AGonz Should Have Been Pinch-Hit For
Alex Gonzalez came up in the top of the 8th today with 1 out and runners on 1st and 3rd, with the Cubs down by just one run, 4-3. Tim Worrell was pitching for the mighty Phils. Dusty Baker had Todd Walker and Jose Macias sitting on the bench and didn’t use them. He should have.
Gonzalez is hitting just .239/.259/.404 this year, and has only been back from the DL a short time. He’s historically worse against righties, and he’s a strikeout candidate. Moreoever, lefties are hitting 71 batting average points better against Worrell than righties are this year.
Dusty Baker had already committed to bringing in Ramon Martinez, having used him to pinch-run for Aramis Ramirez. So Martinez could have switched over to short, and Macias could have taken over third.
In the end, Gonzalez grounded into a double play (thanks to a nice play by Phillies second baseman Placido Polanco), and the Cubs lost. But no matter the outcome of Gonzalez’s at-bat, using Walker or Macias to pinch-hit in that situation would have given the Cubs the better chance at victory.