Best Franchise:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n Bry makes a logical argument for the Yankees below, but for me this comes down to what the fans of these teams will think about when they look back on this decade.\u00a0 For Yankee fans, it was really a decade of frustration, bookended by\u00a0titles.\u00a0 For Sox fans,\u00a0this was the\u00a0decade they broke the curse, became a powerhouse, and followed up the amazing ’04 run with another title in ’07.\u00a0 I don’t put as much weight on division titles as Bry does, because I think getting in\u00a0as a\u00a0Wild Card is really just as good.\u00a0<\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n Doogan and I both had the exact same top 5, just in slightly different orders.\u00a0 Most notably was our choice of #1.\u00a0 For me, The Yankees were the easy choice.\u00a0 They won more games (965), won more division titles (8), and made more playoff appearances (9) than any other team in baseball, all while playing in the game’s toughest division.\u00a0 And, they bookended the decade with championships, so no one won more titles.\u00a0 I struggled with #2, but went with the Cardinals because they won 6 times as many division titles as the Red Sox.\u00a0 Granted, the Sox play in the same division as the Yanks, but I bet it would surprise even ardent Red Sox supporters to know that their team may have won 2 World Series in the decade, but they only won one division title.\u00a0 The Cardinals had 913 wins, 6 division titles, and a championship.\u00a0 The Sox won 920 games, 1 division title, and 2 championships.\u00a0 It’s close, but I went with St. Louis.\u00a0 The Angels came it at #4, winning 5 division titles (plus a wild card), and joined only the Yankees, Red Sox, and Cardinals in averaging at least 90 wins per season for the entire decade.\u00a0 They also took a title.\u00a0 The Phightins were #5 on my list, with 850 wins, three division titles, and a championship.\u00a0 And, only the Yankees won more pennants than the Phillies during this decade.\u00a0 I wanted to include Atlanta and their 6 division titles and 892 wins, but they never even made the World Series this decade, so it was hard.\u00a0 The White Sox were right on the brink, with 881 wins and a World Series, but they only made the playoffs three times.<\/p>\n Best Individual Team:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n 86 years and about 86,000 media stories about a “curse” were erased with one crazy 3-0 comeback.\u00a0 I hate the Red Sox and their ridiculously hypocritical fan base, but the 2004 team was fun, talented, and incredibly historic.\u00a0 The 2008 Phils broke a streak of 100 professional sports seasons without a title for my town, so they’re a close second.\u00a0 The 2009 Yankees were just really, really <\/em>good.\u00a0 The 2001 Mariners had the best regular season of all-time, so they’re #4.\u00a0 And, as everyone talks about the “drought” and the “curse” that was erased in 2004, no one talks about a longer drought and a more probable “curse” (the Black Sox) that was ended the very next year.\u00a0 If it hadn’t been such a forgettable season and postseason, the 2005 White Sox would have been higher on this list.\u00a0 I do not think that the 2007 Red Sox and 2000 Yankees were nearly as good as most people will remember them to be, which is why I left them off my list.<\/p>\n Worst Franchise:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n I put the Mets on here for two reasons.\u00a0 One, I just like seeing them there.\u00a0 The other reason goes back to why I put the Red Sox over the Yankees as best franchise.\u00a0 When Mets fans look back on this decade, it will almost all bad memories.<\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n There were seven teams in the decade that never made the playoffs.\u00a0 I left the Blue Jays off this list because they were only 10 games under .500 and play in the AL East.\u00a0 I also left the Rangers off the list because the AL West was pretty good all decade also, and Texas won 776 games.\u00a0 The Royals and Pirates were clearly 1-2 for me because both teams had just abysmal decades.\u00a0 I went with KC as #1 because they had 9 fewer wins and play in, arguably, an easier division.\u00a0 The Orioles joined the Pirates and Royals (and Devil Rays) as the only four teams to win fewer than 700 games this decade, which is pretty sad for such a hard-core baseball town, so they’re #3.\u00a0 The Expos were pretty bad; the Nats are atrocious, so they’re #4.\u00a0 People may think that the Brewers had a good decade…they’re wrong, they did not.\u00a0 And, the Reds, despite always being the “trendy pick,” went the entire decade without one single playoff appearance.\u00a0 Oh, and by the way, I love that Doogan put the Mets on the worst franchise list.\u00a0 Like I said before, we didn’t confer, but if we had, I could have easily be convinced to add them to my list, as well.<\/p>\n Worst Individual Team:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n Pretty amazing that the Tigers went from the worst team of the decade in ’03 to AL champs in ’06.<\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n Most Underrated Franchise:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n The Twins only won one playoff series in the decade, but 5 division titles is really impressive.\u00a0 You think of the Astros as mediocre at best for the decade, but they had\u00a07 winning seasons, 3 playoff appearances, and won the ’05 NL pennant.<\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n Most Overrated Franchise:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n Bry has the Marlins as overrated, I have them as underrated.\u00a0 It’s often a fine line and all depends on the person deciding thinks that other people think about a team.\u00a0 I would argue that your average baseball fan would be surprised to learn that the Marlins won more games than they lost in the decade, but I could be wrong.\u00a0 Interesting that we both put Detroit #1 here.\u00a0 They had some decent teams in the second-half of the decade, but ’06 was their lone playoff berth, and they had 7 losing seasons, including 106 losses in ’02 and an obscene 119 losses in ’03.<\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n Best Position Player:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n I’m not in the camp that thinks anyone that used steroids should have their careers erased from the record books, but I also can’t completely separate Barry Bonds the player from Barry Bonds the steroid user.\u00a0 I’ll take Pujols, and his 3 MVP awards and 3 second-place finishes.\u00a0 Pujols wasn’t in the top-5 of the MVP voting just once.\u00a0 He had a terrible year: .327, 32 homers.<\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n Best Pitcher:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n Hard to argue with Bry’s pick of Rivera, but this goes back to an old argument between us over the value of a closer.\u00a0 I think it’s hugely important, but Bry puts a little more value on the back of his bullpen, in comparison to starting pitchers, than I do.\u00a0 Santana vs. Halladay was a tough call for me, but injury-shortened seasons in ’04 and ’05 for Halladay were the difference.<\/p>\n BRY: Most Underrated Player:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n I swear, I picked Sweeney here months ago, long before he was a Phillie.\u00a0 Did you know: in the first 6 seasons of the decade, Sweeney’s average year saw him hit .312 with 27 homers.\u00a0 If someone hits .312 with 27 homers for the Royals, does it make a sound?\u00a0 Konerko averaged 30 homers a year for the decade.<\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n Most Underrated Pitcher:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n In Nathan’s six seasons as a closer, from ’04 to ’09, he had an ERA of 1.87 and had over 40 saves a year.\u00a0 Again, I picked Oswalt here long before he was a Phillie.\u00a0 Five top-5 finishes in the Cy Young voting, and he did it in a tough place to pitch in Houston.<\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n Most Overrated Player:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n Most Overrated Pitcher:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n We both went with Pettitte.\u00a0 He won a lot of games, but for a guy that gets some Hall of Fame buzz, it’s worth noting that he posted an ERA below 3.90 only twice in the decade.\u00a0 Millwood has a habit of posting a good season once every few years and making teams and fans think he’s good.\u00a0 But his ERA was over 4.00 in 7 of 10 seasons, and over 5 in two of those seasons.\u00a0 K-Rod’s 62\u00a0save season was a fluke and he hasn’t pitched very well in the postseason since his dominant performance in ’02.<\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n Player You’d Most Likely Pay to See Play:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n Utley for his unmatched combination of natural ability and all-out effort.\u00a0 Guerrero because he’s the most rawly talented player I’ve ever seen.\u00a0 Bonds for the spectacle.\u00a0 Ichiro for pretty much everything he does on a baseball field.<\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n Best Manager:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n Best Catcher:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n Mauer over Pudge was a tough call.\u00a0 In his prime, Pudge was the best catcher I’ve ever seen, but most of that prime was in the 90’s.\u00a0 He also loses a few points because his big seasons at the start of the decade were almost certainly steroid-aided.\u00a0 Mauer won 3 batting titles and an MVP.\u00a0 Pudge’s MVP season was in ’99.\u00a0 McCann might not belong, with only 4 full seasons.\u00a0 As clearly the best defensive catcher of the decade, Molina belongs on the list.\u00a0 And he hit near .300 over the last two seasons.<\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n Best Firstbaseman:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n Interesting how different these lists are after Pujols.\u00a0 Bry has three guys that aren’t on my list.\u00a0 Berkman fell through the cracks on my lists because he spent the first half of the decade as an outfielder and the second half at first.\u00a0 Giambi wasn’t too tough to exclude, partly due to the roids.\u00a0 Teixeira got extra points for his defense.<\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n Best Secondbaseman:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n One of the trends of these lists is that Bry put more emphasis on longevity, while I put a bit more emphasis on who were really the best performers, even if they only played in the second half of the decade.\u00a0 Hence, Cano and Pedroia make my list, while Roberts make his.\u00a0 Bry makes a good call on Vidro.\u00a0 I overlooked him and he probably belongs over Pedroia.<\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n Best Thirdbaseman:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n Cabrera is another guy that fell through the cracks because he kept changing positions.\u00a0 He spent 3 years as an outfielder, 2 as a thirdbaseman, and 2 as a firstbaseman.\u00a0 The four seasons Wright put together from ’05-’08, combined with his defense, earn him the 3 spot over Young and Lowell.<\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n Best Shortstop:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n A big drop-off after the Top 3 here.\u00a0 Even though Tejada was probably on roids and was far inferior defensively, he probably belongs in the 2 spot ahead of Rollins.\u00a0 It’s pretty much a crap shoot after them, so it’s not surprising that me and Bry had different guys.<\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n Best Leftfielder:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n OK, missing Carlos Lee was a big oversight by me.\u00a0 Nice call, Bry.\u00a0 Soriano and Damon are nice choices as well.\u00a0 Again, I think I missed them because of their position uncertainty.\u00a0 Damon spent most of the decade in center and Soriano spent most of it at secondbase, but they each played enough left field to qualify here.<\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n Best Centerfielder:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n The top 4 here were largely a toss-up to me, which explains how Bry’s #1 is at #4 for me.\u00a0 Jones may be overrated, but I think puttin the likes of Griffey, Williams, and Wells ahead of him is a mistake.\u00a0 Jones led all centerfielders with 308 homers and also won 8 Gold Gloves.\u00a0 Griffey’s injury-plagued decade saw him with really just two “Griffey-like” seasons, ending up with 232 homers and zero Gold Gloves.\u00a0<\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n Best Rightfielder:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n Best Right-Handed Starter:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n Best Left-Handed Starter:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n Best Closer:<\/em><\/p>\n DOOGAN:<\/u><\/p>\n BRY:<\/u><\/p>\n\n
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