Swisher's had what you would call a very streaky season. Look at his monthly splits;

 

April - .213/.372/.337

May - .176/.272/.275

June - .315/.402/.630

July - .193/.327/.349

August - .300/.417/.660

 

Right now his total numbers for the season is .237/.356/.433 an OPS of .789.

 

Against righties he has a .249/.346/.456 line and against lefties a .202/.382/.365 line. He also seems to love hitting at home;

 

HOME - .275/.390/.569

AWAY - .197/.319/.288

 

What's stunning to me is that he has 17HR's at home in 211 AB's, and only 3HR's on the road in 198 AB's. He also hates hitting indoors;

 

.167/.295/.273

 

So what do you make of Swisher's first season as a whole right now? If he gets an OPS over .800 for example and hits 25HR's with an AVG above .245, is that a sucessful season, and does it justify what the Sox gave up for him?

I think Swisher spent the first half of the season trying to exceed expectations and justify the trade, and now he is finally comfortable and not trying to overdo it

If he follows strong in September and brings his stuff back to career average, then I'd say trade was justified.

 

 

if you consider his effect on the clubhouse and the fun this team is having, plus the fans that love him, well worth it.

If Swish continues to be hot and helps us get into the postseason, then yeah. But really you have to look at it big picture. We got a solid player (whose numbers should go up) for a few years at a very reasonable price. We gave up prospects. Who knows how those prospects will turn out, but I'd say it was a good trade. Probably for both teams it was good.

 

I still don't know if I have faith that Swish will continue to swing the hot bat. as your stats show, he hasn't shown any sort of consistency. but he his fun to watch. --Fake Ed Farmer Quote: Did you see who Nick Swisher hip bumped in the dugout? Claude Raines, the invisible man folks.

I think Swisher spent the first half of the season trying to exceed expectations and justify the trade, and now he is finally comfortable and not trying to overdo it

I think as well and I know you hear this a lot, but when the weather heated up, and the Sox had a fair few games at home, that's when Swisher really began to get it together and began to crush the ball at home.

 

He needs to pick it up on the road though.

 

And I found it interesting that his average against lefties was about 40 points lower, yet his OBP was about 30-40 points higher. He had something around a 29/22 BB/K ratio against lefties.

Also, he has hit much better lower in the order than he did leading off or as the #2. If he hit 5-8 all season, he would probably be at a .260 batting average with an .830ish OPS.

Edited August 21, 200817 yr by RME JICO

I think as well and I know you hear this a lot, but when the weather heated up, and the Sox had a fair few games at home, that's when Swisher really began to get it together and began to crush the ball at home.

 

He needs to pick it up on the road though.

 

And I found it interesting that his average against lefties was about 40 points lower, yet his OBP was about 30-40 points higher. He had something around a 29/22 BB/K ratio against lefties.

Quentin is the same way - much lower AVG, but higher SLG and OBP for some reason.

If Swish continues to be hot and helps us get into the postseason, then yeah. But really you have to look at it big picture. We got a solid player (whose numbers should go up) for a few years at a very reasonable price. We gave up prospects. Who knows how those prospects will turn out, but I'd say it was a good trade. Probably for both teams it was good.

 

I still don't know if I have faith that Swish will continue to swing the hot bat. as your stats show, he hasn't shown any sort of consistency. but he his fun to watch. --Fake Ed Farmer Quote: Did you see who Nick Swisher hip bumped in the dugout? Claude Raines, the invisible man folks.

 

 

LMAO!!!

 

If you hadn't added the invisible man part, I wonder how many on the board would've gotten that.

LMAO!!!

 

If you hadn't added the invisible man part, I wonder how many on the board would've gotten that.

 

Great actor in many memorable films, especially Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia but I would not have gotten the joke if left at name alone.

As much as I cant stand Nick and as much as I rip him I still cheer for him just as loud as any of the other Sox players when they succeed.Its probably not right of me to be cursing him out one second then cheering his homerun the next buts thats the way it is.

As much as I cant stand Nick and as much as I rip him I still cheer for him just as loud as any of the other Sox players when they succeed.Its probably not right of me to be cursing him out one second then cheering his homerun the next buts thats the way it is.

I still do that to Uribe.

Who knows how those prospects will turn out, but I'd say it was a good trade. Probably for both teams it was good.

 

Yea right....GIO IS GOD....Sandy Koufax Jr...

Gio = left handed Pedro Martinez. I digress...

 

 

 

 

 

The move that put this team into contention was Ken Griffey Jr. Anyone who doesn't agree just doesn't watch enough baseball.

I think Swisher just needed the Sox to beat up on Gio to realize there's no pressure because we didn't give up s*** to get him.

The move that put this team into contention was Ken Griffey Jr. Anyone who doesn't agree just doesn't watch enough baseball.

Yeah, we weren't in contention before that deal. In fact, he's been doing fantastic for the Sox so far hitting .239/.321/.304 with a grand total of one extra-base hit.

 

That just screams "person that put the team in contention" to me.

Yeah, we weren't in contention before that deal. In fact, he's been doing fantastic for the Sox so far hitting .239/.321/.304 with a grand total of one extra-base hit.

 

That just screams "person that put the team in contention" to me.

 

But it was a damn good one!

 

 

And his effect is on the team, not his individual stats. It's more than that. SMH at you not following the team concept. Ozzie told me so. Don't be jealous because you don't have Griffey's smile.

Yeah, we weren't in contention before that deal. In fact, he's been doing fantastic for the Sox so far hitting .239/.321/.304 with a grand total of one extra-base hit.

 

That just screams "person that put the team in contention" to me.

 

But it was a damn good one.

 

And it's about the team and that's Griffey's greatest asset. He brings a quiet confident swagger. Something that says, "Don't worry, I've been on sucky teams. Chill out relax and let the good times roll. We got this." I think he's a really good influence to have around. What a great team player. Ozzie will tell you the same.

 

 

But it was a damn good one.

 

And it's about the team and that's Griffey's greatest asset. He brings a quiet confident swagger. Something that says, "Don't worry, I've been on sucky teams. Chill out relax and let the good times roll. We got this." I think he's a really good influence to have around. What a great team player. Ozzie will tell you the same.

You could have the most confident team around, but it still wouldn't matter if your team couldn't score more runs than the opposition.

I think that's sarcasm.

Well, to bring this thread back on topic: the addition of Swisher has been an excellent move and whereas before I thought it would make the difference between 80 wins and 82 I now think it was one of the key pieces that will put this team over the top as they go for a division title and hopefully more.

 

There is strong case to be made from the batted ball data that Swisher was just really f***ing unlucky for about the first 1/2 of the season. Swish is never going to hit .300, but he does have a hell of an eye and some pop. He has never wavered in his approach despite the bad luck, something that is a mark of a good hitter. He leads the league in pitches seen per plate appearance and maintains that ISOd of over .100 like it ain't no thang.

 

Furthermore, his ability to play a decent CF, a good corner OF, and a good 1B have done wonders for a team needing flexibility.

 

And of course, Sweeney was about what people expected (good contact guy, decent eye, little pop, solid starter on a decent team, 4th OF on a good team) and DLS and Gio have been huge dissapointents.

 

And I don't really believe in the whole "clubhouse intangibles" deal, but Swisher certainly doesn't hurt in that regard.

I think that's sarcasm.

I hope it's sarcastic, in which case I would be mistaken in saying that, but I suspect it isn't.

Edited August 22, 200817 yr by Felix

he move that put this team into contention was Ken Griffey Jr. Anyone who doesn't agree just doesn't watch enough baseball.

 

Hope that was a joke which I suspect it was. I mean I love the Sox and agree we're bashing the ball, but we have to prove it against the great teams. We did split with Boston which was good I guess. Our recent play has been great but we've taken care of some s***ty opponents. We need to beat the Rays, Yankees, Bosox, Twinks down the stretch.

I think Swisher spent the first half of the season trying to exceed expectations and justify the trade, and now he is finally comfortable and not trying to overdo it

 

I agree he's been all over the place but can't ascribe it to the trade, he's always been streaky. Even over a 3-year span. ESPN's 2005/2007 monthly splits.

 

Month Avg OBP SLG

Mar/April .218 .274 .372

April .265 .367 .540

May .301 .410 .528

June .228 .337 .374

July .227 .356 .450

August .250 .342 .427

September .247 .369 .518

Sept/Oct .202 .313 .429

October .231 .231 .308

 

What I take from this is a rationalization of the Griffey trade. If Swisher, Thome or Kornerko go back into a funk the White Sox have an option other than just waiting it out.

 

 

4 straight games with a HR.