December 16, 2003: The Yankees Acquire Javier Vázquez -- the 1st Time

December 16, 2003: The New York Yankees traded Nick Johnson, Randy Choate and Juan Rivera to the Montreal Expos for Javier Vázquez. At first, this didn't look like a bad deal. Rivera was a nothing player. Choate was so bad out of the bullpen, I called him "Randy Choke." And Johnson was constantly injured and unable to live up to his promise. Vázquez went 14-10 for the Yankees in 2004, and made the All-Star Team.

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.

December 13, 2003: The Yankees Trade Jeff Weaver for Kevin Brown

December 13, 2003: The Yankees trade Jeff Weaver – 2 months 2 late -- and 2 other pitchers, Yhency Brazobán and Brandon Weeden, for a better pitcher. Or so we thought. It was Kevin Brown.

Neither Brazobán nor Weeden had yet reached the major leagues. Weeden never did. Brazobán soon did so, but was not especially distinguished. And Weaver... somehow won a World Series ring with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006. That still ticks me off. (Not that the Cardinals won that Series, but that Weaver was a part of it.)

Kevin Brown was a very good pitcher. In 1992, he went 21-12 for the Texas Rangers. In 1996, with the Florida Marlins, he went 17-11, and led the National League with an ERA of 1.89 and a WHIP of 0.944. In 1997, he went 16-8, and helped the Marlins win the World Series. In 1998, he went 18-7, and helped the San Diego Padres win the Pennant.

On December 12, 1998, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed him to a 7-year contract worth $105 million, the 1st contract in North American major league sports worth more than $100 million. At first, it seemed like it would pay off: He went 18-9 in 1999, and in 2000, went 13-6 and led the NL with a 2.58 ERA. He battled injury after that, but still went 10-4 in 2001. In 2003, he went 14-9 with a 2.39 ERA, and made an All-Star Game for the 6th time. He had a career record of 197-131. He was approaching Hall of Fame worthiness.

Sounds like the Yankees made a good acquisition. Except he would be turning 39 during Spring Training 2004. And he was not a big-game pitcher. Although the Marlins won the 1997 World Series, Brown had lost Games 2 and 6. In the 1998 World Series, he started Game 1 against the Yankees, and while he wasn't the losing pitcher, the Yankees did win; and he was the losing pitcher in Game 4.

In 2004, he posted a 10–6 record with a 4.09 ERA. On September 3, after being removed from a game he lost to the Baltimore Orioles, he punched a concrete column in frustration, breaking his hand. He returned to the rotation on September 26, and lost his last 2 regular-season starts: He didn't get out of the 1st inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, and lost to away to the Toronto Blue Jays.

During that season's Playoffs, Brown pitched well in the American League Division Series against the Minnesota Twins. But, with little choice, manager Joe Torre started Brown in Game 7 of the AL Championship Series against the Red Sox. He gave up a 2-run home run to David Ortiz in the 1st inning, left with the bases loaded in the 2nd, and was charged with all 3 runs that Johnny Damon drove in ahead of him when he subsequently hit a grand slam off Javier Vázquez -- whom the Yankees had acquired 3 days after Brown, as if that trade hadn't been bad enough. Brown had authored the worst start in Yankee postseason history -- emotionally, if not statistically.

Brown struggled with injury through 2005, and finished it 4-7 with a 6.50 ERA. The Yankees did not lift a finger to sign him to a new contract -- though many Yankee Fans lifted some fingers for him -- and he retired, with a career record of 211-144, a 3.28 ERA, and a WHIP of 1.222.

He became eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011. He has never come close to election.

*

December 13, 2003 was a Saturday. Baseball was out of season. There were no college football games that day, and the NFL played the next day. There were 8 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Denver Nuggets, 95-88 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Memphis Grizzlies, 110-63 at the Memphis Pyramid.

* The Orlando Magic beat the Atlanta Hawks, 105-102 at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) in Atlanta.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 105-98 at the Quicken Loans Arena (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland. Paul Pierce led all scorers on the night with 41 points.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Indiana Pacers, 86-75 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat their arch-rivals, the Houston Rockets, 86-73 at the AT&T Center (now the Frost Bank Center) in San Antonio.

* The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Phoenix Suns, 106-91 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 112-108 at the Moda Center in Portland. Kobe Bryant scored 35 points in defeat.

And there were 12 games in the NHL:

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the New York Rangers lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-1 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The New York Islanders beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 4-0 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-0 at the Wachovia Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Washington Capitals, 5-1 at the MCI Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-2 at the St. Pete Times Forum (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.

* The Florida Panthers and the Nashville Predators played to a tie, 2-2 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center (now the Bridgestone Arena) in Nashville.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Ottawa Senators, 3-2 at the Corel Centre (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in Ottawa.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-3 at the Mellon Arena (as the Civic Arena was then named) in Pittsburgh.

* The Minnesota Wild beat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Los Angeles Kings, 2-1 at the Savvis Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis.

* The Colorado Avalanche and the Calgary Flames played to a tie, 1-1 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* The San Jose Sharks beat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 2-0 at the HP Pavilion at San Jose (now the SAP Center).

* And the Chicago Blackhawks, the Dallas Stars, the Vancouver Canucks, the Edmonton Oilers, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Arizona Coyotes were not scheduled.