Bleacher Report - Articles by rmonsta

Yankees' Nick Swisher Proving To Be a Great Addition

rmonsta — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 07:06:07 -0400

After a shaky start to the season, the New York Yankees are back on track with a three game winning streak. The pitching has been much better and has been backed up well by an offense that has posted 21 runs in three games.

One of the most productive players of the streak has been switch hitting Nick Swisher, who is batting .538 going 7-13 with nine RBI and two homers.

The numbers are impressive and make it very difficult to put him back on the bench, which leads to the question: Could he be an option at third until ARod returns?

Cody Ransom's numbers have been poor so far and is the only weak link in the infield. We could line up with Nady, Damon, and Matsui all in the offense, as we wouldn't need to sacrifice one for Swisher to play. Along with Jeter, Teixeira, Cano, Posada, and Gardner, our line up is much more potent.

Swisher also seems to be a great player in the clubhouse. His attitude is great and it's clear from his interviews he is loving life in the Bronx.

In a recent interview, he said, "It's like I almost don't want to wake up. I don't want to soak it in right now. I want to keep that fire, keep that passion, and keep that attitude going right now"

I really hope Girardi can find a way to keep Swisher in the line up and also hope Swisher can keep this form going.

As he also said, after Saturday's victory, "I am hitting in the three hole for the New York Yankees! What??"

Sounds like he is living the dream and making the most of his chances.

Another Yankee who looks back to his best is Robinson Cano, who is batting .444 with three RBI and one homer.

It's great to see Cano bouncing back, he had a very poor season last year, and could have been traded, but he worked hard over the winter to get back to his best and it is playing dividends. I coulden't be happier as Cano is one of my favorite players at the club.

Should MLB Do More for Fans in UK and Ireland?

rmonsta — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 09:17:25 -0500

Major League Baseball has grown in popularity in the UK and Ireland over the past decade. However, getting to see your favourite team regularly normally means staying up until the wee hours, watching online or forking out for a subscription to a full-sports package.

Up until 2006, the only TV coverage was a twice weekly program on Channel Five at 1 AM, which had one live game along with highlights and updates on other scores.

In 2002 Setanta Sports launched a channel called NASN (North American Sports Network), which broadcasts ten live games a week in the UK. At first, this was an annual subscription channel costing £10 a month on top of the monthly Sky subscription fee.

This has now been included into the full Setanta Sports package costing £15 per month, which is better value for money so long as you watch the other available sports channels. This channel has now been re-branded "ESPN America" and will continue to give decent coverage, but my main gripe is the fact this is an all-US sports channel.

A major improvement to this channel would be to have a weekly baseball highlights show from UK, with local fans giving input.

With the launch of MLB Network in the US, I would appeal to MLB to make this channel available on the Sky TV Network for UK fans. I currently run a fans' forum called basesloaded.eu and our members from UK and Ireland would love to have not only the live games but the original programs, highlights along with the classic games.

I believe there is enough demand for this and it would help support for Major League Baseball to grow in the UK and Ireland.

I would encourage all fans from UK and Ireland to email MLB network in support of this idea and maybe Sky TV and MLB will make it happen and we can all enjoy watching our favorite teams more often.

The Final Peices Of The 2009 Yankees Jigsaw

rmonsta — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:34:03 -0500

As spring training draws closer there are still many questions surrounding the 2009 New York Yankees. Who will fill the 5th spot in the rotation? Who will start in centre field? Who will be traded from the pile up in corner outfielders?

Starting with the rotation, it now looks very unlikely Andy Pettite will return and that is a real shame. An offer of $10M was more than fair and he should have accepted. I cannot see any other team offering him that kind of cash so retirement looks a real possibility, sadly. I think it may be better for the Yankees to let the young pitchers battle it out for the 5th place anyway. Hughes should win the battle and kick start his career in the majors. Hughes has real ace potential and 5th place on rotation will give him the experience he needs without the pressure of last season.

Sticking with the young pitchers leaves $10M in the wage fund to improve offensively. The perfect plan would be to trade Nady, Swisher and Matsui and invest the money in Manny. The offensive trio of Manny with ARod and Teixeira would take so much pressure off Cano and Melky as they try to bounce back from the disaster of last season. It would also mean less reliance on Posada as he makes his return from shoulder surgery. The stumbling block with this is Matsui has a full no trade clause and is coming off surgery again. Could a team be found willing to take on his $13M wages?

I do believe Brian Cashman will be looking at all these possibilities as we speak, because the chance to add a clutch guy like Manny has to be explored until every possible way has been discounted. If Cashman does decide to go on without Manny we still need to find a way to add another bat as Teixeira cannot replace the production of both Giambi and Abreu.

Its going to be an interesting few weeks as all these questions are answered. One thing is for sure the 2009 Yankees look a much more formidable force from last season already and with a reduced wage bill.