Chance to Lift the Yankees Is Another Missed Opportunity for Swisher
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The path to Nick Swisher’s locker was blocked by a few dozen reporters Thursday night, so he waited. Swisher never said a word about needing to get around them, preferring to let others do it for him. It was more patience than Swisher showed at the start of his at-bat in the ninth inning of Game 5.
When Swisher marched to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded and the Yankees trailing by a run, he was one hit away from expunging his dreary October. A two-run single and the Yankees could have been on their way to the World Series. But Swisher popped out, the Los Angeles Angels won, 7-6, and the American League Championship Series moved back to the Bronx for Game 6 on Saturday night.
What might concern the Yankees is that Swisher acknowledged after the game that he felt tense when he came to the plate with a chance to end the series.
The Angels’ closer, Brian Fuentes, had just walked Alex Rodriguez (intentionally) and Hideki Matsui and then hit Robinson Cano with a pitch. Fuentes was wobbling, but Swisher helped him by swinging at the first two pitches and fouling them off, giving Fuentes an 0-2 count to work with. Swisher said he was trying to hit a line drive, but he seemed anxious.
“I was just trying to calm down as much as I could,” Swisher said. “It’s such a big situation like that. My postseason hasn’t gone exactly as I wanted it to, so I wanted to do my best to try to come through in the clutch for us. It just didn’t happen.”
Despite the edge that Swisher handed him, Fuentes did not take advantage. He quickly ran the count full, leaving himself one pitch away from walking in the tying run.
Fuentes has described himself as a “pretty average” pitcher who succeeds because his deceptive three-quarter delivery can baffle batters. But with a 3-2 count and no open base, there was nothing deceptive about what Fuentes had to do. He had to throw a pitch over the plate.
He did, with a pedestrian 89-mile-per-hour fastball on the outside corner. Swisher jumped on the pitch, but popped it up to shortstop. The Angels had survived a game with dizzying reversals of fortune.
“Obviously, a big hit like that erases a lot of things,” said Swisher, who is now 3 for 29 in the postseason with a .103 batting average. “But, hey, it didn’t happen for me. If I get up in that situation again, I’ll be ready.”
If the Angels can win the next two games and advance to the World Series, the Yankees will have an off-season full of regrets. At-bats like the one Swisher had in the ninth inning will be chief among them.
Since Joe Saunders, a left-hander, is starting Game 6 for the Angels, it is unlikely that Manager Joe Girardi will bench Swisher, a switch-hitter. Girardi’s option would be to start Brett Gardner, a left-handed hitter, in center field and move Melky Cabrera to Swisher’s position in right.
But Girardi has been supportive of Swisher and said the Yankees would keep starting the players who have helped them make it this far. Swisher is 5 for 21 (.238) against Saunders in his career and has more at-bats against him than any other Yankee. He was 1 for 2 with a walk against Saunders in Game 2. Gardner is an energetic player who was 16 for 55 (.291) against left-handers this season.
When Swisher was asked Thursday night about the support Girardi has shown for him by keeping him in the lineup to this point, he became testy. Swisher wondered if a reporter was trying to “stir anything up” by asking about his status.
“I didn’t expect to be out of the lineup, if that’s what you’re asking,” he said. “We feel pretty confident about where we are. This thing is going to come around.”
Because Rodriguez has had a monstrous postseason (.400, 5 home runs, 11 runs batted in) and Derek Jeter has been typically reliable (.314, 3 homers, 5 R.B.I.), they have helped obscure how Swisher, Mark Teixeira (.174), Cano (.212) and Johnny Damon (.211) have often struggled at the plate.
Unlike Swisher, however, Teixeira and Cano had big hits in the Yankees’ two-out, six-run rally in the top of the seventh Thursday night, giving them something to build on in Game 6.
Swisher does not have that same foundation. The quick-talking, head-bobbing right fielder, who has added personality to the Yankee clubhouse all season, was visibly subdued after Thursday night’s game, trapped in a postseason slump that he could not escape when he desperately needed to.
“I wanted to come clutch,” Swisher said. “It just didn’t happen.”
David Waldstein contributed reporting from New York.
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The path to Nick Swisher’s locker was blocked by a few dozen reporters Thursday night, so he waited. Swisher never said a word about needing to get around them, preferring to let others do it for him. It was more patience than Swisher showed at the start of his at-bat in the ninth inning of Game 5.
When Swisher marched to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded and the Yankees trailing by a run, he was one hit away from expunging his dreary October. A two-run single and the Yankees could have been on their way to the World Series. But Swisher popped out, the Los Angeles Angels won, 7-6, and the American League Championship Series moved back to the Bronx for Game 6 on Saturday night.
What might concern the Yankees is that Swisher acknowledged after the game that he felt tense when he came to the plate with a chance to end the series.
The Angels’ closer, Brian Fuentes, had just walked Alex Rodriguez (intentionally) and Hideki Matsui and then hit Robinson Cano with a pitch. Fuentes was wobbling, but Swisher helped him by swinging at the first two pitches and fouling them off, giving Fuentes an 0-2 count to work with. Swisher said he was trying to hit a line drive, but he seemed anxious.
“I was just trying to calm down as much as I could,” Swisher said. “It’s such a big situation like that. My postseason hasn’t gone exactly as I wanted it to, so I wanted to do my best to try to come through in the clutch for us. It just didn’t happen.”
Despite the edge that Swisher handed him, Fuentes did not take advantage. He quickly ran the count full, leaving himself one pitch away from walking in the tying run.
Fuentes has described himself as a “pretty average” pitcher who succeeds because his deceptive three-quarter delivery can baffle batters. But with a 3-2 count and no open base, there was nothing deceptive about what Fuentes had to do. He had to throw a pitch over the plate.
He did, with a pedestrian 89-mile-per-hour fastball on the outside corner. Swisher jumped on the pitch, but popped it up to shortstop. The Angels had survived a game with dizzying reversals of fortune.
“Obviously, a big hit like that erases a lot of things,” said Swisher, who is now 3 for 29 in the postseason with a .103 batting average. “But, hey, it didn’t happen for me. If I get up in that situation again, I’ll be ready.”
If the Angels can win the next two games and advance to the World Series, the Yankees will have an off-season full of regrets. At-bats like the one Swisher had in the ninth inning will be chief among them.
Since Joe Saunders, a left-hander, is starting Game 6 for the Angels, it is unlikely that Manager Joe Girardi will bench Swisher, a switch-hitter. Girardi’s option would be to start Brett Gardner, a left-handed hitter, in center field and move Melky Cabrera to Swisher’s position in right.
But Girardi has been supportive of Swisher and said the Yankees would keep starting the players who have helped them make it this far. Swisher is 5 for 21 (.238) against Saunders in his career and has more at-bats against him than any other Yankee. He was 1 for 2 with a walk against Saunders in Game 2. Gardner is an energetic player who was 16 for 55 (.291) against left-handers this season.
When Swisher was asked Thursday night about the support Girardi has shown for him by keeping him in the lineup to this point, he became testy. Swisher wondered if a reporter was trying to “stir anything up” by asking about his status.
“I didn’t expect to be out of the lineup, if that’s what you’re asking,” he said. “We feel pretty confident about where we are. This thing is going to come around.”
Because Rodriguez has had a monstrous postseason (.400, 5 home runs, 11 runs batted in) and Derek Jeter has been typically reliable (.314, 3 homers, 5 R.B.I.), they have helped obscure how Swisher, Mark Teixeira (.174), Cano (.212) and Johnny Damon (.211) have often struggled at the plate.
Unlike Swisher, however, Teixeira and Cano had big hits in the Yankees’ two-out, six-run rally in the top of the seventh Thursday night, giving them something to build on in Game 6.
Swisher does not have that same foundation. The quick-talking, head-bobbing right fielder, who has added personality to the Yankee clubhouse all season, was visibly subdued after Thursday night’s game, trapped in a postseason slump that he could not escape when he desperately needed to.
“I wanted to come clutch,” Swisher said. “It just didn’t happen.”
David Waldstein contributed reporting from New York.
Source: New York Times
« Back to Sports News
Related News
-
Yankees Beat Phillies and Move One Victory Away From Winning World Series Oct 23, 2009 @ 01:17 AM
PHILADELPHIA — The Yankees were so different nine years ago, when they won their last World Series, so different and yet somehow the same. They revolve now around a constellation of imported superstars with extravagant contracts. But their ethos is the same. They grind.
-
Umpires Are Caught Off Base by Bad Calls Oct 23, 2009 @ 01:17 AM
ANAHEIM, Calif. — A few minutes before the first game of the World Series next Wednesday, six men wearing blue uniforms will walk onto the field. Normally, they would be ignored until they made a bad call. This postseason, however, there has been no way to ignore them.
-
Yankees can win AL pennant tonight vs. Angels Oct 23, 2009 @ 01:17 AM
ANAHEIM, Calif. — After an off day, the Yankees will try to close out the Angels with a Game 5 win in the American League Championship Series tonight at Angel Stadium. New York has a commanding 3-games-to-1 advantage following Tuesday night's 10-1 victory in Anaheim. The Yanks will send out A.J. Burnett against John Lackey. A Yankee victory would mean their 40th American League pennant.
-
Yankees 4, Twins 3, 11 Innings Oct 23, 2009 @ 01:17 AM
Even for $1.5 billion, the engineers of the new Yankee Stadium could not keep it from shaking. They could not have tested for such a thing, anyway. It comes from postseason passion, in the stands and on the field, the kind that has surfaced in the Bronx more than anywhere else.
-
Perry races past Woods in Tour Championship Oct 23, 2009 @ 01:17 AM
ATLANTA — Kenny Perry already has had a week to remember at the Tour Championship.
