nick swisher

by oakath on Jul 28, 2005 9:21 PM PDT

off day thoughts. saw the picture of n swisher from float day yesterday in one of the picture diaries. awesome pics. i'm guessing i'm one of the oldest who watches this board- 50 yrs young. so, i gotta a little perspective about the following. and, i've been a huge baseball radio guy all those years in different locales around the country. n swisher is the flat out best, most enthusiastic, least conceited, and egocentric player i've ever heard interviewed on the radio. that's it. i've got a man crush on him.

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Excellent--

welcome to the world of methinks-the-user-doth-protest-too-much "non-sexual" man-crushes. My crush on Kotsay is completely non-sexual, and I'm only going to ask him to marry me so I can stay in this country, and the fact that I'm American is utterly irrelevant to this discussion.

Of course, your man-crush is disgusting because you're incredibly old, but that's a topic for another time. You free in, say, 5 minutes?

All just my unique way of saying...welcome aboard the U.S.S. Mancrush!

Nico

by Nico on Jul 28, 2005 9:33 PM PDT reply actions

yes, but have you heard Huston Street speak,

or Dan Johnson. I think one of the most incredible things about the A's, their young players, etc. is that it is "low ego" and "let's just win" land. These young kids are wonderful, and they are getting leadership now from Kotsay and Kendall that all youngsters should get.

I just think this is a team with an incredible amount of character to start with, and wonderful veteran leadership.

by alamedaman on Jul 28, 2005 11:18 PM PDT reply actions

Crossed over into the Dark Side, they haven't...

...and well schooled and steeped in the 'religion' of Woofism, they are. Great masters, they have.

http://www.cafehayek.com ~ a blog for classical liberals

by LowcountryJoe on Jul 29, 2005 4:01 AM PDT up reply actions

can't overlook chavy

he is the ultimate no-ego, superstar.

by Dig the Long Ball on Jul 29, 2005 12:00 AM PDT reply actions

Swish is Good

But any ball player (and there are a lot of them on the A's) who understands their fame could all disappear SO quickly... players have worked tremendously hard, yes - but they still need to recognize what a priviledge it is to be paid handsomely to play a wonderful game.

It reminds me of Carlton Fisk chewing out a rookie from the opposing team because he didn't even try to run out a routine grounder... respect the game.

Harden = Canadian for "Effin' awesome, eh?" -jlaff

by tmail on Jul 29, 2005 12:33 AM PDT reply actions

amen!

by alamedaman on Jul 29, 2005 1:00 AM PDT up reply actions

I never heard

that story about Fisk--love these guys who love the game. And also Ernie Banks--'let's play two'--one of the best quotes ever. And Lou Gehrig's farewell speech. A diary of all time best baseball quotes, someone?---start it and they will contribute!

by PhillyAs on Jul 29, 2005 6:36 AM PDT up reply actions

Fisk

This was from Wikipedia regarding Carlton Fisk:

"Aside from his historic home runs and his strong work ethic, Fisk was universally revered for his love and respect of the game itself. In one memorable incident, pro-football and pro-baseball player Deion Sanders hit a pop fly, and refused to run to first base, suspecting that the ball would be easily caught. Fisk yelled at Sanders to run the ball out (paraphrased here to remove an obscenity)."

Harden = Canadian for "Effin' awesome, eh?" -jlaff

by tmail on Sep 22, 2005 12:56 AM PDT up reply actions

And

more recently, Man-Ram not playing to pick up his team who lost a player on the DL. And he's paid beyond handsomely.

Change is for the better. For both the A's and in life.

by WhiteElephantGuy on Jul 29, 2005 12:50 PM PDT up reply actions

Kendall-Kotsay effect

Six months ago, who could have even conceived of seeing "Nick Swisher" and "least conceited, egocentric" in the same sentence together?

Now, don't get me wrong, Swish-being-Swish was never about being conceited or egocentric per se -- but up until this season he was always seen as the cocky motormouth kid (as far back as MONEYBALL, and probably before that whenever he had any press) who had no interest in taking the rookie route.

To some degree, I actually lament Swish taking the Crash Davis Cliche Course, because it's always more entertaining to have outsized personalities who can also hit the snot out of the ball and "play the game right."

But in the interest of team performance, and, yes, "chemistry," it's probably for the best that Swish "grows up" a bit in his public statements.

It's tough out there, Pootie. You got drugs ... crime ... gorillas ...

by monkeyball on Jul 29, 2005 8:29 AM PDT reply actions

Swisher

Being a fan of the A's since I was a little girl in the early 70's, I have seen lots of players come and go over many years. Even with the likes of the Hunter's, Bando's, Henderson's and Big Mac along with too many others to name, that have playedgreat ball, I haven't seen the spark, swagger and attitude that Swisher exudes when he plays the game in a long time, if ever.
I dont see it as cocky or arrogant, I see it as a kid that has worked hard to get where he is and is having a ball doing it while knowing he is doing a good job.
Many of the team "elders" (for lack of a better word) have made it known that this "attitude" should be reeled in and should be kept in check. I believe This comes with time and there has been major improvement this second half of the season.
All in all I believe that Swisher is going to be one to watch for a very long time....

"You gotta be a man to play baseball for a living, but you gotta have a lot of little boy in you." - Roy Campanella

by rocketgirl on Jul 29, 2005 11:49 AM PDT reply actions