Comments on: Swisher can still redeem himself

By: Klemy

Klemy — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:03:46 +0000

I don’t even know where to start with that. It’s not going to be worth the time on a Friday.

By: A.D.

A.D. — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:49:39 +0000

Actually I think you’re missing my point, if we look at Swisher’s numbers this season he’s able to maintain a strong walk rate against top notch pitching, which CB is saying this top notch playoff pitching will make it harder for Swisher to walk. The numbers we have for the season show he should still be able to walk, unless all of those pitchers have good ERAs and bad walk rates (seems unlikely), thus I’m taking a good ERA as a proxy for being a good pitcher, thus having better control & command.

However Swisher does perform poorer to good & great pitching, which is to be expected, but when I did this against someone like Pujols, he mashed everyone. Swisher’s avg is the big drop as his OBP against 110+ pitchers is ~130 pts above his avg.

I could do this looking at his walk rate vs the best pitchers at not walking people, but we don’t have an easy benchmarked BB/9 rating to work with.

By: themgmt

themgmt — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:45:49 +0000

his Babip over 30 ABs tells you nothing. Lot of weak contact for swish.

By: Jack

Jack — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:34:24 +0000

Who have you been watching? How many times have they replaced him for defend?

That doesn’t mean he’s bad, it just means they have someone who’s better.

By: Frank Fernandez

Frank Fernandez — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:52:14 +0000

Yup. I thought the opposite would be true as well. That his attitude would make him relaxed and productive in this setting, not hyperactive and stressed. That’s why I think he should sit. He’s in a very bad place.

By: mustang

mustang — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:37:22 +0000

I agree.
I just think that in the haste to prove a point some people have jumped off the old RAB bridge. LOL

PS- CB above and Pasqua below make excellent points.

By: Count Zero

Count Zero — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:09:30 +0000

/nod

As I sort of said in the recap thread:

1) When you and everyone else in the world know exactly what’s coming…
2) And it’s a 91mph straight fastball in the heart of the plate…
3) And you can’t even get good wood on it…

Then you definitely aren’t seeing the ball well.

If you’re expecting Swish to break out and go 3-4 on Saturday night, you are almost certainly going to be disappointed. He isn’t just getting unlucky — he looks lost right now.

By: Rob in CT

Rob in CT — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:07:58 +0000

I think there is truth to this. But a good player like Swish should come around. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if guys like Gardner (rookie) or Hairston (1st playoff experience) were just as jumpy.

By: Rob in CT

Rob in CT — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:06:47 +0000

He’s basically average in RF. This year, he was a tiny bit below average. In his career, he’s been solidly above average. He looks clumsy. He’s a goof. This does not mean, however, that he is a bad defender. He has decent range, gets decent jumps and has a solid if unspectacular arm.

He is not gardner out there. He gets replaced sometiems because the Yankees have superior defenders available. Flip that around to offense and do the Yankees have a superior hitter available? No, they do not. Swisher > Gardner. Swisher >> Hairston.

By: Pasqua

Pasqua — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:00:50 +0000

I generally don’t consider a guy’s personality when judging their performance, but I can’t help but wonder if a very excitable Nick Swisher is just not a good match for the spotlight of the playoffs. He appears way off of his game; swinging out of his shoes, getting (too) aggressive early in the count, and generally “trying to do too much” (and, yes, I know it’s impossible to quantify that). I’ve appreciated the enthusiasm and the balls-to-the-wall style that he’s exhibited, but it pains me to see him in this state.