The Indians woo Nick Swisher like he’s a high school quarterback

Nick Swisher is taking a “sign me, brah!” tour and is meeting with the Indians today. And apparently this is happening:

Told Progressive Field lights are on and Nick Swisher’s face is on scoreboard as team tries to land free agent, who is visiting today.

— Tom Withers (@twithersAP) December 18, 2012

Why do I think most teams wouldn’t do this? At least not for someone who is less than a top shelf superstar? Brandon McCarthy sums it up nicely:

what is he a HS recruit? RT @twithersap Progressive Field lights are on and Nick Swisher’s face is on scoreboard as team tries to land FA

— Brandon McCarthy (@BMcCarthy32) December 18, 2012

It does seem a bit silly. But at least the Tribe is giving him the full in-season experience. You know, what with an empty stadium and all.

Yankees rookie second baseman Gleyber Torres has a fun streak going right now: He’s homered in four straight games, becoming the youngest American League player to do so.

The historic knock arrived in the seventh inning of Friday’s series opener against the Angels. With two outs and the bases empty, Torres pounced on a 1-3 fastball from Jim Johnson and posted it to the right field bleachers for a go-ahead run:

It was just the Yankees’ second run of the night (the first having also been provided by Torres on an RBI single in the second inning), but the only one they needed to maintain an edge over the Angels.

Torres, 21, is off to a torrid start this season. Following Saturday’s 2-1 win, he now carries a .333/.393/.646 batting line, nine home runs and a 1.038 OPS through 106 plate appearances. In the past four games alone, he’s gone 7-for-15 with five homers (including a pair of solo shots, a two-run homer and three-run homer) and nine RBI. He’ll have to collect a home run in his next five games if he wants to set a new all-time record, however: Dale Long (1956 Pirates), Don Mattingly (1987 Yankees), and Ken Griffey Jr. (1993 Mariners) currently share the record for the longest home run-hitting streak, at eight games apiece.