I wonder how long a team has gone without either winning or losing two consecutive games. For the New York Yankees, the streak is at nine. After winning their first two games to start the 2011 MLB season, the Yankees have alterenated between losing and winning for seven consecutive games. With Tuesday night's game against the Baltimore Orioles postponed, we'll have to wait until Wednesday to see if the streak continues. Hopefully not, as that would require a loss to the O's since they lost the finale of their three-game set with the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.
Yankees fans now that it's just a matter of time before the Bronx Bombers get on a roll and string together a number of wins. There will be some bumps in the road, but obviously a roster as talented as the Yankees will put together many more winning streaks than they will prolonged skids. First baseman Nick Swisher would agree. He thinks the Yankees are 'just getting ready to take off'. He said as much in a during a recent interview with WFAN in New York. Swisher talked about why he thinks it's just a matter of time, his thoughts on being moved to No. 6 in the lineup, his career in New York to date, Manny Ramirez's retirement, breaking Tsuyoshi Nishioka’s leg in a game against the Twins, and other topics in a typically entertaining and informative interview from Swisher.
How do you feel about this lineup and the 5-4 start?:
"I feel great. I think that it’s very early. It’s early in the season and we’re still trying to gel to together as a lineup. … We’re just getting ready to take off. We ran into a buzzsaw there in Boston, they were playing really good baseball, and it’s nice to come back on this homestand."
How hard is it to adjust between being the No. 2 hitter and the No. 6 hitter?:
"I think sometimes you get kind of a comfort level and I think last year I really got into that comfort level [at No. 2]. But this year a change needed to be made and I’m for it. I’m a team guy. If they need me to hit ninth, I’ll hit ninth. … Being in the six-hole, it gives me a lot more opportunities to drive in some runs and I’m enjoying that."
In a contract year, would he consider taking less money to stay in New York?:
"We’ll deal with that when we get to the end of the season. I’ve been so blessed to be here in New York and there’s no other place in the world I’d rather be."
His reaction to Manny Ramirez’s retirement:
"In my mind, Manny’s always been such a first-class guy, to me, as an individual. That’s how I go on people, is how they treat me. I think Major League Baseball is doing a tremendous job with the things that they’re doing."
On how bad he felt after breaking Tsuyoshi Nishioka’s leg on a takeout slide and what he did afterward:
"It’s just kind of one of those freak things in baseball. … I’m not a dirty player, I play the game hard and I play the game with my heart on my sleeve. I was just going in there hard to break up a double play and I thought he was going to get up in the air and he didn’t. … When they were carrying him off, that hit me in the wrong spot because it’s nothing you ever want to do."