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16 December 2009
Rob Neyer just put out his list of the best players of the 0's (as he calls the decade) and as you would expect there's a fair amount of Phillies and Mets in the list. I'm not going to copy the whole list, so here are the respective Philly and New York guys:
6. Carlos Beltran
Beltran excelled in all phases of the game -- hitting, running, fielding -- and gets a couple of bonus points for his brilliant run with the Astros in the 2004 postseason.
9. Roy Halladay (he may not be a Phillie yet, but he's of interest)
No pitcher until now? There just wasn't a pitcher who was brilliant for the whole decade, as Greg Maddux and Roger Clemens were in the 1990s or Jim Palmer and Tom Seaver were in the 1970s.
10. Johan Santana
Little separates Santana and Halladay, and Santana's best seasons were slightly better than Halladay's. But Halladay pitched more and did all his work in the game's toughest division.
[well Matt there's a nice opposition to your side of the battle: Roy > Johan]
11. Scott Rolen (doesn't count, just notable)
It's a shame that Rolen wasn't able to stay healthy in the latter half of this decade; otherwise his brilliant defense would have him headed for Cooperstown. (Maybe it should anyway.)
16. Bobby Abreu
It wasn't even one of his best seasons, but in 2009 Abreu finally (if temporarily) lost theunderrated tag … he finished just 12th in the MVP ballot, but that was the best he had ever done.
22. J.D. Drew (hate this fuckin' guy)
Don't laugh. Drew has averaged only 123 games per season, but when he's played he's hit, fielded and run with great skill. The Red Sox knew what they were getting and don't have any regrets.
27. Jim Thome
Thome hit 368 home runs during the decade; only A-Rod (who lapped the field) hit more. Thome also ranked fourth in walks, seventh in OPS and first in 500-foot homers to straightaway center field.
28. Pedro Martinez
Martinez went 75-26 with a 2.53 ERA from 2000 through 2004; in five seasons since, he has just 37 wins with 3.86 ERA, thus making the Red Sox look real smart to let him get away.
34. Gary Sheffield
Devastating hitter through the first six years of the decade -- .309/.408/.564 (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) -- but production fell off in later seasons as injuries mounted. He's the closest to Dick Allen that most of us have seen.
36. Mike Cameron
Exactly the sort of player who's usually underrated: Low batting average, but midrange power, solid baserunning and outstanding defense in center field made Cameron better than you probably thought.
37. Chase Utley
Maybe he should rank higher, but this is a lofty spot for someone who's been an everyday player for only five seasons. The National League's best-fielding second baseman and perennial leader in hit-by-pitches.
38. Carlos Delgado
It's hard to believe that Delgado has been an All-Star just twice; for the decade ranks fifth -- behind future Hall of Famers (probably) -- in both home runs (324) and RBIs (1,045).
46. Placido Polanco
Hey, what's he doing here? Well, he's here because he's been a league-average hitter who's played distinctly better-than-average defense just about anywhere they've put him.
52. Jimmy Rollins
56. David Wright
81. Tom Glavine
83. Cliff Floyd
85. Freddy Garcia
95. Jose Reyes
100. Jamie Moyer
That seems like a lot of former and current guys for only two teams. Neyer mainly used win above replacement and playoff performance to compile and adjust this list. It's a little surprising that Ryan Howard didn't find himself a place on this list, but remember he only registered 4.5 seasons in the 2000s. Otherwise this list is a lot of fun to look and complain about. Obviously I think there are about 6 too many Mets on this list (just kidding... nah for real though).
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