In the Yankees win tonight, Phil Hughes relieved Andy Pettitte in the seventh inning. For Hughes, it was his first relief appearance of the season. It was more than that, though. Hughes, whom the Yankees chose with their choice in the "sandwich" round of the 2004 Draft. The Yankees received that choice for the loss of Pettitte to the Astros.

It was kind of interesting, maybe only to me, to see Hughes relieviing the man whose departure allowed him to become a Yankee in the first place. That, along with a spirited discussion with a co-worker about the legitimacy of the whole supplemental picks system, got me to thinking about some other notable sandwich choices.

-- For example, when the Phillies signed Jon Lieber in 2004, the Yankees used the pick they received to obtain shortstop C.J. Henry. Henry, Phillies fans may recall, was part of the package dealt to Philadelphia for Bobby Abreu. Henry fizzled with the Phils, re-signed with the Yankees briefly before leaving to play college basketball for the University of Memphis. The Yankees, by the way, will be paying for Henry's college education. That was a condition for Henry's agreeing to his original professional contract.

-- Similarly, when Philadelphia signed Tom Gordon away from the Yankees, New York used its two choices to select Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy.

-- On the other side of that coin is the story of how the Phils were able to land Joe Blanton during last season's trade deadline.

When Billy Wagner -- a Type A free agent -- was signed by the Mets, the Phillies received two picks: New York's first-round choice and a second "sandwich" pick. The choice from the Mets was used on fireballing youngster Kyle Drabek, due to pitch later today against the Thunder. With the sandwich pick, the Phillies took second baseman Adrian Cardenas, who later would be part of the package dealt to the A's for Blanton, who was drafted by Oakland with the pick they gained when the Yankees signed Jason Giambi.

-- Another good one: Nick Swisher was selected by the A's as compensation for the loss of Johnny Damon to the Red Sox. Two men whose home fields were once separated by 3,000 miles now play separated by just a few hundred feet -- and Melky Cabrera.

-- Here's one that's kind of bittersweet: When Rafael Palmeiro signed with the Rangers in 1999 the Orioles received two picks. They chose Brian Roberts and Larry Bigbie. So, for the record, as compensation for the man whose image would become synonymous with The Steroid Era, the Orioles chose two men who wound up in the Mitchell Report.