But he gave up home runs. Some people thought he should have started Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS instead of Kevin Brown -- whom the Yankees had acquired 3 days before Vázquez. Torre brought him in to relieve Brown when down 3-0. Instead, Vázquez gave up a grand slam to Johnny Damon that essentially ended the chance at a comeback, the game, the season, and the Curse of the Bambino. After that, he was nicknamed "Home Run Javy."
Before he could appear for the Yankees again, on January 11, 2005, he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks with Dioner Navarro, Brad Halsey and cash for Randy Johnson. Johnson gave the Yankees the 2 most useless 17-win seasons any pitcher has ever had, choking in Game 3 of the AL Division Series in both 2005 and 2006, and then leaving. Navarro and Halsey never amounted to much, but Vázquez settled down a bit, bouncing around, at one point being traded for former Yankee Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez.
On December 22, 2009, the Yankees traded Melky Cabrera, Mike Dunn, Arodys Vizcaíno and cash to the Atlanta Braves for Vázquez and Boone Logan. You don't need to consider Dunn or Vizcaíno. Just note that Melky, for all his difficulties (including getting caught using PEDs), would have been a big help to the Yankees from 2010 through 2017, while Logan might have been the worst reliever in Yankee history, and Vázquez went 10-10 with a 5.32 ERA in 2010.
His contract having run out at the end of the season, the Yankees didn't lift a finger to re-sign him, and he pitched 1 more season with the Marlins, and retired. He was 165-160 for his career. He had 4 good seasons, and only 1 really bad one, his rookie year with the Expos, 1998. His other 9 seasons, including his 2 with the Yankees, 2004 and 2010, were mediocre.
But that last trade, giving up the Melkman for Home Run Javy and Logan's Litany of Losing, oy vey.
*
December 16, 2003 was a Tuesday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. There were 9 games played in the NBA:
* The New York Knicks lost to the Golden State Warriors, 104-86 at Madison Square Garden.
* The Washington Wizards beat the Utah Jazz, 91-87 at the MCI Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington. Larry Hughes led all scorers on the night with 38 points.
* The Miami Heat beat the Atlanta Hawks, 97-79 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami. Dwyane Wade scored 32 points.
* The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Sacramento Kings, 105-100 at the Great American Pyramid in Memphis.
* The Chicago Bulls beat the Orlando Magic, 102-88 at the United Center in Chicago.
* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Houston Rockets, 92-75 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
* The Denver Nuggets beat the New Orleans Hornets, 116-94 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.
* The Phoenix Suns beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 92-91 in overtime at the America West Arena (now the Mortgage Matchup Center) in Phoenix.
* And the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 106-99 at the Rose Garden (now the Moda Center) in Portland.
And there were 4 games in the NHL:
* The New York Rangers beat the San Jose Sharks, 2-1 at Madison Square Garden. Petr Nedvěd scored the winning goal with 2:35 left in overtime.
* The Atlanta Thrashers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 1-0 at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) in Atlanta.
* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Ottawa Senators, 3-2 at the Corel Centre (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in Ottawa.
* And the Washington Capitals and the Colorado Avalanche played to a 2-2 tie at the Pepsi Center. Yes, it played host to an NBA game and an NHL game on the same day.
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