Not everyone in Indians clubhouse sad to see Nick Swisher go

Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn were traded last week, and now their departures — especially that of Swisher — have inspired some looks back at their time in Cleveland. Both had been productive MLB players elsewhere and came to Cleveland as big money, 30-plus year-old free agents; both struggled to maintain that productivity and showed their age more than Tribe brass hoped.

MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian wrote a nice piece on Swisher’s time in Cleveland, the deliciously titled “Revisionist Swishtory.” He remembers that Swisher and Bourn were both high-profile free agency signings, if not thought of as complete slam dunk acquisitions. Both had had steady track records and limited injury troubles, which made their struggles with the Tribe all the more confounding.

The Indians couldn’t see the future. They couldn’t possibly predict that Swisher — mostly healthy for his entire career — would break down, hurt both knees and see the leg issues cost him two-years worth of expected production. The Indians couldn’t predict that Bourn would rupture a hamstring in the Wild Card-clinching game in 2013, creating an issue that lingered through 2014. They couldn’t know that, even when healthy in ’15, Bourn wouldn’t be the same player. They figured he might steal 46 bases in a season — not total over the 331 games he’d be in an Indians’ uniform.

In the clubhouse, Bourn had the bigger impact over the past three seasons. After tough defeats, as a veteran on a relatively young team, Bourn was often one of the only position players around when reporters walked into the room. He’d make himself available, taking the heat off some teammates. That kind of accountability goes a long way. And, from his comments, you could tell his diminished production ate at him. You can complain all you want about Bourn’s numbers, and have every right, but he cared and put in the work.

During the 2013 season, Swisher had a good impact on the clubhouse, too. His performance down the stretch played a key role in reaching the playoffs and his energy was unquestionably welcomed after the Tribe’s turbulent 2012 season. Once the injuries struck, and the performance dropped, though, Swisher’s all-out personality didn’t always work well behind the scenes. Some people within the organization don’t mind seeing him in a new uniform.

And, really, that’s kind of a shame. Given the way Swisher embraced the Indians organization and the fan base, and with the charity work he and his wife did both here and elsewhere, this could have been a perfect marriage under different circumstances.

Swisher could’ve owned this town, rather than being run out of it.

Swisher always cut an enthusiastic, upbeat figure with the fans and media, and often in the clubhouse as well. Perhaps it was too much. NEOMG’s Zack Meisel piggybacked on Bastian in saying that some weren’t upset to see Swisher go, in part because his rah-rah attitude could grow old, especially when juxtaposed against ongoing injuries and inconsistency.

Not all teammates shed a tear when Swisher packed up his belongings and jetted to Georgia. His relentless enthusiasm wore on members of the clubhouse and the fan base, as they longed for numbers in his stat line worthy of those on his paychecks.

The energy and over-the-top bubbly attitude helped eliminate any lasting effects from a defeated team that amassed a 68-94 mark in 2012. When his performance went south, however, his insistence on being the club’s commander and cheerleader didn’t carry much weight.

…

Swisher was asked [shortly after being traded] why the 2015 Indians never found their footing. His answer was surprising, given his typical demeanor. Swisher simply said he didn’t know, because he wasn’t in the clubhouse and wasn’t around the team.

That’s true to an extent; Swisher played plenty of rehab games elsewhere as he worked his way back from knee troubles. He also requested to be around the team more than required, however.

He wanted to be with the Indians when they opened the season in Houston, even though he was still on the disabled list. He joined the team on road trips. He sat at his locker, filled with boxes upon boxes of footwear, in the Progressive Field clubhouse. Sometimes he interacted with teammates, clubhouse attendants or reporters. Other times, he kept to himself.

Whenever he was asked about his rehab, he had all of the answers. He was ready to play. He was feeling better. The team was about to hit its stride.

Then, once he was traded, he was stumped. He knew nothing. He was never here. That’s their problem.

It was a bizarre, yet perhaps telling, lack of an answer for a guy who almost always had one.

This isn’t meant to kick dirt on Swisher now that he’s out of town. He is by all accounts a good guy and a proud Ohioan, and he and his wife do some noble charity work. Alas; such matters are informed more by the on-field happenings.

Meanwhile, Swisher was predictably excited to become an Atlanta Brave, and he quickly endeared himself to the city by doing the signature tomahawk chop motion after clubbing a two-run double to give the Braves a three-run lead in the seventh inning.

It sounds like he may have, however, committed a bit of a faux pas in the locker room after that first game.

After Saturday’s 7-2 win, and after Swisher was interviewed on the field in an interview carried over the stadium P.A. system, the 34-year-old outfielder ran up the tunnel from the dugout and into the Braves’ clubhouse, where he encountered a large bell that has was mounted just inside the entrance earlier this season. It’s a Navy Seals bell, an idea that Seals admirer [Braves manager Fredi] Gonzalez came up because he liked how his sometimes-overmatched team never stopped scratching and fighting all spring, how they wouldn’t give up.

The Seals use the bell during Hell Week, when instructors tell trainees they can quit by simply ringing the bell, at which point they can enjoy coffee and doughnuts while their classmates continue to toil through the rigorous training. Needless to say, the bell is rarely rung by the Seals.

Swisher didn’t know the story behind the bell, and assumed it was a victory bell. So when he ran into the clubhouse after Saturday’s game , he rung it emphatically, shouting something along the lines of “That’s what I’m talking about, boys!”

That sounds like the Swisher we know. Brohio for life.