Eric Hinske

by Lord Duggan on Oct 20, 2009 5:09 PM EDT

Not to pile on in a time of questioning Yankee brass, but I think that we made a serious roster error in leaving Eric Hinske off of our ALCS roster. As it stands right now, the Yankees have absolutely no one to come in late in games in pinch hitting circumstances. In yesterday's game, A-Rod drew an IBB with the bases empty, and then Hairston struck out on three pitches, because we had used a pinch runner for Matsui.

I understand that we are keeping Cervelli so that AJ can have his man juices flowing properly by starting Molina. Gardner and Hairston are both excellent utility/bench players, but neither is a pinch hitting threat.

In addition, it seems to me as if some of the weapon of pinch running Brett Gardner is lost without having a reasonably powerful bat on the bench. Gardner is often pinch run for Posada or Matsui, and as a result, without Hinske, there ends up being an easy out in the middle of our lineup if the game does not end right away.

The only conclusion that I can draw is that the best candidate to get the axe should we make it to the World Series is Freddy Guzman. He seems to be nothing more than a less good Brett Gardner. Especially if we are playing in a National League park, having Hinske off the bench could be a serious weapon for the Yankees.

Poll

So who gets that last roster spot?

Hinske

69 votes

Guzman

4 votes

Someone else you didn't even think of dumbass

4 votes

I just want to fire Girardi

12 votes

89 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

Hinske

I was thinking about that today during work, that if we do get to the series then Guzman should be dropped for Hinske without a doubt we need that power on the bench especially in Philly against their shaky bull pen.

by Danielle I on Oct 20, 2009 5:34 PM EDT reply actions

^Agreed.

Yankees all day.

by Onishadow14 on Oct 20, 2009 5:43 PM EDT reply actions

The only scenario in which Hinske is useful is that we pinch run for a slow guy and are still losing when his turn in the order comes up again.
I don’t think that’s more useful than the speedsters/ + defenders.

"Have faith in the Yankees, my son. Think of the great DiMaggio."

by jscape2000 on Oct 20, 2009 7:09 PM EDT reply actions

I'm with you.

The speed is an added dimension late….guzman over Hinske…..this round at least.

by dorsal on Oct 20, 2009 11:15 PM EDT up reply actions

Hinske

I would love to see Hinske back on the roster this postseason. I definitely understand why Guzman is on the roster, and when I initially heard about the roster move for the ALCS, I thought it was a good one. However, I think a more formidable bat coming off the bench could be helpful.

To me this was most obvious when Guzman was batting in the 11th inning (?) of Game 2 after he had come in as a pinch runner. He struck out, and I felt like the best we could hope for was some sort of infield hit. If Hinske was available, at least you would feel like he could end the game with one swing of the bat coming off the bench.

I would love to see Gardner start one of these games and give Swisher a night off, but if Girardi is going to continue to leave Gardner on the bench, I think Hinske may be more of an asset than Guzman.

by SLS on Oct 20, 2009 11:48 PM EDT reply actions

World Series Roster

Replacing Hinske with Guzman was a mistake since Hinske would have been batting instead of Frankie Cervelli in game 3 and in a few situations in game 2, but if we ever lost the series over not having Eric Hinske we don’t deserve to win anyway.

Hinske will definitely be back in the World Series because we’ll need the extra pinch hitter in the games in the NL park.

by Let's Talk About Tex Baby on Oct 21, 2009 10:19 AM EDT reply actions