This ain't '98, and that's all right

In today's Record, columnist Bob Klapisch makes the '98/'09 comparison.

It's a comparison we've seen before and we will see again.

After all, this year's squad has won more games than any team since 1998, and seems poised for great things.

Yet, I wonder, must we compare the 2009 Yankees to the 1998 squad?

Does not the 2009 squad have an identity and a legitimacy in its own right?

I know we're Yankee fans. I know we don't think of any team as legitimate unless it wins the World Series, or else KO's Boston in the postseason. This is our hubris, will forever be our hubris, and it is also the number one identifying factor of being a Yankee fan: We expect to win every year, and no other baseball team can lay claim to that.

That said, we will remember the 2009 team.

We will remember this season, and we won't need to remember 1998 for 2009 to mean something.

We remember the way the 1998 team dominated; we will remember the way the 2009 fought--17 walk off wins, the ties season series against Boston after starting 0-8, the way the team just never, ever gives up.

In 1998 we remember perfection, in 2009 we will remember pies.

In 1998, the rotation dominated so completely that we did not give much thought to the bullpen and certain overused arm (I'm looking at you, Ramiro Mendoza); in 2009 the bullpen is the unsung hero of so many come-from-behind and walk off wins.

When it comes down to it, here's the answer you're looking for:

Can the 2009 Yankees beat the 1998 Yankees?

This is a really, really, really good Yankees team we have been able to watch this season.

While we're off comparing this year's team to a team that played in what was, at the time, a weaker division, let's not forget that.

The 1998 Yankees, on paper, are a better team. Better in the outfield and more pitching depth.

Knowing what we know about the 2009 Yankees, however, one must assume that on any given day, in any given conditions, this year's team could be the 1998 Yankees. Most likely in a walk off.


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I plan to head to the Stadium to catch at least some of this afternoon's game. If you're going and would like to say hello, drop me an email.

Joba's Troubles Concerning

The Yankees, as of September 5th 2009, do not have a lot of concerns.

They have the best record in baseball by a decent margin and have had quite a few win streaks of seven games or more. Losses are rare; the team has lost only two series entirely since the All Star Break.

Life, as a Yankees fan, is pretty darned good.

It is not, however, perfect.

There are concerns, and right now there is probably none looming as large as Joba Chamberlain.

It's true that AJ Burnett hasn't won in a month, but some of those non-decisions and losses have more to do with the Yankees giving him no run support than they do Burnett pitching poorly.

Chamberlain, on the other hand, has not pitched well since before that first Boston game of that four-game sweep we remember so fondly.

Since that game, Chamberlain has pitched to an ERA of 7.96, which, even considering ERA's inaccuracies, is really, really bad. Like, Sergio Mitre in that time has been almost twice as good.

Seriously.

Chamberlain's 20-17 strikeouts to walks is nearly identical, which is not something you'd want even from your number five starter, let alone someone that's going to start games for your team in the playoffs.

Opponents are OPSing .923 against Chamberlain--that's better than Mark Teixeira.

Then there's also the fact that Joba is fast (okay, maybe not so fast) approaching the 150 innings gray area, in which the Yankees will begin to risk his long-term health if he keeps going out there.

In short, Joba has about four weeks to show some massive improvement, or else the Yankees might seriously consider starting Mitre, because if the Yankees are in the ALCS, fans will remember easily that a game four win actually matters. At least Mitre can get the occasional out.

Nick Swisher is more important than you think

Take a moment with me, and imagine the following scenario:

It is, say, April 14, 2009. The season is a week old and your baseball team, your beloved New York Yankees have gone to war with an outfield that consists of Johnny Damon, Brett Gardner and Xavier Nady, with Melky Cabrera available off of the bench.

Technically, you do have a fifth outfielder in Hideki Matsui, but his legs can't play in the field until mid-season, and that's if the baseball gods are smiling.

The Yankees have used the extra roster spot for another utility infielder--because Alex Rodriguez is out for another month with the hip injury and Mark Teixeira's wrist has been hurting.

You're watching the Yankees take on the Tampa Bay Rays. It's the middle innings of a game. A Ray, let's say for the sake of story it's Carl Crawford, hits a single to right. Xavier Nady goes to throw it back into the infield and feels a sharp pain in his elbow. He has to take himself out of the game.

That very night he goes for an MRI and word comes back: torn UCL; he needs a second Tommy John surgery.

The Yankee outfield is down to Damon, Cabrera and Gardner. Damon's body can't play every day and together the Yankees can't carry both Cabrera and Gardner's bats while also missing A-Rod and, for all intents and purposes, Mark Teixeira. The top outfield prospect is in his first year at AAA and bringing him up now would kill an option, a year and, more importantly, said prospect is nowhere near ready with his bat.

Your options: take a flier on someone that couldn't make the cut out of spring training, or orchestrate a trade that every other team might see as desperation.

Now what?


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Remember back to late 2008.

In Yankeeland, there is talk of three big free agents: CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Mark Teixeira. Even Derek Lowe creeps in a little bit.

Surely the Yankees are going to sign one, but which?

Then, suddenly, news comes of a trade:

The Yankees have traded Wilson Betemit and minor leaguer Jeffrey Marquez for OF/1B Nick Swisher and RP Kanekoa Texeira.

There is one throught that races through the minds of Yankees' fans: Swisher is a 1B. Does this definitively mean the Yankees will not sign Mark Teixeira?

That answer comes just before Christmas, when the Yankees shock, well, a lot of people by not just signing CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett, but also sign Mark Teixeira as well.

Nick Swisher goes from the presumptive first baseman to an extra outfielder, one that can play corner spots, hit for some power and strike out a ton, but is a clear upgrade over Wilson Betemit. It's not that it'd be hard to find an upgrade over Betemit, but an upgrade that can hit 20 home runs and take 80+ walks? A bit harder.

****

Fast forward to April 2009 as it does happen.

Xavier Nady does, indeed get hurt while Rodriguez is still out and Teixeira has a bum wrist, but no one panics. In the scheme of things, the response is "it stinks, but it's not Sabathia/Burnett/Jeter, etc".

Nick Swisher is making a decent name for himself, too.

In the month of April he hits .312/.430/.714/1.144 with seven home runs. He is virtually carrying the team, and it's not just with his bat, either.

When Chien Ming Wang bombs in his second start, Joe Girardi has to resort to using a position player to pitch in the eighth inning. Not only does Swisher take the ball; he is the only Yankee starter in the game to not surrender a run.

Very quickly, he becomes a fan favorite.


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By the end of May the luster on Swisher has dulled. His bat has gone ice cold; he's made some stupid base-running blunders and plays in the field...but it's not as though the Yankees are batting him clean up.

He's hitting usually sixth, towards the bottom of the order, although he occasionally hits second to spell Damon or Jeter.

Despite batting all of .150, Swisher walks 19 times, and, more importantly, the Yankees are winning.

****

In a lot of ways, Nick Swisher personifies the 2009 Yankees.

He's quirky, like those walk-off pies, fun to root for and easy to like. He's got a good heart, hitting his first Yankee Stadium home run of the year the same day he gave a fan battling cancer the experience of her life.

He struggles with RISP, and the occasional moment that makes you go "head-meet-desk", but he's also on pace for more than 28 home runs out of the sixth spot in the line up. He doesn't hit for a high average, but he works counts, takes walks and switch-hits.

You can get caught up in the bad streaks, but if you take a step back you realize just how important to the team he is--like (well, nearly) everyone else--and how much worse things could have been otherwise.