Yanks’ Nick Swisher back in the World Series picture

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Even in the worst of times -- and the last three weeks have pretty much been the worst of times -- Yankee outfielder Nick Swisher is about as irrepressible as a 4-year-old on Christmas morning. So Saturday, when he had two extra-base hits in Game 3 of the World Series, ending a postseason slump that had seen him hit just .114 through 10 games, Swisher was predictably giddy with excitement.

‘I was like, ‘Man, I finally got a hit,’ ‘ Swisher said in describing his fourth-inning double off the Phillies’ Cole Hamels, last year’s World Series MVP. ‘I don’t care if I hit it off the label and it went 3 feet and somehow I got on base. That’s what I was trying to do.

‘I guess I could say I got a little lucky tonight with that first hit.’

But not with his second, a long home run off J.A. Happ in the sixth that gave the Yankees a three-run cushion, helping them to a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. And that helped make up for some of the pain Swisher felt before Game 2, when Manager Joe Girardi benched him in favor of Jerry Hairston Jr.

‘My heart was breaking. There’s no doubt about that,’ Swisher said. ‘I’m an emotional guy. You definitely know what I’m thinking. I wear my heart on my sleeve.

‘Skip sat me down the other day and said, ‘Hey, just relax. I want you to just watch this game, enjoy this game.’ I think it really helped me mentally. It was nice for my head to just rest and enjoy that game.’

What Swisher didn’t do was read the newspapers, which was probably a good thing since many of the articles were critical.

‘I don’t really read the paper,’ Swisher joked. ‘I’m more of a guy that looks at the pictures.’

-- Kevin Baxter