2010 Yankees- Red Sox Comparsion: Right Field

Yankees- Nick Swisher- In 2009, the Yankees replaced the big bat of Bobby Abreu with the less impressive name of Nick Swisher. Some wanted him traded before the season even started and when he made some noise about losing the starting job to Xavier Nady in Spring Training their was also some concern that we might be stuck with another disgruntled, overpaid, hitter. However, Nick found a home in pinstripes and carried the team in April with a red hot start to the season. His playful attitude made him an instant fan favorite and when Nady went down with an injury their was no longer any question about where Swisher would finish the season.

Nick got a lot of credit for the new atmosphere around the clubhouse but he also produced on the field. He came back from a disastrous 2008 to put up a line of .249/.371/.498. That was good for a career best .375 wOBA and it really should have come as no surprise. A quick glance at the stat sheet will show that 2008 was an aberration. The past four years he has always posted of at least .371. In 2008 it was down to .332. His power was down and his average was a meager .219, Swisher's not an average guy but that's bad for even him. Besides that his BABIP was only .251.

I think that its pretty fair to throw 2008 out the window when we're projecting Nick Swisher and besides that he's been a very steadily productive player who will get on base, offer some power, and play solid defense. Besides that, he's a great guy to have in the clubhouse, he's pretty young, he's relatively cheap, and is just a really easy guy to root for. He was a hugely underrated acquisition for the Yanks last year and should be able to hold down right field for the next few years for them.



Red Sox- J. D. Drew- Boston's rightfielder arrived as a controversial free agent signing in the winter of 2007. The Sox gambled on the often injured star with a five year contract worth 70 million and really can't have been all that surprised with the results so far. His 2007 debut in Boston was dissapointing for fans but since then he's been pretty much what they expected when they brought him in. He's bound to get hurt at some point in the year but when he's healthy he makes up for lost time by playing fantastic defense and offering up a nice combination of power and on base percentage at the plate.

He won a championship in first year in Boston but Drew himself did not play up to his normally excellent level. He missed some time of course, playing only 140 games and had troubles both at the plate in the field. He posted career lows in stats across the board and its a good thing for him that he came back strong the next two years. He missed a lot of time in 2008 and only got into 109 games. However, had he stayed healthy he could have been a legitimate MVP candidate. His wOBA was an even .400 and he probably won his team a game or two with his defense. In 2009, he saw some more action but wasn't quite as good and still only played 137 games. He put up a line of .279/.392/.522 and saved his team 10.5 runs over the course of the season according to UZR.

Drew's talent is tantalizing. The only one of the five tools he lacks is speed and you can see why Boston fans seem to get frustrated with him and his injuries. He's good enough that he can make up for it though and Boston usually has a strong enough bench to support him. Their is some reason to be concerned though. He's 35 years old and and his already fragile body could start breaking down. I'm sure its something that Boston's front office guys are keeping in the back of their minds as he plays out the final two years of his big contract.

Advantage- Red Sox- I love Nick Swisher just as much as everybody else in New York, if not a little more, but Drew is just such a talented player that he can't be ignored. He can play gold glove level defense and hit with the best of them. If he could ever stay healthy for full year, he could win an MVP. Luckily for us, the chances of that are pretty low but even in limited time he can produce more than Nick Swisher.