CBS New York- The Yankees’ lead is down to 5 1/2 games over Baltimore. The Red Sox, meanwhile, have played their way out of the AL East cellar.“We’re not stressing it,” Nick Swisher said. “We’ve just got to come out here, we’ve got to keep continuing to pound and grind and just try to win some ballgames.”

One day removed from publicly announcing on a podcast that Nova has what it takes to be a big game pitcher in New York, he comes out and makes me look like an asshole. Pretty common trend all season long actually, if you consider the -1 correlation coefficient between the hatred I’ve spewed for Kuroda and Hughes, and their subsequent outcome. I’ve been reverse jinxing Yankee pitching all season long. In that case, Joba sucks, Robertson sucks, Pettitte out for the season.

But if Nick Swisher says not to stress while the Yankees ride out this little cold streak that has dwindled their lead in the East down to 5.5 games after losing 9 of 12, then I won’t panic. If I had to choose the authority on team stress in that clubhouse, it would definitely be Swisher. The guy seems completely in touch with reality… I’m lukewarm on Swisher’s on-field performance, and I think he’s a great clubhouse personality, but hearing him say he isn’t stressing about losing carries no weight. Nick plays 162 games with his head in the clouds, focusing more on this rock star, “whatever, fuck it” persona he’s acquired than anything else. I take no comfort in his assertion that Yankee fans need not panic. He is in no way a credible source on stress levels. That would be like Ken Singleton preaching about being black. He just has no idea what he’s talking about. So for now, I think it’s okay to be a little stressed, Nick. The starting pitching is showing gaping holes. Outside of last night’s game, the offense is trending back to home run or bust, and the unsung heroes in the bullpen from earlier in the season are coming back down to earth. So no, we’re not pushing the panic button yet, but it’s 100% in the back of our minds.