NICK SWISHER'S NOT COMING BACK... MAYBE

I have a hard time understanding why so many of you believe that Nick Swisher is definitely coming back to the Bronx.  I’m about to be frank… Nick Swisher would be an idiot to return and pass up a pay day of a lifetime in his first free agent season ever... especially now that he and JoAnna Garcia just announced they will be having a new little Bambino coming in the Spring of 2013 (Read THERE'S GONNA BE A LITTLE SWISHER RUNNING AROUND...)  Then again, God plays tricks on everyone, including me, and that may be the perfect reason why Nick Swisher will try and stay in New York and taking a hometown discount.  For all we know JoAnna is going to start "nesting" in Manhattan and that is where they'll stay. Who the hell really knows. But now I'm just getting all wacky. Let me give you my thoughts about this straight...


Sure, Nick Swisher blew it in the postseason, that's a fact, but that’s not Nick.  Nick’s a solid athlete, good hitter, and an average outfielder, but the energy and his decent playing ability alone will get him a deal, a good deal somewhere else… but it’s my estimation that the New York Yankees is no longer his home... when it comes to playing baseball of course.

Let me continue being frank… the Yankees would be idiots to bring him back for any asking price higher than what he was signed at per season ($5.4 in 2009 to $10 million in 2012.) Why would they? The Yankees, fortunately for them, could use the postseason as a reference point for them…”You have solid outings but then you hit the postseason, you shit the bed,” they could say and just show him his postseason numbers on a sheet of paper (26-154).  This would be followed up with his 2012 batting average of .272 and that dreaded missed catch in the playoffs that was “lost in the lights”, read HERE.  The Yankees are in the drivers seat on this one and they should pull out all the stops.

Look, do I welcome Nick Swisher back if he wants to come back? Sure, but shits about to get real.  I’m not going to sit here and give him what he wants, whatever years and salary he wants… you want to know why? Because if I'm the Yankees, I can handle it my way.  I have Ichiro Suzuki waiting in the wings.  I have a guy like Torii Hunter out there whom I’m sure the Yanks would ask to play 2 years for them and a few million cheaper than Nick Swisher is asking… you know what I mean?

I have a guy like Raul Ibanez I could try and snatch up, whom I can platoon with Ichiro and have an outfielder and a DH. Somone I can also platoon at DH with a guy like Alex Rodriguez, all for the price of about $4 million for 1 year alone for Ichiro and Raul combined.  The point is, the Yankees are covered and if Nick wants to come back cheap knowing all his imperfections, we can work something out for sure…but I’m not holding my breath, because now it’s business. Nick knows it and the Yankees know it.  It's no longer about laughing and cracking jokes and making devil horns to the fans. 

New York Fans are fed up with postseason doom and when guys like Ichiro and Raul, 2 solid players who performed wonderfully in the playoffs, just want to play baseball and aren’t looking for a big pay day… guess what I’m doing as a team GM?  I’m going with production and performance.  Energy, while great, doesn’t always cut it if you can’t produce.

So yeah, sorry to get all real on you, but the reality is, I truly feel like Nick Swisher is finished in the Bronx and sure, while it would be great to have him return to right field, he’s going to have to take a discount… a big one.  That’s the bottom line. 

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