NICK SWISHER: THE YANKEES 2012 "BAROMETER"

While Derek Jeter represents the heart and soul of the 2012 New York Yankees, it is Nick Swisher who is the barometer of the club.  This season it has seemed that as Swisher goes, so go the “Bombers”.

A look at this year’s highs and lows provides all the proof you need to see that “Swish”, for whatever reason, has become the rudder to our ship.

The team began the season going 13 – 9 in April.  During that time, Swisher hit .284 and drove in 23 RBI.  May wasn’t so kind to our boys in pinstripes as they went 14 – 14 during the month.  Ironically, (or maybe not so ironically) Nick missed the first five games of the month and went on to hit just .207 for it.

As the days warmed up so did the team, and it jumped to the AL East division lead by going 20 – 7 in June.  Sure enough, number 33 was “Swishalicious”, hitting .321 with a .954 OPS.  During a 10-game win streak in that month, Swisher hit .346 with two HR and 5 RBI. 

The up-and-down campaign for the team continued with a mediocre July.  The Yanks spun their wheels, going 13 – 13 in the 26 games played.   Again, the success of the team – or lack thereof – coincided with Nick Swisher’s play at the plate.  He hit just .222 for the month and missed six games with a strained hip flexor.

August brought the team another winning month with a 15 – 13 record, and Swisher was back to hitting the ball with authority as he carried a .306 average and drove in 22 runs.  By now, you are getting my point – in 2012, Nick Swisher’s bat may determine how deep our Yankees go into October.

If September is any indication, we may be in trouble.

For the month, Swisher is hitting .156 – the worst month of his season.  Naturally, the “Bombers” are struggling to hang onto first place.  To date, the team is 5 – 6 since September first and in desperate need of a final-stretch boost.

Hopefully the first two games of our series with Boston provide the jump start that Swisher needs to carry us home.  In them, he has gone 5-for-10 with three doubles.  It may be a sign that his bat is back on the upswing, and with it the Yankees fortunes may turn.

With Mark Teixeira out for a majority of the remaining regular season, not only do the Yankees need Swisher in the field (as the backup first baseman),but they will look to him to replace some of the power in the lineup. 

History (at least THIS year’s history) has shown us that it is a pretty safe bet if Nick Swisher is hot at the plate, the Yankees will be hot in the standings.


 

--Steve Skinner, BYB Guest Writer
Twitter: @oswegos1

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