Four home runs, five games. And the Pirates paid the Yanks $400K, half of Hinske’s remaining salary, to play for the Yanks. I said this a few weeks back when the Hinske deal was announced:

Eric Hinske might not be the answer that most teams are looking for, but for a mere $400K (the balance on his 2009 salary), they could have had Hinske to fill in at either corner IF or corner OF spots and produce solid results. And your team could have had him, too. So when you complain about your team’s GM not doing their job to fill needs cheaply, look at a deal like this and wonder.

Hinske is tested in playoff environments and he knows what his role is. And guess what? He’s doing exactly that.

Thanks Pittsburgh.