Nick Swisher
remembers when the New York Yankees
were the big, bad dynasty on the big-league block, and he misses those days.
The Yankees special assistant lamented the Los Angeles Dodgers
' recent run of dominance and explained why their ongoing success "bothers the s—" out of him.
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Swisher spent four seasons with the Yankees (2009-12) and was the starting right fielder the last time New York won the World Series, in 2009. His tenure with the club was tied for the longest he spent with any team â matching his four years with the Oakland Athletics
â and he joined the Yankees' front office shortly after announcing his retirement from professional baseball in 2016.
Nick Swisher: The Dodgers 'Have Created a Super Team'
In Swisher's day, the Yankees ran out a lineup of Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter
, Alex Rodriguez
, Mark Teixeira
, Robinson Cano
, Jorge Posada and Swisher himself, backed by a loaded pitching staff and bullpen.
But the Dodgers have taken the Yankees' old blueprint and run with it over the past decade-plus. Aside from reaching the World Series five times since 2017, and winning three of them, they have loaded their roster with former MVPs Shohei Ohtani
, Mookie Betts
and Freddie Freeman
and added big-ticket pitchers like Tyler Glasnow
, Tarik Skubal
, Blake Snell
, Edwin Diaz
and Tanner Scott
.
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"I just think in general, with what the Dodgers are doing, man, they have created a super team, and they are the team to beat," Swisher told Casino.ca
. "It bothers the s— out of me because we used to be the team to beat, and now they are. So tides have turned."
The Yankees are favored to win the American League and have somehow banked a 99.7% postseason probability despite missing captain Aaron Judge
for nearly three months.
This has also been a resurgent year for New York sports thanks to the Knicks
' title run, and Swisher thinks the Yankees should take a cue from them.
"We just need to get ourselves back to that glory land, man. Because it's been since '09 since we won this thing, baby, and we need to party with these young thunder
cats," Swisher said. "They have never seen us party before. They see what the Knicks can do, but when the Yankees win, bro, it's a whole different level."
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Nick Swisher: The Yankees' Season 'Looks Very Good For Us'
The Yankees have arguably the best pitching staff in the majors â and it could look even more dangerous in October.
That, Swisher argues, is what makes this the Yankees' year.
"Having the ability to have four quality starters going into the playoffs, then all of a sudden you have the ability to move someone like a Ryan Weathers
to the bullpen. You have the ability to move a Will Warren
to the bullpen if needed, because having those swing-and-miss guys there, early part of the bullpen, back end of the bullpen," Swisher said. "However [manager Aaron] Boone decides to use those guys, we've got a lot of guys with a lot of skills that are coming back, and if we can continue to keep ourselves afloat with where we are right now, the end of the season looks very good for us in my mind."
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This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Former Yankees World Series Champ Explains Why Dodgers' Dominance 'Bothers the S—' Out of Him
appeared first on HEAVY
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