Best team you have seen in each sport

[KaiserUEO]

LOL
2017 Yankees don't beat the 2004 Yankees in a 7 game series.
04 Yankees won 101 games.

The 04 Yankees pitching staff had to be the worst to ever win 90 games, let alone 100.

That team needed 3, 3-run Home Runs a night to win.

And a 3rd of the lineup was Clark/Olerud, Cairo and an out of fumes Sierra.

And then aRod dissolved into Winfield in October.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I forgot how bad that 04 Yankee rotation was. Kevin Brown. Contreras. Vasquez. A bunch of guys who couldn't handle NY. 90 year old El Duque ended up being our best pitcher.

 

[donniesyracuse]

I forgot how bad that 04 Yankee rotation was. Kevin Brown. Contreras. Vasquez. A bunch of guys who couldn't handle NY. 90 year old El Duque ended up being our best pitcher.

Mussina had a tough 2004

 

[Alsacs]

I forgot how bad that 04 Yankee rotation was. Kevin Brown. Contreras. Vasquez. A bunch of guys who couldn't handle NY. 90 year old El Duque ended up being our best pitcher.

Yankee rotation wasn't as bad as you guys are making it out to be.
Game 1 starter Mike Mussina
Game 2 starter was Jon Lieber
Game 3 starter was Javier Vazquez
Game 4 starter was El Duque

Vazquez was a 2004 All Star.

Mussina was always a rock and solid 2 number pitcher.

Lieber was really good he started off on the DL.

El Duque was a stud.

Plus the bullpen was solid Quatrill, Gordon, Rivera.

Joe Torre blew those first two guys out using them too much during the regular season.

Rivera was Rivera.

The 04 Yankees pitching staff had to be the worst to ever win 90 games, let alone 100.

That team needed 3, 3-run Home Runs a night to win.

And a 3rd of the lineup was Clark/Olerud, Cairo and an out of fumes Sierra.

And then aRod dissolved into Winfield in October.

 

[Knicks411]

Yankee rotation wasn't as bad as you guys are making it out to be.
Game 1 starter Mike Mussina
Game 2 starter was Jon Lieber
Game 3 starter was Javier Vazquez
Game 4 starter was El Duque

Vazquez was a 2004 All Star.

Mussina was always a rock and solid 2 number pitcher.

Lieber was really good he started off on the DL.

El Duque was a stud.

Plus the bullpen was solid Quatrill, Gordon, Rivera.

Joe Torre blew those first two guys out using them too much during the regular season.

Rivera was Rivera.

I'm surprised Javy was an AS that year, he finished with a 92 ERA+. Guess he had a good first half? Their rotation, at least based on 2004 performance, I would call pretty mediocre. Duque was good in his half season though

 

[donniesyracuse]

I'm surprised Javy was an AS that year, he finished with a 92 ERA+. Guess he had a good first half? Their rotation, at least based on 2004 performance, I would call pretty mediocre. Duque was good in his half season though

I am pretty sure that Brown started game 3. Vasquez came in in relief.

 

[Alsacs]

I am pretty sure that Brown started game 3. Vasquez came in in relief.

Yeah your right and then Javy started game 7.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I am pretty sure that Brown started game 3. Vasquez came in in relief.

Correct. Brown started 2 games that series and gave up 9 runs in 3 and a third. Vazquez pitched 6 innings out of the pen that series and gave up 7 runs. Two of Cashman's worst moves as GM IMO. If Wells, Clemens, and Pettite never leave it's a different series. Wells flunking out of the previous years World Series was the end of him with Torre.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Yeah your right and then Javy started game 7.

Brown started game 7 as well. Gave up 5 earned in 1 and a third.

 

[Alsacs]

Wrong Javy Vazquez started game three he got lit up and then Brown came out of the bullpen and got the win.
Brown started game seven because of how well he did out of the pen in game three.

 

[Knicks411]

I still remember watching both those ALCS in 03 and 04 back in college; probably the most I was invested in a playoff series the Mets weren't involved in.

 

[Alsacs]

Correct. Brown started 2 games that series and gave up 9 runs in 3 and a third. Vazquez pitched 6 innings out of the pen that series and gave up 7 runs. Two of Cashman's worst moves as GM IMO. If Wells, Clemens, and Pettite never leave it's a different series. Wells flunking out of the previous years World Series was the end of him with Torre.

The trade for Brown was just classic games overreaction to the Sox trading for Schilling.

Then the trade for Vazquez was strictly because both the Sox and Yankees wanted him.

The Yankees also had that Cuban pitcher they traded for Estaban Loaiza that season.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Wrong Javy Vazquez started game three he got lit up and then Brown came out of the bullpen and got the win.
Brown started game seven because of how well he did out of the pen in game three.

Baseball reference must have it wrong then. Either way they were both an abomination. The reason they even won the division is because they were able to get El Duque and Lieber mid season.

 

[Knicks411]

Baseball reference must have it wrong then. Either way they were both an abomination. The reason they even won the division is because they were able to get El Duque and Lieber mid season.

I would say there is approximately 0% chance bbref is wrong.

 

[jncuse]

Vazquez was a very good pitcher in 2001 (3rd in NL WAR) and 2003 (6th in NL WAR). As one of the last hardcore Expos fans at that point I am confident in saying that. In 2001, the Expos were Vladimir, Vidro Vaz, Cabs (Orlando Cabrera), and the 21 assorted pieces of crap.

He also had a decent start to the year for the Yanks in 2004, but then realized where he was and became useless.

 

[Alsacs]

Baseball reference must have it wrong then. Either way they were both an abomination. The reason they even won the division is because they were able to get El Duque and Lieber mid season.

Yeah your right Brown got the start which makes Torre's s decision to start him in game 7 over Vazquez a firable offense.

 

[Melancer46]

I think they are better than last year's Cubs.

Damon- Cabrera-Manny-Ortiz-Millar-Nixon-Mueller-Vartiek-Bellhorn.
Better lineup.
Derek Lowe had a bad 2004 regular season but he was a good pitcher.
Bullpen was solid the whole year that season.
I can hear argument for the Yankees 1998 team
But I think those Yankees-Red Sox mid 2000s were
Cold War Super power good.

The Sox lineup that year was better, but the Cubs pitching was better. And the Cubs had a pretty massive advantage both in terms of run differential, Pythagorean wins, and obviously their actual record was better as well. No doubt that Sox team was really good though.

 

[jncuse]

Veering off a bit, but I remember those great Yankee teams of the late 1990's dumping off Hideki Irabu on my horrid Expos.

He went 2-9 with an ERA over 7.00.. in return the Yanks got 2 solid pitchers who would each win 100 games (Jake Westbrook and Ted Lilly).

 

[Cusefan0307]

Veering off a bit, but I remember those great Yankee teams of the late 1990's dumping off Hideki Irabu on my horrid Expos.

He went 2-9 with an ERA over 7.00.. in return the Yanks got 2 solid pitchers who would each win 100 games (Jake Westbrook and Ted Lilly).

Too bad they themselves were traded. Lilly for suck Jeff Weaver. Westbrook at least netted them David Justice who helped win them a World Series and 2 pennants. So basically they turned Irabu into David Justice.

 

[KaiserUEO]

Yeah your right Brown got the start which makes Torre's s decision to start him in game 7 over Vazquez a firable offense.

Vazquez was a basket case, he couldn't handle NYC.

that's why he didn't start a game.

his AS appearance was a freebie by Torre, trying to boost his confidence, he didn't belong there either.

really had no choice in game 7 but to go to brown, and he choked.

then javy came in and on his 1st pitch...grandslamorino.

I left shortly thereafter.

the 04 team was a shell of the old Yankee machine.

Pettitte and Clemens in Houston, Coney was done.

traded for loaiza and I think he couldn't make the postseason roster.

Giambi missed half the year, just an awful, awful team.

 

[br801]

It's just an opinion. There is no right or wrong answer.

A lot of times greatness is dependent on who you beat to win a championship. Beating the 1998 San Diego Padres doesn't exactly help the cause. That was one of the weakest teams to ever make a WS.

That San Diego team won 98 games behind a nice rotation and had Hoffman closing, as well as a lineup with guys like Vaughn, Caminiti, Joyner and Gwynn -- that was far from one of the weakest teams to ever make a World Series.

 

[bpo57]

That San Diego team won 98 games behind a nice rotation and had Hoffman closing, as well as a lineup with guys like Vaughn, Caminiti, Joyner and Gwynn -- that was far from one of the weakest teams to ever make a World Series.

They only had two guys hit more than 16 HRs and only one guy with more than 82 RBIs. In the steroid era. No speed either with just one guy with 24 SBs, everybody else was 12 or less.

Their top three rotation was Kevin Brown, Andy Ashby and Joey Hamilton.

Sorry just not that impressive. And that's not to take anything away from the 1998 NYY. They were a great team.

 

[br801]

They only had two guys hit more than 16 HRs and only one guy with more than 82 RBIs. In the steroid era. No speed either with just one guy with 24 SBs, everybody else was 12 or less.

Their top three rotation was Kevin Brown, Andy Ashby and Joey Hamilton.

Sorry just not that impressive. And that's not to take anything away from the 1998 NYY. They were a great team.

I'll stand by my post.

 

[Knicks411]

They only had two guys hit more than 16 HRs and only one guy with more than 82 RBIs. In the steroid era. No speed either with just one guy with 24 SBs, everybody else was 12 or less.

Their top three rotation was Kevin Brown, Andy Ashby and Joey Hamilton.

Sorry just not that impressive. And that's not to take anything away from the 1998 NYY. They were a great team.

They did play in a crazy good pitchers park.


I would also say there's a difference between a great team and a team that had a great year.

 

[bpo57]

I'll stand by my post.

Not only were their offensive stats mundane and their pitching rotation rather ordinary for a WS participant but both the 1997 and 1999 Padre editions both finished well below .500. Not exactly a talent laden squad. I stand by my point that they were a pretty weak WS entrant.