I know OPS+ is therotically ‘equalized’, but not so for division or specific pitchers faced. XMan had a 144 OPS w/the Pirates, and then only 105 w/the Yankees.

I don’t know where to look, but maybe a gander at his historical BABIP, LD% and GB/FB numbers are in order. I would also like to look at all the weak NL division players who came over to the AL East, and see if there is a pattern to their performance. Any you can think of off the top of your head?

It’s a vsss, but Jason Bay dropped 9 pts in OPS+ after going to Boston, and playing on a team where he was surrounded by much better players.

The numbers are interesting, but what I saw of him last year was not that impressive. Seemed to hack a lot.

I’m even fairly relaxed about a probably offensive hole in center, assuming Jorge is all right. One defensive no-bat at #9 is okay. On the days when Flash Molina plays, I’d rather shift Damon to center and play both of Swish/Nady, all else being equal.

Otherwise, I think a Damon/Gardner/Swisher outfield, while not full of mashers, would sure run down a lot of balls. And if we’re to believe in the value of defense (08 Rays), going from last year’s OF with Abreu and an IF with bad-Cano and Giambi to an OF with “three CFs” and an IF with good-Cano and Tex would be quite substantial. There are the makings of a pretty good defensive club (though clearly never a great one).

I pretty much agree with you. One thing about Nady intrigues me, though. Much of his value is tied to his SLG, which has steadily improved over the years. Of course, that will not continue forever, and last year will likely be his peak. Still, he might be a useful part if he can SLG in the .470 region.

At the same time, he hits FA soon, as noted in [10]. There is no way the Yankees should pay market money to keep him.

And these Offensive stats come after Nady’s best year, and Swisher’s worst. Seems to me, aside from running, Swisher is the superior player in all aspects, and is a serious upgrade over Nady against RHP.
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Er… um… Cliff… shouldn’t I get a byline or sompting?
(j/k)

To add to the equation, we should think about how/why we got Nady. It was basically a late 2008, somewhat desperation move, to bolster our bench and OF, and to get Marte, in hopes for a late run at the WC. While it may have been nice to give Tabata a little more time in hopes he might have an attitude adjustment, all-in-all, it was a fair trade for us. But it wasn’t a move for the future as much as it was for 2008 (although it was a bit of a hedge in not offering Abreu arbitration.

While Nady is the ‘grinder type’ we all love, I don’t think we need (yet again) another poor defender with an .800ish OPS in our OF. Also consider that in 2008, we were an ‘unbalanced’ offense, heavily slanted to LH batters, so a decent RH bat was nice. But now, Jason and Abreu have been replaced by 2 switch hitters. Next year, JD and Matsui may be gone. So for 2010, our only definite ‘singled handed’ batters are Cano (L) and ARod and Jeter (R). Considering we play 1/2 our games at YS, we really don’t need RH bats now… just good bats.

Frankly, short of further collapse by Swisher (which ain’t gonna happen), I just can’t see Nady on this team next year. The FA market will be depressed again next winter, and there are just too many better choices that can be had. Certainly, Nady adds to the team and deepens our bench, but I believe he will be traded mid-season if we can get anyone decent in return (a UInF maybe?). If Melky can post just a .700 OPS (too much to ask for?), considering the defensive upgrade over Nady, I just don’t see Nady as that important to this club.

I do hope and believe Swisher will be a great pickup for us, and will be a productive player for the next 3 years.

Nady: .280/.336/.493, .213 ISO translated (vs .280/.335/.458, .178 ISO actual)
Swisher: .241/.362/.491, .250 ISO translated (vs .244/.354/.451, .207 ISO actual)

Nope. Both seem to have been hurt in the SLG dept, presumably by their home parks. (In retrospect, Nady did spend 3 years in SD and a year in Shea.)

Overall, I’d take Swisher’s superior on-base skills and better defense and hope Girardi uses the platoon you suggest, Cliff. A bonus to that platoon – Nady will be the first pinch-hitting option off the bench. He should be an excellent weapon to neutralize a lefty reliever.