Swisher dealt to Yanks

by PhillyFriar on Nov 13, 2008 4:41 PM EST

Assuming that Burrell was indeed on his way out, I had been a fan of acquiring Swisher to fill the void in LF. Naysayers will point out that he hit .219 last year, but more than anything, that was the product of a flukish .251 BABIP. He's under control for 3 more years at $21 million -- definitely below market -- and at 28, he'll just be coming into his prime.

So where was Ruben Amaro on this? The Yankees gave up nothing of substance to get a guy who's a versatile fielder (can play all three OF spots and 1B), a switch hitter, and has good plate discipline and power. It looks like the Phils could have surrendered very little (read: none of our top prospects) to get Swisher, but it sounds like we weren't interested.

When we give up more than that to get Jermaine Dye, or when Geoff Jenkins and Jerry Hairston are platooning in LF next year, I'll be pissed -- that's all I'm saying.

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I generally like Swisher and think you could do a lot worse than having him in the outfield, the fact that he seems as if he’s being shuttled from organization to organization is a little troubling to me, vis-a-vis “character” issues.

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by WholeCamels on Nov 13, 2008 4:50 PM EST reply actions

I’m stunned that Williams got so, so little for a useful guy like Swisher.

The pitcher Marquez looks to me like Kyle Kendrick: good but not eye-popping in the minors, low K rate, doesn’t allow a ton of homers. Maybe the AA guy is a stud; I haven’t heard of him. If we could have gotten Swisher for, say, Kendrick and Carpenter, we should have. If a Golson had to go into that mix, fine.

Though WholeCamels’ point does remind me that this is a little bit reminiscent of the infamous Jeremy Giambi deal. Maybe it’s something in the water out in Oakland…

by dajafi on Nov 13, 2008 4:51 PM EST reply actions

Pretty much what I’m getting at, with Beane giving up a guy that he publicly abused himself over in the pages of Moneyball, and then the Sox getting a $5 Prospect Grab-Bag in exchange, makes you wonder if something else isn’t going on.

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by WholeCamels on Nov 13, 2008 4:55 PM EST up reply actions

The character question is a fair one, WholeCamels, and obviously I can’t speak to that. But it seems to me, at least, that Beane dealt Swisher because he got a great return for him (Ryan Sweeney, Fautino de los Santos, and our old friend Gio Gonzalez). Why Williams dumped Swisher for 40 cents on the dollar is beyond me — even if he clashed with Ozzie Guillen, that can’t be that uncommon for a hothead like Guillen, right?

And I think you’re right, dajafi: Marquez looks like a minor league version of Kendrick. Nunez, the other prospect, was an okay minor league reliever, but that’s almost cancelled out by the Yanks getting a relief prospect of their own back in the deal. It looks like the Phils could have given up very, very little to get an effective and cheaply-signed replacement for Pat Burrell. My only question is… why didn’t they?

by PhillyFriar on Nov 13, 2008 5:58 PM EST up reply actions

Saw this on Swisher's Wikipedia page...

Swisher was very close to his paternal grandmother Betty Lorraine Swisher, who raised him after his parents’ divorce and died from brain cancer in 2005; he famously has her initials tattooed on his chest. He points at the sky after every hit to acknowledge her and has her initials inked on the knob of his bats and usually on his batting gloves or shoes. To honor her further, he decided to grow his hair and donate it to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, a program that creates free wigs for cancer patients. On May 19th, 2007, he cut his hair with assistance from his father before Oakland’s game. He intimated in March 2008 that he may again be growing out his hair for the Beautiful Lengths program.

I wonder if the Yankees would ease up on their “clean-cut” grooming policy if it meant something silly like making wigs for cancer patients.

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by WholeCamels on Nov 14, 2008 10:07 AM EST reply actions

Darth Hank cares not for your cancer patients…. Unless they want to catch the game on a tv in the shithouse at the new Yankee Stadium… In that case, he has them covered.

World F*ckin' Champions, indeed...

by foos05 on Nov 14, 2008 10:46 AM EST up reply actions