Via River Ave. Blues, The Yankees bring Freddy Guzman onto the roster for the ALCS to replace Eric Hinske. Guzman did a horrible job of getting on base for all five teams that used him this season. Hinske at least has something to offer offensively:
If you don’t feel like listening to the Girardi audio, here’s his take on adding Guzman to the roster: “We thought we could use another speed guy in this round. We’ve had some success doing those types of things late in the game, and in a seven-game series stuff could come up late in the game. We saw the games against Minnesota were very close and sometimes you can use a couple of pinch runners. If Gardy gets a start, then you don’t have a pinch runner (without Guzman). It just frees us up to do some more things.”
I’ve assumed that if Gardner starts, Melky Cabrera doesn’t, but this seems to indicate there are games where Girardi may want a better defensive outfield. However, if you have Gardner in the lineup, he’s the one person you’d like to have a pinch hitter to replace, especially if you have an RBI situation. I guess either Damon or Swisher takes that job, depending on who Girardi sits.
Posted by David Pinto at 1:56 pm | League Championship Series, Management | Permalink | 6 Comments
Comments
Leave a Reply
October 15th, 2009 @ 3:26 pm
Hinske does offer more, but with the lineup of the Yankees, there are not many pinch hitting opportunities. He didn’t get in in the extra inning game, if that says anything about their view of him. Guzman will be strictly used for pinch running for one of the catchers, probably.
October 15th, 2009 @ 5:47 pm
I realize there isn’t much data on Gardner, but what is the basis for saying “he’s the one person you’d like to have a pinch hitter to replace?” What makes Melky so clearly better?
October 15th, 2009 @ 5:57 pm
@NaOH: Melky is a bit of a better major league hitter, and he has a longer track record.
October 15th, 2009 @ 6:42 pm
What in Melky’s generally poor track record suggests he’s a better hitter than Garnder? Or are you comparing Melky’s MLB career to Gardner’s MLE? I’d point out that for the situation you described — needing a hit — they seem the same based on Gardner’s limted MLB experience, but I assume you’re refering to something more substantial than that.
October 15th, 2009 @ 7:43 pm
@NaOH: We pretty much know what Melky can do. He’s had over 2000 PA with an OBA over .330. He’s also a switch hitter who is even for both sides. Is it possible that Gardner turns out to be a better hitter than Melky? Sure, but at the moment there’s a much higher variance as to what Gardner can do. Can I imagine situations where Girardi would pinch hit for Melky? Yes. I take it you’re mostly talking about batting average. I’m looking at OBA and slugging.
October 15th, 2009 @ 11:07 pm
Thatnks.