Nick

Swisher

Swisher played in pain the whole year, but he never realized the damage was so significant. The thumb surgery included the reattachment of a tendon and the insertion of three pins into his wrist area. He said he’ll be ready long before spring training. Swisher is likely to get a chance to compete for a starting job in March.

The A’s still could bring in an outfielder if they trade one of The Big Three, but that’s not very likely and they no longer have much interest in upgrading through free agency. Swisher should be an average or slightly below average regular as a rookie.

The A’s are optimistic Swisher won’t have any additional problems. He’s the favorite to act as the team’s primary right fielder this year.

Swisher will miss three to seven days following the death of his grandmother. Fortunately for the A’s, Mark Kotsay is back in center field now, meaning the club can play Jay Payton and Bobby Kielty in the corners.

He’s playing right field tonight.

Since Macha wanted to give Bobby Kielty a start, Matt Watson started in right field tonight.

Five days off didn’t cool Swisher’s bat. He has 17 doubles to go along with his seven homers in 39 games since the start of July.

Swisher also homered on Sunday and has five hits in three games, indicating that his slump may have finally come to an end. He hit .204 in June and .188 during July.

In the third inning, Swisher hit a long drive to left-center between Johnny Damon and Melky Cabrera. It appeared likely that Damon would catch the ball, but he and Cabrera collided and the ball rolled 15 feet away. Swisher’s mind was made up by the time Damon ran the ball down, and he barely got to the plate ahead of Jorge Posada’s tag. Neither Damon nor Cabrera was hurt on the play.

Soriano had gone 11 innings without allowing a run before Swisher’s bomb. Swisher also had an RBI single in the contest. He’s been struggling to hit for average for 2 1/2 months now, but at least his power is coming back. He has three homers and 10 RBI in 12 games this month.