Nick Swisher Traded To Yankees

15 Responses to “Nick Swisher Traded To Yankees”

1. Coley Ward says:

   November 13, 2008 at 6:33 pm

   I’ve thought about it and thought about it and the conclusion I keep coming back to is that either we value Swisher a lot more than other GMs do, or Kenny Williams is an idiot, or Williams and Cashman know something about Swisher that we don’t, or some combination of those things.

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2. melissa says:

   November 13, 2008 at 7:49 pm

   Kenny Williams is giddy that he picked up Marquez, a guy he thinks can contend for a spot in next year’s rotation. He thinks pitching coach Don Cooper can do for him what he has done for Matt Thornton, Gavin Floyd, Bobby Jenks, and John Danks. Those were all hard throwing guys that other organizations felt hadn’t lived up to their potential. The Sox were very disappointed with Swisher offensively last season and he showed he’s a below average defender in center field. He’s a nice guy to back up first and either corner outfield spot which means he wasn’t going to play a lot for the Sox next year. The Sox also picked up Wilson Betemit who will be a nice back up for them at third considering Joe Crede is leaving. The Sox also received righty pitcher Jhonny Nunez in the deal. Even if Swisher has a bounce back season this deal is a good one for the White Sox. I remember when Kenny moved Brandon McCarthy to the Rangers for John Danks and Nick Masset, everyone said he was an idiot then too.

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3. Coley Ward says:

   November 13, 2008 at 8:36 pm

   The numbers suggest, as Paul pointed out, that Swisher is a candidate for a comeback. And I agree. I must admit I didn’t watch Swisher play much in 2008. Keith Law described him as sluggish in his piece reacting to the trade. Maybe there’s more going on here than just bad luck. Maybe there’s something physically or emotionally wrong with Swisher. And if that’s the case, then maybe this was a good deal for the Sox. I just don’t know.

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4. melissa says:

   November 13, 2008 at 9:50 pm

   I am also wondering about his mindset as a Yankee where he won’t be allowed to have wacky facial hair or blow-up dolls in the club house. Unfortunately for the Sox Swisher made more noise off the field than on it.

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5. mike rook says:

   November 13, 2008 at 10:47 pm

   Hello fellow bloggers heres the skinny. The yankees got the long end of the stick. The Sox Jeff Marquez who was a number one pick in 2004 however is not major leauge ready and may never be. the other reliver was picked up mid season as a tag along part of a trade agreement and i believe will be in A ball next year. Wilson Bedimit is a horrible feilder whos only upside is that he hits the occasional homerun off the bench. When you think about Swisher he is a Younger version of Giambi a .250 hitter who is going to hit 25 home runs. The differance is swisher can field his position and play in the outfield. I dont know alot about the pitcher they got from the sox except that he was there #2 prospect and is only 22 years old. From what I understand he dosent have stuff but may project as a middle reliever in a year or two. So where is the downside?

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6. Sarah Green says:

   November 13, 2008 at 11:07 pm

   I think this is a great deal for the Yankees. But where’s the surprise there? They keep making great trade after great trade these days. Yep, just pantsing everyone, right and left.

   I’m tired of Boston playing in the AL East. When do we get to play in the NL West?

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7. melissa says:

   November 13, 2008 at 11:07 pm

   There may not be a downside for either team. Isn’t it possible for both teams to benefit? I will be real interested to see how Swisher’s off the field antics fare in the Bronx if he doesn’t perform. In Chicago he created a very big profile for himself off the field and didn’t back it up on the diamond. He may have just had a down year but he was not very good on the South Side.

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8. Sarah Green says:

   November 13, 2008 at 11:21 pm

   Melissa, you raise an excellent point — we shouldn’t be so quick to try to assign a winner and a loser in every trade.

   But Wilson Betemit? Blarg.

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9. Paul Moro says:

   November 14, 2008 at 11:42 am

   I never mean to assign winners and losers of trades. I don’t like doing it. Because the most interesting trades are the ones where there are no losers and makes sense for both sides.

   But this doesn’t make sense to me from the Chicago side. And yes, I’ve been burned by doubting Ken Williams in the past. Chances are, I’m going to get burned in the future as well.

   But Marquez doesn’t throw hard. He’s 92 with sink. Which is odd because for a sinkerball pitcher, he gave up a ton of homeruns this year, which doesn’t bode well for him in the South Side.

   I just don’t agree with selling low. And Swisher was sold at his absolute lowest.

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10. Coley Ward says:

    November 14, 2008 at 4:40 pm

    Paul, I agree with that assessment, up until the last part. Swisher could get worse. What if the Braves had traded Jeff Francoeur after 2007? You might have said Atlanta traded him at his absolute lowest. But guess what? He got worse in 2008.

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11. melissa says:

    November 14, 2008 at 5:05 pm

    The fact that Marquez is a sinkerballer is exactly why the Sox wanted him. They think they can get him straightened out, like they have with many other young pitchers, and he will be productive for them. Only time will tell. He may in fact be a bust but I guarantee the White Sox have spotted something in this guy that they think they can “fix.” It’s also important to understand that the Sox were tired of Swisher’s act in the clubhouse and wanted him to take his show elsewhere. He was so bad that by September they preferred playing Ken Griffey Jr. in center. That is really bad. Even after Carlos Quentin went down in left they still didn’t play Swisher. DeWayne Wise got more playing time while Swish rode the pine.

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12. Paul Moro says:

    November 14, 2008 at 5:13 pm

    Melissa, why Marquez though? He sure as hell isn’t the only sinkerballer in the minors And why trade Swisher to get him? Why not someone of a lesser value? It doesn’t even out in my brain.

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13. melissa says:

    November 14, 2008 at 7:40 pm

    First, the Sox wanted to unload Swisher. Now, they may not have gotten enough value for him but they wanted him gone. I don’t know if Kenny offered him up or Cashman called and asked what he wanted. It was obvious at the end of the year Ozzie had no intention to continue playing him. I’ve heard Williams say many times that the Sox scout the minor league pitchers on other staffs and target guys that they think they can make an adjustment to and fix. Due to past experience I would not write off these young pitchers just yet because Sox pitching coach, Don Cooper, has gotten a lot of guys on track that other organizations gave up on. Kenny has also made it known that he wants to stock pile arms and he likes having sinkerball pitchers on his staff due to their homer friendly park. Williams said yesterday he thinks Marquez can compete for a spot in the starting rotation. I don’t know if Kenny is right but I tend to give him the benefit of the doubt when he has had a pretty good track record in the recent past.

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