Playing the blame game as Tigers’ pinch-hit effectiveness continues to plummet

There was a time when Tigers pinch-hitters presented a real threat at the plate. Last July, when the Tigers were at their absolute best, AJ Hinch was a genius and Jahmai Jones was a hero. A new Tigers Way was emerging, and it was perfectly suited to that roster and that moment.

Almost a full year later, perceptions have shifted so drastically such that Hinch might as well be the worst manager in baseball and Jones Detroit's greatest villain — if you're on Tigers Twitter.

Neither are necessarily true in any objective sense, but it's undeniable that neither Hinch nor Jones are working for Detroit in the same way they were when this team was at its best. Hinch is literally the game's worst manager by average added win probability based on pinch-hit and bullpen decisions, and Jones is batting .129 with a .436 OPS in 94 plate appearances. Tigers pinch-hitters are .126/.443 overall this season, a nosedive from their .243/.727 mark last year.

So whose fault is it? Is it the players' for underperforming? Is it Hinch's for insisting on playing them? Or is it Scott Harris' for his failure to add to the offense this offseason?

Tigers' pinch-hitting strategy isn't working anymore. Whose fault is it?

The real answer is, of course, that there's blame all around, but it's far from equal.

Jones did an incredible job as the Tigers' resident lefty killer last year, but he's lost his mojo this year. It's not not his fault, but players' performances can ebb and flow like that, and Jones' ceiling was never particularly high. We'd venture to say that it's more on Hinch for setting him up for opportunities he's not equipped for and inevitably letting fans down, and on Harris for keeping Jones on the roster in the first place.

Hinch recently went to bat for Jones, insisting that the Tigers really (really, really) believe in him. We could be wrong, but that sounds a bit like a party line. After all, Hinch isn't the one making 26- or 40-man roster decisions. No, those are up to Harris. If Jones had pushed him to his breaking point, he wouldn't be on the roster right now.

So maybe it's mostly on Harris, who neglected to make a single move to help his offense this past offseason. Removing Jones from the roster would require a DFA, which is almost surely why the hesitation, but the Tigers have minor leaguers and prospects not named Max Clark who would almost certainly be more help to this team right now.

It's clear that Jones is beloved in the Tigers clubhouse. As much as fans are upset with him right now, it is coming from a place of deep disappointment because of his history of contributing to this club. We'd all love if he turned back into that guy overnight.

But odds are that he does are slim-to-none, so the Tigers have to do something about it. Ultimately, that falls on Harris.

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