pinch hitting in a non DH leauge

[mightyquinnj]

In putting a team together in a non DH leauge, I am wondering how important is having good pinch hitters and how many when replacing the pitcher's spot in the order. Also, how good of a NL manager is HAL in terms of double-switches, etc. Thanks, Quinn

[durantjerry]

The easiest way to have good pinch hitters is to have a platoon. I wouldn't go out of my way to have one, but I use them often anyway. Failing that, I would not spend more than $1.00 on a pinch hitter. There are capable backups that can hit a little. I wouldn't do more than maybe favor a good hitting backup over a good fielding one for a guy with 600 PA's. If the starters have 600 PA's, the backups should not see much field time. If there were one super PH type, I might carry him if he was about .50 and didn't really have another purpose, but that would be rare. I don't pay much attention to reliever usage, but there are plenty of criticisms on the boards. Best to have good starters I guess.

[frog17]

I try to have one PH vs. righties and one v. lefties and try not to spend more than .75. I prefer guys who have high clutch ratings, XBH, and or high BA. Sometimes I'm able to get guys like that sometimes not. I also prefer if they can play some other role on the team (pinch runner) backup to an injury prone guy or like Jerry suggested one half of a platoon. It's important to make your money count.

[mightyquinnj]

Thanks for the input on pinch hitters. I picked up two phs that are both doing very well at the moment. I also like the clutch ability and obp of a ph and went that direction over someone with more xb hits or slugging. My platoon is in right with Hawpe and Sosa. So again thanks for the advice.

[TomSiebert]

Are the two best guys for under a buck to ph, as well as play OF / IF backup for injuries, respectively. Floyd's a lefty who hits lefties well, and Jimenez is a switch hitter who's an OBA machine. I try to get these guys whenever I can; they fill in admirably and don't take up much salary space; two best bargains in the league, IMHO.

tws