Now pinch-hitting ... Abe Nunez

If you're like me, those words make you look quick and desperate for the closest drink of whiskey. Nothing better summarizes the losing ways the Pirates have endured the last so many years.

Why does Abraham Nunez pinch-hit so often? Because he's a switch-hitter? I'm not sure that's a good enough reason to explain how often he pinch-hits for the Pirates.

When a team is trailing late, a pinch-hit provides a huge lift. Yet pinch-hitting is hard. I can't find the MLB average for all pinch-hitters anywhere, but I'd guess it's below the average for all hitting. So we'll keep our expectations low as we review Abraham Nunez's pinch-hitting career. Here it is:

YR	PA	OBP	SLG
2002	47*	0.204	0.116
2003	30	0.161	0.038
2004	31*	0.219	0.300

The asterisk indicates that Nunez led the team in pinch-hitting appearances. In 2003, Nunez was second to Matt Stairs, who made 39 appearances as a pinch-hitter and did well with them. (His eight hits and four walks produced three runs and nine RBIs for a .317 OBP and a .457 SLG.) As you can see through that link, Noonie's .038 slugging percentage for last year is not a typo.

The most important thing a pinch-hitter can do is not make an out. Usually the pinch-hitter appears in a hole in a lineup - he hits for the pitcher, for example, and there is someone with a good bat on-deck. I don't think that OBP is the holy grail of statistics. Its value is often overrated, in my opinion. The pinch-hitter, however, must get on base to either start or continue a rally. With runners in scoring position, most forms of getting on base are going to produce an RBI, too. Anything but an out.

Trivia time. Guess who leads the major leagues in pinch-hitting? Leads in BA, OBP, and SLG? Minimum plate appearances of 25. Give up? answer here.

Abe Nunez has had three years to work on his pinch-hitting game. Admit it, Mac, he's been a rally-killer. An out machine. Someone that's good for the get-this-over-and-go-home set.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results, but it's fair to say that Abe Nunez has not been getting the job done the last three years. Give someone else a try.

...P.S. Nunez has been pretty weak against lefties since 2001. 130 plate appearances between 2001 and 2003 produced 24 hits and a .211 / .326 / .246 line. This year, in limited action against lefties, he's hitting .231 / .286 / .231. He should only be an option against right-handed pitching with those kinds of splits.

Mac must want to kill Randall Simon. Here's this big-ass left-handed hitter on the pine and all he can do against righties this year is .187 / .244 / .227. In 2003, he managed .277 / .310 / .441. In 2002, his career year (at the age of 27, no less, that magical most-often best year in a ballplayer's career), he hit .320 / .342 / .510 against RHP for the Detroit Tigers.