ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- There was nothing funny about the circumstances that forced Yankees jack-of-all-trades Nick Swisher to take the mound in a 15-5 loss to the Rays. And there won't be anything funny about the tough call facing the Yankees, as they decide whether the bullpen has been taxed enough to warrant a minor-league call-up.

But as Swisher stood on the mound in Monday's blowout, he could hardly hide his smile. The act itself -- Swisher trying get big league hitters out -- was pretty amusing."At that point in time it's like, alright, it is kind of funny," said Swisher, who hit a home run earlier in the game. "You have to find something positive, something to laugh about maybe after the game."

In becoming the first Yankee position player to pitch in a game since Wade Boggs threw a ton of knuckleballs against the Angels in 1997, Swisher brought a little levity on a night in which nearly everything went wrong.

"You get a chuckle out of it just because it's him, and he's not going to stop talking about it," Yankees captain Derek Jeter said.

As he pitched, Swisher occasionally dropped down sidearm and shook off signs that weren't even there. Swisher's four-seam fastball cracked 80 mph. Once.

"When am I ever going to get the chance to do that again?" said Swisher, who last pitched as a high school freshman. "Probably never."



Video highlights of Nick Swisher's relief appearance for the Yankees.

After allowing the first two baserunners to reach, Swisher retired the next three in a row, giving the left-handed Swisher the only scoreless inning out of the Yankees bullpen. Not only did Swisher homer earlier in the game, but he also recorded a strikeout. He kept the ball.

But the humor escaped catcher Jorge Posada, who was still irked by the laughing after the loss.

"Nobody was laughing," Posada said. "I think it was embarrassing. It's one of those days where everything went for them and nothing went for us."