Well we Yankee fans can all breath easier now. The Great A.J. Burnett put us on his back and carried us to our first victory of the year. Now we can begin our road to 160 straight victories. Anything less it would be a failure.
But seriously, it's good to finally put one in the one column and at least shut up the naysayers until the Yanks drop another one. Burnett was solid but not dominant. At this point that's all the Yanks needed. He struck six which were the first strikeouts for Yankee starters all season. Aside from the good signs from Burnett the Yanks also had some promising results from several other players.
Mark Teixeira started to find his grove a little and jacked one out for the first time as a pinstriper. Robbie Cano continued to show that his new and improved stance is for real and that he intends to be a force in the lineup again. Just an aside on him, he took his third walk of the season this year. He only had 26 all of last year. Now if that is a signal that something will be different for him this year I don't know what is. But the biggest story of all today was the stellar play of Nick Swisher. Swisher had three hits including a double and homer and tied a career high with five RBI.
I have to say that I loved the Swisher pick up this off season by Cashman. He bought low on a guy that the White Sox had no use for and had just had the worst year of his career. All he gave up was Wilson Betemit and a throw away minor leaguer. Yea he'll never come close to hitting .300, but if his OBP is near his career mark of .355 then does it really matter? His versatility will be useful this year off the bench and when 2010 rolls around he will give the Yanks a man to step into one of the corner outfield spots. Girardi is good at getting people in games that have earned time, he's shown that in his bullpen management, hopefully he keeps Swish happy and gets him plenty of at bats.
The Yanks move on to KC now and we get our first looks at Andy Pettitte and Joba Chamberlain while CC Sabathia gets a shot at redemption.
Oh and of note: Carl Pavano still sucks. Couldn't be happier to see him fail. Check that, I'm angrier at the Indians for being dumb enough to give him that much money after what he's done these past four years. Should have read the warning label Shapiro, would have saved you some coin.
Showing posts with label Nick Swisher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nick Swisher. Show all posts
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Friday, November 14, 2008
Hot Stove cooks a couple of meals
Well it didn't take Cashman long to make a few deals and get some pieces set for the Yankees 2009 drive for the World Series. Before free agency hit Cashman resigned Damaso Marte and made a trade for Nick Swisher.
Here are my thoughts on each deal:
Damaso Marte: 3 years for $12 mil, plus club option for 2012
The Yankees have lacked an explosive lefthander in the bullpen for years. Ever since Mike Stanton went to the Mets in 2003 the Yankees haven't been able to find a southpaw who could get anybody out on a consistent basis. The price for Marte was pretty reasonable over three years and he was more effective than his numbers indicated. He was bad when he first arrived in the city but he really pulled things together over the last month of the season or so.
Obviously grades will change by the end of the contract but as of right now: B
Nick Swisher and Kanekoa Teixeira for Wilson Betemit, Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez
Betemit was a throw away player for the Yankees. Swisher was the same for the Sox. The only thing is that the White Sox forgot that Nick Swisher actually knows how to play its just that Ozzie Guillen didn't know how to use him. Betemit will never really amount to much. The Sox could use him all around or as a general replacement for Joe Crede, though, they do have Josh Fields. None of the minor leaguers are of note. Jeff Marquez was a quasi-legitimate prospect two years ago but he failed to deliver last season and he really wont ever be better than a back of the rotation guy. Jhonny Nunez was acquired for Alberto Gonzalez back in June. 'Nough said. Kanekoa has some stuff but like most youngsters he lacks control. It's anybodies guess that he will ever figure it out but most likely he wont. The Yankees bought low on Swisher and lucky for them, the Sox were desperate to unload payroll and took on the debacle known as Wilson Betemit.
Grade: A, even if Swisher doesn't pan out, the Yankees gave up next to nothing to take a flier on him. But the new digs might be just what he needs to get back on track and jack 30 homers a year at a really cheap rate.
Here are my thoughts on each deal:
Damaso Marte: 3 years for $12 mil, plus club option for 2012
The Yankees have lacked an explosive lefthander in the bullpen for years. Ever since Mike Stanton went to the Mets in 2003 the Yankees haven't been able to find a southpaw who could get anybody out on a consistent basis. The price for Marte was pretty reasonable over three years and he was more effective than his numbers indicated. He was bad when he first arrived in the city but he really pulled things together over the last month of the season or so.
Obviously grades will change by the end of the contract but as of right now: B
Nick Swisher and Kanekoa Teixeira for Wilson Betemit, Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez
Betemit was a throw away player for the Yankees. Swisher was the same for the Sox. The only thing is that the White Sox forgot that Nick Swisher actually knows how to play its just that Ozzie Guillen didn't know how to use him. Betemit will never really amount to much. The Sox could use him all around or as a general replacement for Joe Crede, though, they do have Josh Fields. None of the minor leaguers are of note. Jeff Marquez was a quasi-legitimate prospect two years ago but he failed to deliver last season and he really wont ever be better than a back of the rotation guy. Jhonny Nunez was acquired for Alberto Gonzalez back in June. 'Nough said. Kanekoa has some stuff but like most youngsters he lacks control. It's anybodies guess that he will ever figure it out but most likely he wont. The Yankees bought low on Swisher and lucky for them, the Sox were desperate to unload payroll and took on the debacle known as Wilson Betemit.
Grade: A, even if Swisher doesn't pan out, the Yankees gave up next to nothing to take a flier on him. But the new digs might be just what he needs to get back on track and jack 30 homers a year at a really cheap rate.
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