Nick Swisher?

[inari]

...interested? What would it take to pry him? I'd love to buy low and give him the job in right field.

[17 Seconds]

I've been a fan of Swisher for a while (and not just because of Moneyball), but I don't know. He's gotten progressively worse over the last 3 seasons. I wouldn't give up that much for him I don't think. I'd rather have him than Abreu though.

[17 Seconds]

Now that I look at it, he wasn't bad at all in 2007. For some reason I remembered him being worse that year... maybe because the home runs were down.

[RynoRules]

FWIW, I met Swisher at a work event a couple of weeks ago. He appears to be in very good shape (very muscular).

 

I had a chance to talk with him for a minute and asked if he is excited to play in NY with the short RF porch. He said he's been working very hard this offseason and is highly motivated to do better than last year.

 

I also "won" a signed Swisher jersey (Sox, but hey, it beats coal in your stocking) because I knew that he, Jerry Browne, and Youkilis were featured prominently in "Moneyball". Along those lines I told him that I am a bit of a "stat head" and that I and others I know love guys like him who take walks and hit for power.

 

All that being said, I think he'd be a really good addition in RF, and would probably come cheap, as noted earlier.

[nilodnayr]

Now that I look at it, he wasn't bad at all in 2007. For some reason I remembered him being worse that year... maybe because the home runs were down.

adjust his 2008 season for babip and it's pretty in line with his career

[BigbadB]

I also "won" a signed Swisher jersey (Sox, but hey, it beats coal in your stocking) because I knew that he, Jerry Browne, and Youkilis were featured prominently in "Moneyball".

 

I believe it's Jeremy Brown.

[NewUserName]

I never heard anything, but I always thought that Swisher was going to struggle with the Sox because he probably didnt fit into the style of play that Ozzie likes. This is just some subjective observation from my point, but I think he is worth the gamble for the next couple of seasons.

[anabiono]

why do people think the yankees are going to get rid of swisher...that wouldn't be too bright

[inari]

why do people think the yankees are going to get rid of swisher...that wouldn't be too bright

 

...why?

[anabiono]

because they are stacked right now

 

unless i am missing something, i really don't see any reason behind trading away the probably soon to be extremely valuable swisher

[Derwood]

because they are stacked right now

 

unless i am missing something, i really don't see any reason behind trading away the probably soon to be extremely valuable swisher

 

swisher is a bench player on that team

[Butterscup1679666578]

why do people think the yankees are going to get rid of swisher...that wouldn't be too bright

 

they said they would.

[RynoRules]

I also "won" a signed Swisher jersey (Sox, but hey, it beats coal in your stocking) because I knew that he, Jerry Browne, and Youkilis were featured prominently in "Moneyball".

 

I believe it's Jeremy Brown.

 

 

Meh, must have been thinking of the former Gov. and Presidential candidate.

[RynoRules]

why do people think the yankees are going to get rid of swisher...that wouldn't be too bright

 

they said they would.

 

Link?

[Butterscup1679666578]

why do people think the yankees are going to get rid of swisher...that wouldn't be too bright

 

they said they would.

 

Link?

 

I guess they didn't definitely say it, it was just speculation by the Post

 

http://blogs.nypost.com/sports/st/archives/2008/12/3_up_happy_holi.html

http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081223&content_id=3727624&vkey=news_sf&fext=.jsp&c_id=sf

[BigbadB]

I also "won" a signed Swisher jersey (Sox, but hey, it beats coal in your stocking) because I knew that he, Jerry Browne, and Youkilis were featured prominently in "Moneyball".

 

I believe it's Jeremy Brown.

 

 

Meh, must have been thinking of the former Gov. and Presidential candidate.

 

That's closer, but there is no "e" at the end of Brown for the former California politician.

 

Okay, now I'm just being argumentative for no apparent reason.

:hello:

[Dallas Green]

Swisher was Hendry's back-up plan to Fukudome last year, if that tells you anything. They could have changed their minds on him by now.

[Cynosure]

Good for the clubhouse, bad for the team.

 

Bradley or bust.

[17 Seconds]

Good for the clubhouse, bad for the team.

 

Bradley or bust.

 

How is he bad for the team? Swisher's career OPS+ is only slightly worse than Bradley's and he's younger, cheaper, and not a lock to get injured like Bradley is.

[The Other 15]

Didn't you just poke fun of Ibanez's SLG "for a corner OF" in another thread? Now a guy who sluggs .450 is an option? Who cares if he's cheap and young, he also needs to be good. Swisher is not. He's this off-seasons flavor of Brad Wilkerson circa 2004. Then 2005 came and, poof, all the wanna-be-sabermatricians dream of a "young and cheap" bat was exposed as nothing special.

 

I know, I know, I'm about to get some BABIP based explanation about how the poor guy hit ropes at people all of last year. And I'm sure there will be another attempt to bring in how truly wonderful Greene will be in Cardinal red because he was another guy who was just unlucky. But little guys who hit alot of balls in the air will always be unlucky.

 

He's not the LH bat I want in RF. And I don't believe for a second that anyone really does despite their arguments.

 

Forget Bradley, this isn't fantasy, you don't pay someone big money to play 90 games. Forget Dunn, the Cubs don't need to follow the Dye, Konerko, and Thome middle of the order no matter how good those three can be when they're hitting HR's. Forget giving Abreau a deal that will suck in a year and a half. Forget projects like Swisher. Since Lou opened up his big trap about how they really needed a LH bat, it seems like that's all that's been focused on. They are intent on signing someone just for the sakes of signing someone. Be patient Jim, your offense is among the best in baseball as it stands. Before you know it there will be other "younger and cheaper" options available.

[inari]

What's wrong with a Dye-Konerko-Thome middle of the order?

[The Other 15]

What's wrong with a Dye-Konerko-Thome middle of the order?

Nothing if you like a station to station offense.

[inari]

What's wrong with a Dye-Konerko-Thome middle of the order?

Nothing if you like a station to station offense.

 

Sounds like clogging the bases all over again. We should get some speedy guys like Juan Pierre.

[TruffleShuffle]

I know, I know, I'm about to get some BABIP based explanation about how the poor guy hit ropes at people all of last year.

 

i'll let someone else do it for me:

 

Swisher’s BABIP in 2008 was very low: .251, to be exact. In the previous three seasons, Swisher’s BABIP had been .308, .287 and .266, respectively. However, Swisher actually hit the most line drives of his career in 2008, hitting liners 20.9% of the time. While he did strike out a lot, his strikeout rate was in line with his career rate, as was his walk rate. Swisher’s skill in hitting the ball and hitting it with authority didn’t change; rather, he simply experienced a lot of bad luck.

 

i guess you can mock the BABIP argument if you want, but when a guy is hitting line drives 20.9% of the time and his BABIP is .251, that's bad luck. he's a good bet to post a line like .240/.360/.440, and could certainly be better than that. he's not great, but he's way better than the options the cubs have on the current roster.

[17 Seconds]

What's wrong with a Dye-Konerko-Thome middle of the order?

Nothing if you like a station to station offense.

 

Sounds like clogging the bases all over again. We should get some speedy guys like Juan Pierre.

 

i think it's more that those 3 guys are huge question marks. thome is 38 and showed a ton of decline last year. konerko has showed a huge decline over the last 3 seasons and was awful last year. dye was good last year but it was pretty only much the second or 3rd time he's had a good year in the last 8 seasons. those guys could all easily be .800 OPS (or worse) guys next season