With 5 RBI today and a grin on his face usually reserved for some sort of creepy clown obstacle on a miniature golf course, Swisher was half of today's one-two punch of second-choice free agents. Burnett and Swisher were supposed to be consolation prizes for whoever didn't get Sabathia and Teixiera, but at this early juncture they look like the better pair. I'm sure that's subject to change after Burnett's first injury and once Teixiera settles in, but...yeah.
It was a good showing all around...home runs are nice but I was much more interested in the prolonged rally in the 6th. Not every game will feature pitching as miserable as the Orioles had today, so the small-ball stuff is much more meaningful as far as I'm concerned...that's how you beat good pitchers as well as bad ones.
Still, because it's my nature to wrest anxiety from the jaws of a feel-good moment, I can't help but notice that this was yet another blowout win. The 2008 Yankees only knew how to win in a blowout, and always seemed to choke in the close games. Until I see some wins without absurd run differentials, I will remain skeptical. However, the energy level was definitely encouraging today, led in no small part by Swisher and Burnett, who looked, unlike most Yankee players in recent memory, like they wanted to be there. That's the kind of thing that carries you through those long, hot summers under the tabloid magnifying glass, and that's what I like to see.
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