randy Johnson, who, as they note, hasn't been as dominant since 2004, was just as DISGUSTING as 2000 Pedro before then. I gotta love their writeup about Schilling: "He started Game 7 of the 2001 World Series -- the greatest game of the decade..." Yes, and he would have (probably) taken the loss if Mariano doesn't make a crappy throw on that bunt. Would that have made him a crappy pitcher? No, it wouldn't have, SI. And oh, boy, he was a Sportsman of the Year! (Oh, God, Curt Schilling was a Sportsman of the Year before any Yankee ever.) I do agree he was a very-good-to-excellent pitcher, even if I totally hate the guy. It's also silly not to consider Mike Mussina or Roger Clemens (hey they mentioned Andy!!!), and I'm just speaking from my Yankees-centric world. Though I know we are NEVER SUPPOSED TO SPEAK OF ROGER CLEMENS again in the same way we are NEVER SUPPOSED TO SPEAK OF MARK MCGWIRE again - oh wait, he's the Cards' hitting coach now? Oops
Setup man. Sure. I don't really pay attention to non-Yankee setup men, NGL.
Closer. Yes. It's an obvious a choice as Game 7 '01 or Pujols. And yes, 2007 was an off-year, especially at the beginning. And anyone saying Trevor Hoffman is as good as Mariano Rivera, please. The guy is excellent and will and should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he doesn't have that proven postseason excellence or really, any serious pressure situation. Yes, I realize that is silly for me to say about a CLOSER who has been very successful throughout his career, but... yeah. The tiebreaker game in 2007, his postseason appearances (thanks for Game 3 of the 1998 WS, Trevor), that one All-Star Game he was trying to save in I think 2006, and in the 2007 season he blew a save on the last day of the season and the Padres went on to lose the game when they could have clinched the Wild Card then, and not had to deal with the tiebreaker game... you know what I mean. And oh my God I do not want to hear how Mariano IS ACTUALLY NOT THAT GOOD!!!! because of Game 7 '01 or Game 4 and 5 '04. In the 2001 World Series, he pitched two innings to save a 2-1 Game 3 for the Yankees, and he pitched two scoreless innings in both of the extra-inning games the Yankees won. He took the win in one of them. In 2004, the first blown save, fine. Never walk the leadoff man because they always score /timmccarver'd. The second, he came in with a guy on third and NO OUTS. Sure, he should/could have struck the next three guys out, but he pitched two innings of scoreless relief and allowed, IIRC, NO BASERUNNERS. The guy had also found out multiple relatives of his had just died and had rushed back to NY to be able to pitch in the ALCS that year; the Yankees weren't even sure they'd have him for that series. It doesn't excuse it, I'm just saying. He has five blown postseason saves - three in one year, and two of those were on the "enter with a guy on third and less than two outs, allow no hits" type - and five World Series rings. Well that was... a rant. But basically, Mariano Rivera is the greatest ever and I don't want to hear you morons talking about how he SECRETLY SUCKS!!!! If you think it's easy to be a closer in the postseason, please see this year. At least I don't have to hear Boston fans talking about how much better Papelbon is than Mariano.
Manager. Not Scioscia?!?!?!?!?!? Not FRANCONA WHO LED THE RED SOX TO THE WORLD SERIES HOORAY FRANCONA?!?!?!?!? I agree that Torre taking his team to the postseason every year is incredibly impressive, though to say he "lost some of his postseason magic" is... an understatement?
GM. Sure. I can't stand Theo or the way he seems to personally control ESPN, but he's a good GM. The Schilling deal was really his only moment of ZOMG BRILLIANCE! though, but hey, most GMs don't even get one, so yeah. Remember how signing Smoltz and Penny was the most brilliant move ever and they were gonna win more games than CC and AJ?
* I really wanted one of the Yankees to do that this year. Preferrably, like, Andy Pettitte. Or Mariano. Always, Mariano.
