Do You Wish the Yankees Had Nick Swisher?
Ichiro Suzuki is hitting .111 as of April 8. Brennan Boesch is hitting .200 as of the same date. The two have a combined four hits on the season. But does that mean the Yankees should have overpaid for Nick Swisher? Absolutely not.
Cleveland signed Swisher to a four-year, $56 million deal in the off-season. Think about that for a moment. $14 million per year for a lifetime .255 hitter who is one of the streakiest in Major League Baseball. There is nothing in the "worth-it" department for the Yankees with this one. Ichiro should turn it around and he brings more to the overall game with more speed and better fielding. Plus, he makes $6.5 million this year and next. Boesch costs nothing.
But the biggest reason why Swisher not being a Yank is a good thing? The postseason. Swisher is horrendous in October. And that is what the Yankees play for. Swisher hit .111 and .250 last year against Baltimore and Detroit, respectively, in the playoffs, with two RBI, just five hits and no home runs and was horrific with runners in scoring position. Swisher hit .211 in the ALDS against Detroit in 2011. Swisher was so bad during the 2009 World Series run he shouldn't have even played. Everyone else picked-up his load.
So the Yanks made the right move here. Swisher belongs somewhere else. The regular season is the regular season. Do you need to win in the regular season to make the playoffs? Absolutely. But this is the Yankees. They have the payroll and enough talent to make the playoffs each year. New York might not win the World Series every year, but the playoffs should be attainable annually, and that is where you make your mark as a Yankee. And Swisher didn't make his mark.
By: Mike Lindsley, "Mid-Day with Mike," 1-4, Yankees pre/post-game host on 104.5 The Team ESPN Radio. Follow him on Twitter at @MikeLSports.