Keep smiling, Swish
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Podcast on Apr 14, 2009 
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
The Yankees Morality Police will be out in force because Nick Swisher had the audacity to smile on the mound tonight when he was pitching in a 10-run game. This will no doubt be a big issue on the radio tomorrow.
You know what? Get over it. It was 15-5 and they asked a guy to pitch who hadn’t pitched since his freshman year of high school. Wade Boggs threw knuckleballs at the Anaheim Angels Aug. 19, 1997 in 12-4 game. These things happen sometimes.
The best part was when he shook Jose Molina off, even through there were no signs. When he struck Gabe Kapler out, Swish rolled the ball into the dugout for a souvenir. Hilarious.
Derek Jeter thought it was amusing because it was Swisher. “He’s not going to stop talking about it,” the captain said.
But Jorge Posada was not amused. “Nobody was laughing,” he said. “I think today was embarrassing.” Maybe so. But Swisher is hitting .450 and has 10 RBI. Maybe everybody should have what he’s having.
Here is Swisher talking about his scoreless outing:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
His best line was that this game is like an Etch-A-Sketch, you need to shake it and start over again.
Let me say this straight out: I love Nick Swisher. Give him an extension.
Wang has given up 5 or more runs in 6 of his last 8 starts
nick swisher has given up 0 runs in 100% of his outings. it’s about sampling size homie..
Kim Jones, who I usually think does a good job, asked the Swisher attitudinal question to Girardi, which I thought was kind of dumb.
God I love this man.
Thanks for the audio today Pete.
Swisher is becoming one of my favorite Yankees.
Tonight’s game was pretty horrible(except for the Swisher pitching inning), let’s get a win tomorrow..um..I mean later today.
Nick Swisher for MVP.
I’m starting the campaign.
I wonder if you would say the same if this was Arod smiling(Nopeee). Don’t give me wrong, I would say the same get over.
swisher provides the comic relief we lost with giambi (and then some), minus the gold thong…
Look what someone did to his Wikipedia….
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N.....rk_Yankees
“Nick Swisher
New York Yankees — No. 33
Outfielder / First baseman / Relief Pitcher”
That makes me smile
David,
A-rod is a cheat, seems like a phony, and I’m sick of him. The only thing I care about now with A-rod is if he’s helping the Yanks win.
Swisher, on the other hand, has a genuine personality. He keeps it real unlike Arod, who’s a phony.
That is the best picture EVER!!! I hope Swish gets a big ovation on opening day.
“Nick Swisher for MVP.
I’m starting the campaign.”
You cover the MVP, I canvass the Cy voters.
swisher grew upwith a dad in the mlb.he loves this game and is showing it.Did he really shaKE OFF MOLINA?
Swisher brings a personality element to this team that we have been lacking for a very long time. I’m glad to see him having a fun time out there despite the loss.
Let’s hope that the rest of the team starts buying into the Nick Swisher philosophy of baseball, it could only mean good things for this team.
The MLB needs more Nick Swishers
“I hope Swish gets a big ovation on opening day.”
I think that’ll be an absolute lock. Something about him reminds me of Jim Leyritz. He just seems like an old-school ballplayer – the kind that the fans always gravitate towards. If he committed/resigned himself to being a utility player (all OF positions, 1B and maybe 2B), he could OWN New York. He could be larger than life there… even as a super-utility guy.
From Swish’s Twitter:
“My arm is killing me! hahahahaha”.
Swisher, on the other hand, has a genuine personality. He keeps it real unlike Arod, who’s a phony.
———–
Phony or not, they need him back if they want to win a ring this season.
Couldn’t care less about his personality.
I blame tonight’s blowout on A-Rod
Adam
April 14th, 2009 at 12:45 am
Swisher brings a personality element to this team that we have been lacking for a very long time. I’m glad to see him having a fun time out there despite the loss.
Let’s hope that the rest of the team starts buying into the Nick Swisher philosophy of baseball, it could only mean good things for this team.
————————————————————
NYY just dumped a “personality element”, didn’t they? How much did he have to do with winning anything?
I asked people if they’ve sided more with Swisher-you have to laugh about it-or Posada-it wasn’t a laughing matter.
Guess who’s leading?
http://www.puristbleedspinstri.....nions.html
I freaking love Nick Swisher. Hilarity. Thanks for the audio Pete!!
I don’t care how embarrassing this game was. That picture of Swish is just so cute. Almost as cute as the Red Sox W-L record.
So do we know the story of how Swish ended up on the mound? When was it decided. Did Swish warm up in the bullpen or did he just take warmup pitches off the mound?
Is it weird that my two favorite Yankees are Nick Swisher and Jorge Posada? On one hand I love that Posada takes no crap and will find nothing funny with a game in which we get killed. On the other hand, watching Swisher pitch was the only enjoyable thing that I watched in this game, and when I saw him smile, I laughed too.
As for if this is a topic in sports talk radio, I don’t think it will be, but the fact that it might be is a perfect example of why I don’t listen to that crap anymore.
Ahem, those of you who hated the Swisher acquisition need to man up.
GreenBeret7 April 14th, 2009 at 12:49 am
NYY just dumped a “personality element”, didn’t they? How much did he have to do with winning anything?
———————————————————-
That may be true, but I think we can all agree we haven’t seen a personality like Swisher’s in awhile. He’s much different then those in the past. I can’t remember the last time a player grew on the fans so fast like Swisher has.
All I know is that per Tyler Kepner, Joe Girardi wasn’t too happy about this. It was his decision, but he probably went kicking and screaming into this – undoubtedly this was not done to lighten the moment.
I’m annoyed at Swish pitching, but I am not upset with him in any way and I don’t have a problem with him getting the ball that he K’d Kapler on. I didn’t hear, but was Michael Kay really upset at Nick for getting the ball?
i cant stand posada…lose the tough guy act and learn to call a game
Michael Kay upset at Nick? That’s because Michael Kay was never a kid and Michael Kay never played baseball, a kid’s game. Man doesn’t even eat condiments. How much more anal can you get?
Swisher is awesome.
Mac Daddy,
lol. Watch out for the arrows that people are going to sling at you.
If we didn’t have so many guys below the Mendoza line, I’d be crowing at the Soxers.
It was almost like Mark “The Bird” Fydrich pitching:
http://www.ladybatting.com/200.....f-yes.html
RIP,Bird
m, thx for the heads up…between posada and jeter, its taboo to speak bad about them…truth is since they officially took over the clubhouse, it hasnt been good
Seriously Mac. The old heads need to lighten up a bit.
Seriously, I love the class and professionalism that’s become the Yankee brand. It’s part of the reason I became a Yankee fan.
But, the new blood is great. I have great hopes for them as they’re not carrying around the weight of the hopes and dreams of the Yankee Empire.
AJ Burnett is my new favorite Yankee. Swish is moving up the charts and I’m loving the Molina.
Michael Kay wasn’t upset… he just questioned it, and asked Flaherty and Cone what they thought of it… if I recall, they kind of gave a wishy-washy answer.
Adam
April 14th, 2009 at 12:56 am
GreenBeret7 April 14th, 2009 at 12:49 am
NYY just dumped a “personality element”, didn’t they? How much did he have to do with winning anything?—————————————————————————————
That may be true, but I think we can all agree we haven’t seen a personality like Swisher’s in awhile. He’s much different then those in the past. I can’t remember the last time a player grew on the fans so fast like Swisher has.
————————————————————
BS. Every player NYY brings in that has a good first two weeks becomes a “fan favorite”, until they stop producing.
Nick Swisher
1IP 0ER 1H 1BB 1K WHIP 2.0 ERA 0.0
Chien Ming Wang
1IP 8ER 6H 3BB 1K WHIP 9.0 ERA 72.0
Ceterum censeo: The guy who had the idea to line up the starters such that Wang has a start on turf should be fired. The guy has a good track record but he killed the Yankees in so many important games. And maybe people just caught up to his sinker and his luck as a one trick pony ran out.
Swish is my Homeboy
I would expect to see Aceves get called up tomorrow to be the long man and perhaps someone else.
It won’t be Melancon or Robertson for sure.
Tomko probably won’t get called up because he’s not on the 40-man roster and Aceves and Jackson are.
“BS. Every player NYY brings in that has a good first two weeks becomes a “fan favorite”, until they stop producing.”
**cough**A-Rod**cough**
Man Wang is just leaving his sinker up. No one is “catching on to him”. If your sinker is sinking belt high you’re gonna get hit.
@Tseng and your point is? That we should have double standards. i don’t know you, but that is one thing I don’t do double standard. I’m sick for a lot of stuff that he does, but at the same time I don’t think we should kill somebody for something stupid in this case smiling while losing. In your case that mean you probably kill Arod if he was the one smiling(don’t understand that).
I’ve heard Claggett might get called up…dunno if I agree with that.
Aceves won’t help much anytime soon. He just started on the 11th and threw 80 pitches in 4 innings.
Somebody has got to get that video on youtube or something! I missed the game but don’t think I missed anything expect for Swish pitching!
Wang gets a major pass. He doesn’t suck. He hasn’t forgotten how to pitch. He hasn’t really had the time to properly rehab from such a long layoff. He was doing conditioning over the winter. He was barely cleared to throw at the beginning of camp. He simply isn’t ready yet.
I think he needs to go down and do his rehab there. It’s killing him, and it’s killing the team.
Aceves is not doing so well in AAA. Jackson is the one that’s on the Yankees radar according to Girardi.
If the bullpen blows chunks, we’ll see Melancon in short time. They’re not going to fool around very much longer. This was a turn-key bullpen. If within a couple of weeks, they’re not getting the job done, it’s going to get a makeover. The very good news is that Bruney finally took his head out of his hiney, and it’s back where it belongs.
Swisher may have been New York’s most effective pitcher. After giving up a walk and Tampa Bay’s 17th hit, he struck out Gabe Kapler and got Pena and Pat Burrell to fly out.
“I had fun with it. When am I ever going to have a chance to do that again? Probably never,” said Swisher, who hadn’t pitched in a game since he was a freshman in high school. “We know we didn’t play very well. Got to find something to laugh about in that moment. I just happened to be the guy.”
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....=290413130
“I can’t remember the last time a player grew on the fans so fast like Swisher has.”
Shelley Duncan and Joba. On field success dictated how long the love affair lasted.
A team of Swishers would get on my nerves just like a team of Posadas would. Both have a role as does every personality style in between.
Swisher pitch fx graphs, courtesy of draysbay
http://www.draysbay.com/2009/4.....ersus-nick
I think Posada is just a fiery emotional guy. & losing does that to you especially when you’re so competitive. He was obviously frustrated. However, Swisher is outstanding. I can’t believe Girardi chose Nady over him. I want to get a Swisher shirt now. I hope they’re selling them.
Any position player that was asked to pitch during a blowout would start laughing on the mound too. Lighten up a bit, Jorge.
m
April 14th, 2009 at 12:56 am
“Ahem, those of you who hated the Swisher acquisition need to man up.”
m, as one looking from the outside I will admit that I thought the Swisher trade was no big deal.
However, after night I can’t help but like Swisher even though he plays for the big evil empire!
I also like Johnny Damon. If you notice he is always usually there talking to the media after the game win or lose.
Chill, Georgie, chill.
Video of Swisher pitching….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq1cvShfOok
The fact that Swisher passed the test with flying colors leaves little room for criticism.
Improbable as it is, it was the highlight of the night. Took the bad taste of Wang’s miserable outing out of the mouth.
I don’t know why Girardi was upset. Swish didn’t embarrass himself out there. By any stretch of the imagination. Not only did he outpitch his Yankee brethren, he outpitched Saito.
You would have to think if Wang blows it again on Saturday, Cashman would have to put him on a DL with a believeable lie. Putting him on the DL would have him down in the minors working out his kinks.
hey, ray-ray. Saw you catch some heat the other day! BTW, you guys gonna be able to knock off the Cavs for us?
And what’s with Lowrie? See you got Nicky Green. Not much of a bat, but he has the cutest smile.
1st off maybe its just me but, I think Girardi sucks at managing. I understand that they’re frustrated with the loss but, Swisher has been awesome lately. Can’t say the same for anyone else.
m
April 14th, 2009 at 1:37 am
“hey, ray-ray. Saw you catch some heat the other day! BTW, you guys gonna be able to knock off the Cavs for us?”
hey m, this is one time I hope I am wrong but I don’t see the Celtics getting by the Cavs in the East.
This has nothing to do with the Yanks getting killed tonight. But honestly can you see this team beating out the Sox and Rays to make the playoffs. I cant and I know that we have yet to see our line up at full health. And I believe Wang will be fine but I just love Bostons pitching. And the Rays make the Yanks look like a bunch of 50 year olds playing softball.
There’s no way of knowing how long this call-up (if it happens) might last, so the guys not on the 40-man are probably out. That means no **Mark Melancon**, no **J.B. Cox**, no Zach Kroenke and no Brett Tomko.
David Robertson pitched three innings Monday, so he’s probably out.
That leaves either **Anthony Claggett** (right) or **Steven Jackson**, each of whom can go multiple innings if necessary. Jackson last pitched Sunday, going 1.1 innings. He’s allowed one run in two and a third this season. Claggett last pitched Saturday, going three scoreless. He’s pitched four and a third without a run or a walk while striking out six.
My guess is **Claggett**, though it’s possible both will go up. I guess it’s also possible neither will get the call, but there are 24 pitchers on the 40-man and the Yankees might as well take advantage of that fact.
http://community.thetimes-trib.....l-ups.aspx
And the Rays make the Yanks look like a bunch of 50 year olds playing softball.
————
This has happened several times the last couple of years. The Rays are young and run all over the place and the Yanks look like a bunch of old men.
But at the end of the year, the Yanks somehow manage to win the season series as they did in 2008.
Yanks were 11-7 against the Rays last year.
ANYBODY, including Jorge Posada, who has a problem with Nick Swisher smiling and having a good time while pitching last night needs to take a chill pill.
This team has DESPERATELY needed a personality like Swisher to lighten things up and make the game fun again for some time now.
Bad games happen… It’s not the end of the world, and here’s hoping Swisher’s attitude is something that’s picked up by the rest of the team rather than the other way around.
at some point, the game isnt disappointing anymore..
They better be angry and disappointed in the first 6-7 innings, but by the time Swisher is pitching, the game is out of hand and just getting ready for the game tomorrow..
You can’t make up a lie, even a believable one to put someone on the DL.
It’s fraud and never mind unethical, it’s illegal.
Thanks for that youtube. I’ll catch it in English later on.
That was the best 6 minutes of my day!
How embarrassing if you’re Kapler.
And Tony Pena cracking up cracked me up. And the faces on the starting rotation? Priceless.
“You can’t make up a lie, even a believable one to put someone on the DL.
It’s fraud and never mind unethical, it’s illegal.”
good point.
They don’t have to lie and put Wang on the DL or whatever.
If he gets hammered again on Saturday, they can speak the truth and send him down to Tampa to get his mechanics down or whatever he needs to work on.
They had to do that with Cone in 2000 and were pretty close to doing the same with Moose when he got hammered in August of 2007.
Instead, Moose got skipped and sent to the pen before he figured things out.
Burnett, Pettitte, CC? I like the Yankees chances the next three games.
I’m not worried about a long man right now. The next 3 games will likely be 7 inning starts by the Yankee starters.
Then you have Joba who will likely pitch 6 innings and Wang who pitchers MUCH better at home.
I actually see a 5 game winning streak coming up. Yanks 9-5 after Saturday.
m: I like when Swish asks for the ball after Kapler’s K
Rebecca, he must’ve thought he was dreaming or something. I know he’s our super utility player, but who knew he was wearing a big “S” under his uni?
I predict the Yankees will win 6 of their next 8.
They’ll be 9-6 going to Boston.
I blame the pressure of global tensions in the Pacific Ocean.
The Cleveland Indians are the tonic that Wang needs. I join those calling Saturday’s game a win.
Giuseppe Franco,
also very good points. thanks for reminding me about Moose’s 2007 disaster.
Embarassing a guy like Kapler might not be a good thing. Guys style HRs and get pay back. Pitchers who style Ks can get pay back too. Swisher better not dig in the next few days.
Swish threw a strikeout and hit a HR in the same game.
The Yankees are officially an NL team now.
What with the requisite atrocious 789 and all.
fatass Kay hinted at this on the broadcast, It was silly. It’s gallows humor, better to laugh off the absurdity of the situation then cry about it in the dugout. I love the keeping of the ball, hilarious, I would keep it too.
Batters who whiff on a pitch from a position player should really STFU and GTFO.
Yah. Kapler didn’t needs Swish’s help in embarrassing himself.
“Meanwhile, this notion that Wang doesn’t know how to get through a game without his good stuff or a good sinker is laughable. So he went 46-15 without knowing how to do that?”
I agree that Wang will be ok and people need to be patient with him, as he has a history of being very effective. However, I do think he has huge troubles when he has a poor sinker. He has started 83 games since 2006, counting the 2006 and 2007 playoffs. He has given up 5 ER or more in 23% of those 83 games (19 times). Doesn’t this seem like a high amount, especially for a guy who was supposed to be the #1 pitcher on the team for some of that time? This inconsistency tells me that he is lights out when his sinker is working, but often terrible otherwise. And this criteria of 5 ER that I am using (which Wang reached 23% of the time) doesn’t even count Game 4 of the 2007 playoffs as a knock against Wang, as Torre yanked Wang out after 1 IP with “only” 4 ER allowed. Wang generally gets smashed all over the place when he doesn’t have the sinker going well.
Just to give you an idea of how some other pitchers fare in this regard (how many percent of their starts they have allowed 5 ER or more since 2006, including playoffs), here is a brief list. I only checked a handful. There are some aces, some mediocre pitchers, and some poor pitchers in this list.
Chien Ming Wang – 22.9% (19 times out of 83 starts)
Johan Santana – 3.8% (4 times out of 104 starts)
Tim Wakefield – 21.8% (19 times out of 87 starts)
Javier Vazquez – 27.3% (27 times out of 99 starts)
Sidney Ponson – 29.2% (14 times out of 48 starts)
Jarrod Washburn – 22.2% (20 times out of 90 starts)
Ted Lilly – 17.5% (18 times out of 103 starts)
Brandon Webb – 16.5% (18 times out of 104 starts)
Cole Hamels – 11.1% (11 times out of 91 starts)
Jake Peavy – 13.5% (13 times out of 96 starts, and 8 of these came in his poor 2006 season)
And you can’t even use the excuse that Wang’s poor games came when he was “pitching to the score” or “saving the bullpen by pitching deep into a blowout game” or other things like that. He never lasted 7 innings in any of those 19 starts, whereas a guy like Webb pitched 7 innings or more in 4 of his 18 very poor outings.
Oh and look at Santana. Absolutely sick. He always keeps his team in the game. It’s no surprise that most of the aces are closer to 10% than 20%.
Si, I like Wang and all, and this method of evaluating his consistency is far from perfect, but I think it is enlightening enough to see that Wang has far too many starts where his team has no chance to win due to his performance. I would guess that many of these poor outings occurs when he has a poor sinkerball.
So before Swisher pitched tonight, Boggs was the last position player to pitch for the Yanks…
Anyone know who was the last one before Boggs was?
Kapler may not have needed help but Swisher rubbed salt in the wound. Think Paul O’Neill would have seen the humor in it if he was at bat? Guys don’t get to the majors without egos. You laugh about it in the clubhouse, not on the field.
Swish was laughing the whole time.
Yeah, I didn’t watch it live.
But if my team was up 15-5, I’d laugh, too, if I whiffed at 78 mph “heat”.
My team was the one winning, and we’d get the last laugh.
the Yankees are always just one day away from putting a quality starter out there to right the ship after a loss.
can’t wait for AJ tomorrow.
Oh please STHU, it was 15 – 5 this is a game too. I personally love Nick Swisher I can’t stand that tight knit, choir boy crap, Nick loves baseball, if your going to do something then do it, don’t talk about it. If he gets hit he’ll hit back.
anyone has any idea on how on earth swisher got sent out to pitch in the bottom of the 8th? were they trying to save their bullpen or swisher asked to go out and pitch?
the youtube clip sure was funny but i wonder why theres stuff going around about posada and girardi not being happy with swisher’s pitching/laughing.
jw,
It’s all here:
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com.....8;c_id=nyy
This guy is amazing. I’m so glad hes on this team.
you know what’s funny? I soooo called for Nick Swisher during the offseason, and everyone bashed me with “its a stupid idea”.
Ed- Good stuff lol. I was pining for Ryan Garko, I’ll settle for Tex.
Nick Swisher is a stupid idea.
So stupid that it just might work.
Goodnight.
thanks a lot m.
cheers
I think that Nick Swisher actually GETS it unlike many Yankee fans. Posada is doing what he’s supposed to do – be p.o.’d that they lost in such humiliating fashion. If Posada would have laughed off the game during the interview, General George would have jumped off his wheelchair and flown on his Nimbus 2000 broom into the Yankee dugout.
I say the Yanks give Wang one more start and then send him down to work out his kinks if he gets blown up. Hello Phil Hughes and 2 rooks back in the starting rotation!
Tonight’s game will be interesting – ‘we’ will take 2 out of the next 3.
And I still hate the new Yankee Stadium and the total disrespect for the average fan ownership has displayed.
But I’ll always love the team.
ts
Bottom Line… Wang was never an ace. And calling him a #2 is pretty much a stretch. Wang wins 19 games, 2 years in a row, but how many clutch games? 2 years ago against Boston, Wang vs. Beckett? Wang folded like a patio chair. In the playoffs against the Indians? Yep, same result. Wang was supposed to thrive in a #3 role (AJ is the #2, Girardi just didn’t want 2 power pitchers back-to-back) but is obviously not up to it yet.
If Wang is injured, he needs to be honest and tell Girardi, so they can bring up Hughes or Aceves to fill in for a few starts. Tampa is a top-tier team now, and by no means was this game a lock, but 9 runs in less than 2 innings is pathetic. Wang has not pitched well (yet) in 2009 (including spring training). Against the Cubs, he looked bad, and now he looks worse. He needs to tell the Yankees that he needs rehab time, and maybe he can finally figure out his issues.
The Yankees will be fine when Tex and Arod are back, once they are, bench Matsui and Ransom for a while.
Let’s go AJ and Andy, get us back over .500
Swisher is definitely a starter, he needs to be out there everyday, ride the hot hand! RF, LF, DH, I don’t care. Matsui should also be rehabbing, he does not look the part of a starter.
Let’s Go Yanks!
The thing is…a TEAM needs a Swisher, and it needs a Posada. They’re not mutually exclusive in the team concept (unless they collide, which would probably be initiated by Posada. That’s where the manager comes in.)
They’ll turn to one for comic relief needs, and the other for no-nonsense leadership. It’s a long, long season. Both attitudes will be critical, at different junctures.
When did Swisher take the mound? I turned the game off and went to bed. I wish I would have seen it.
I agree. The game was long gone. They were having a little fun on an otherwise dreary night. I’m sure they weren’t happy about getting blown out, but cmon! Lets lighten up. Its one game, and Swisher is a fun guy. Wish we had more like him. My concern is who will get called up to help the bullpen out? Robertson pitched 3 innings last night, so he is not an option. Tomko is not even on the 40 man roster, so it won’t be him. Neither is Melancon. Maybe Claggett or Steven Jackson?
Swisher is a disgrace.A buffoon.Just play the game and leave your sophomoric antics at home.Look at me I’m Sandra Dee.We all jumped on Millar and Schilling for acting like this,lets not be hypocrites.
Big shock everybody, Nick Swisher has *fun* playing a *game*!! Incredible!
Anyone that questions Swisher for having fun are taking themselves, and life, way too seriously.
Swisher is exactly what the Yankees need. I’m not saying that they need to start playing pepper between innings but these guys are wound so tight they need a team of therapists. Loosening up a little won’t hurt.
Do you have any Tampa Bay reactions to Swisher’s performance?
Hey it’s not Swish’s fault the Wanger stunk it up yesterday, and Girardi didn’t bring a long man with the team. Swish is just trying to make some chicken salad out of chicken s**t.
Here’s the real elephant in the room that no one is talking about. The attitude problem on the Yankees begins and ends with – sit down for this – Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter. These guys have grown to play the game as if they are attending a funeral. I can’t tell you how sick it makes me when I hear new players to this team repeat the pathetic Derek Jeter mantra ANYTHING LESS THAN A CHAMPIONSHIP THIS YEAR IS CONSIDERED A FAILURE. You know what Derek, you of all people should know how incredibly lucky even a great team needs to be to win just one championship, nevermind 4. If it wasn’t for Jeffrey Maier you wouldn’t have your first. I really hope a guy like Swisher doesn’t get stared down by the suffocating pinstripe atmosphere that has stifled free spirits like Giambi and Damon and more recently Melky and Cano. Enough Derek and Jorge. There is more to enjoying the game than just winning. Both of these guys need to understand that there was only one Paul O’Neill – a man who can create an intense atmosphere without taking the rest of the team down into his dark place. Jeter and Posada are the captains of this team and the big difference between then and now is that there were a bunch of undercard players that also had rings on their finger 10 years ago. Now that they are the only two everyday players with Yankee rings it makes everyone want to emulate them and I think it makes everyone tense worried that they are not playing up to the standard of Yankee legends.
Nick is just trying to reverse the curse inflicted in 04. It;s a good thing he’s hitting cause big smiles are only acceptable then and if you’re winning. A.J. & CC are the keys here and if they don’t perform forget it.
Nick Swisher is our David Ortiz. He is going to be that good. He will be the class of this free agent class when it’s all said and done.
please don’t rely on swisher to carry this team. good pitching will. he will eventually chill out after a slump and a talking to by jorge. i don’t think jeter cares anymore, he hasnt been the same since arod polluted the air.
I would take Posada and his attitude over Smilin’ Nick Swisher anyday. Swisher is hot right now, and everybody loves him as a result. Good for him. But he’s a career 254 hitter. He will come back to earth. Let’s see how many jump off his bandwagon then.
bill
good point. there’s definitely a polarization of fans out there. old school vs new school. redsox fans must be laughing at us again. 1st they send us damon, now nick. watch out for the idiots. is millar next. we passed on manny.
ya think beckett would stick one in nicks earhole if he asked for the ball after striking out a red sock?
“If it wasn’t for Jeffrey Maier you wouldn’t have your first.”
seriously?
Joltin’ Joe; Beckett would definitely stick one in his ear and Garza (tonight) might too. I can think of a lot of pitchers of recent days who might: Clemens, RJ, Pedro, Schilling, Krazy Kyle, AJ might.
i can see nick getting dusted by garza tonite.
Yeah lets drill a player in the head because he asked for his first strike out ball. Okay.
ya just don’t get it
No one seemed ticked off by it. Stop listening to Kay and trying to make something out of nothing.
beckett almost beaned abreu for calling timeout . if a player feels he’s been showed up, he’s going down. it’s old school. today’s “anything goes,” “chilled out” generation can’t understand. fair or not, it’s their game.
Way to go, Swish! Geez, anyone cranky about Swish smiling while getting the job done needs to get over themselves, and that includes one of my favorites, Jorge.
posada didn’t seem too happy about it. nick is high on red bull and if anyone thinks he will be the key to winning because of his goofy smile, get over yourself. the same ones who love him now will hate him if we don’t win and the ones who still love him if we’re losing are losers.
If you listened to Nick’s post game interview he wasn’t happy go lucky. He was down.
Perhaps if Posada and others would lighten up and have fun playing a child’s game, things like this would not have to happen. That is the one big difference between these teams and the early 90′s teams – there is no sense of humor and it really is a bunch of old crabby men. Loosen up. It is baseball and you win when you are having fun. This is not a talent challenged team like the Astros or Senators.
Obviously Joe has a personal problem with Nick. The fact that you say that if you love him after he cools down makes anyone a loser just proves my point. You dont need an all star at every position to win a championship. And ppl like Swish contribute. So what if he has a .250 average when the season ends, his OBP is going to be close to .400, and he hits when its important, let alone taking one for the team and pitching an inning to save another arm in the pen.
Joltin Joe doesnt get it.. How can you condone Beckett throwing at Abreu’s head for the umpire calling timeout??
Throwing at anyone’s head is reprehensible..
I bet Swisher would happily give up a homer to Kapler and strike out himself 4 times if it meant the Yanks won that game..
Stop the mindlessly grabbing of pitchforks because Michael Kay didnt like it..
Why can’t Swisher keep the ball of his MAJOR LEAGUE strikeout ball? He knows this will probably be his first and last of his life… I sure would like to keep it..
Swish deserves to keep smilin…after all, he’s one of the only things that’s been solid since the start of the season.
At least someone in pinstripes enjoys playing baseball. The Yanks need to put Joba back in the pen where he belongs and call up Phil Hughes before the season gets away from them. I wonder if ARoid can pitch?
Yeah Joltin Joe, throwing at someone’s head may be “old school” but it isn’t tough. It’s a sissy move. None of these pitchers are standing there and taking the consequences of their actions, facing the guy they just tried to injure man to man. They’ve got eight teammates out there to hold the batter back from beating their heads in. And half the time they throw at someone it has nothing to do with the intended target – it’s because of something the other pitcher did. Beanballs are stupid, cowardly, and dangerous.
But they’re “old school” so they’re ok, right? I’m sick of this childish worship of past generations. Just because something’s “old school” doesn’t mean it’s cool. Newsflash, junior: certain people who were part of earlier generations were just as stupid, ignorant, weak and cowardly as the losers we have to put up with today. Burning witches is old school. Slavery is way old school. Grow up and join us in the here and now.
I’m tired of this take no prisoners win now mentality. Teams go through slumps, sometimes it rains. Every ten or so years your doggie or kitty is probably going die. It’s called life. This isn’t mlb 2009, you can’t win everything all the time. Last night we were just over matched last night. And guess what else, the only thing that kept me remotely interested in the game with Sweet Swish pitching an inning. Hilarious.
And Giuseppe Franco, here’s a mind-blowing stat straight from the archives. Every team in the history of baseball that has won the World Series has managed to do so without A-Rod.
Why hasnt anyone mentioned Ankiel 2.0? But w/o the bat
Swisher merchandise is flying off the shelves. I’m getting my shirt later.
Nick Swisher > Chien-Ming Wang as a pitcher
btw…never heard kay’s take on it (whom i despise anyway)
and never condoned taking a shot at a batter. just reporting the facts friends, don’t take it personal.
I hope Swisher remains hot with his at bats and Joe finds ways to keep him in the line up, while also getting Nady his at bats…As far as him enjoying himself while pitching in probably his only major league game,..What`s wrong with that?… the game was out of reach for the yank`s
One thing I do know is while it is a professional sport baseball is also still a game…and it is okay to have fun and try not to get down on yourselves when playing in a really bad outing situation…Not everyone is an O`niel or maybe a Posada that need anger to spur themselves on when doing badly whether in an at bat or as a team in a game…Everyone has bad days whether it be in baseball or even for non players in their own job situations and as far as myself when I have bad days at work I get mad about them for a short time sure…but then I try and laugh it off learn from any mistakes that I made that might have contributed to my bad day and get over it…Cause guess what?…. tommorrow is another day.
Swish is these Yankees’s MVP. Literally. Sending him to the mound was beyond insane. Praying to God he suffers no ill effects from the outing. Jesus Christ.