Baseball

Are the Seattle Mariners a legitimate threat?

Now I realize that when thinking about who will be American League champions, your brain almost immediately makes your mouth say New York or Boston...unfortunately. But the boys in the rainy city have been slowly putting together a strong team, and could very well see themselves with a playoff birth and a chance to make some noise in the post-season.

I, along with roughly 75 percent of the Braves fan base, was quite taken aback when I fired up the old Blackberry this morning and realized that Atlanta was in serious discussions with the Yankees about Javier Vazquez.

Perplexed may be the best word for how I felt when the deal was finalized.

The Braves traded their best starter from 2008 for outfielder Melky Cabrera (a career .270 hitter), a left-handed rookie pitcher in Mike Dunn, and a prospect. Hardly seems like the Braves got the better of the deal.

Only two months removed from winning the 2009 World Series, the Yankees have had a very busy offseason.

They re-signed Andy Pettitte to a one-year, $11.75 million deal.

They made a three way deal to land Curtis Granderson, while sending Austin Jackson and Phil Coke to the Tigers and Ian Kennedy to the Diamondbacks.

They signed Nick Johnson to a one-year, $5.5 million deal.

And today, they re-acquired Javier Vazquez from the Braves in exchange for Melky Cabrera.

It seems hard to believe, but we are almost to the year 2010. And with any impending new decade, it seems only fair to look back on the best of the previous 10 years.

So with that, I present my Top 10 picks from each position between the years 2000-2009: Catchers

As with any ranking, there will always be snubs. I welcome any comments suggesting players that may have been left off this list.

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Nick Johnson is once again a Yankee, if the reports are right .

As a Yankee fan, I should be happy. In 2001 he pulled off a brilliant catch from first base that sticks in my mind. He's not a horrible hitter (lifetime .273 hitter).

He's seen as being the 'next Johnny Damon' in that he'll provide a bat to cover Alex Rodriguez and play DH for 100-odd games.

But taking over from Hideki Matsui, one wonders if the New York Yankees did the right thing.

Bill Ladson of Nationals.com reported Tuesday afternoon that the Washington Nationals are still interested in signing second baseman Orlando Hudson.

The team tried to sign Hudson, 31, last year but a concern over his physical made the Nationals shy away from the two-time All Star. He eventually signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers and had a solid season.

The Mariners busy offseason continued today when they traded up-and-down pitcher Brandon Morrow to the Blue Jays today for relief pitcher Brandon League and prospect Johermyn Chavez.

This seems like a good move, both pitchers have similar production and the move gives the M's a good bullpen arm and one of Toronto's better position prospects in the process.

The next move for pitching will likely be to acquire a No. 3 pitcher after netting Cliff Lee for the No. 2 spot.

For a franchise that has managed one post season in their 12 year history, the Tampa Bay Rays (formerly known as the Devil Rays) do not possess an all time roster filled with hall of famers.

However, during the last decade, the Rays definitely have fielded some talented players that deserve recognition for being among the best the franchise has had to offer.

While many players deserved consideration for this list.

The off-season, so far, has been an extension of the Mets' 2009 campaign; an absolute disaster.  First, the Yankees made a trade to acquire All-Star centerfielder Curtis Granderson from the Detroit Tigers, which stole the back pages away from their cross-town rivals. 

Then the only two stud pitchers on the free-agent market, John Lackey and Roy Halladay, got scooped up by the Red Sox and Phillies respectively.  This has left Met fans throughout the nation in a state of panic. 

With the end of year (and decade) approaching, we here at The Dugout Sports Show would like to present our “Cleveland Indians All-Decade Team”. After hours of studying stats, and much careful consideration, we put together the best seasons at each individual position. Enjoy!

The Cleveland Indians were 816-804 during the decade, including 9-8 in the postseason, winning one postseason series, which came in 2007 against the New York Yankees.