For GB BOB

[Cannon Shell]

Farve may be gone but youve got Swisher now...


By John Dewan

Who would you rather have�
Hunter, Rowand or Swisher?

March 6, 2008


During this past offseason, the Chicago White Sox were strongly pursuing free agent center fielders Torii Hunter and Aaron Rowand. They started with Hunter, and couldn't sign him. They then tried for Rowand and that didn't work either. They had to "settle" for Nick Swisher by dealing for him from Oakland. However, when you look at the numbers here, nearly every number, and certainly all the key ones, favor Swisher:
2008 Projections

Age Avg OBP SLG HR Walks OPS
Swisher 27 .265 .384 .524 36 102 .908
Hunter 32 .282 .339 .494 27  45 .833
Rowand 30 .287 .348 .452 17  38 .800

2007 Statistics
Baserunning / CF Fielding Plus/Minus
Swisher +22 +4
Hunter -10   0
Rowand   -1 -4

Sometimes what you want may not be what's best for you. In this case, that's exactly what happened to the White Sox. Swisher may not wind up in center field for the Sox, but he is a very valuable acquisition for them, especially because he can play center field well if needed.