Tigers fans overreacting to AJ Hinch's decisions in Cardinals finale are in for a long year

On Sunday, with the Tigers down by one to the Cardinals in the bottom of the sixth, AJ Hinch pulled Colt Keith — his hottest hitter through these first early games — and replaced him with pinch-hitter Jahmai Jones to face lefty JoJo Romero with runners on first and second and one out.

To seasoned Tigers fans, this move was totally expected and characteristic of Hinch. The Cardinals send out a lefty to face Detroit's lefty-heavy lineup; Hinch counters with one of the few righties on his bench. Jones has a proven track record of effectiveness against left-handed pitching.

It didn't go his way this time. He grounded to second for a force out but was safe at first with Parker Meadows on third and two outs. Kevin McGonigle walked, and then Gleyber Torres grounded out to end the inning.

We know Hinch will almost always play matchups, no matter how hot a guy is. So why were so many fans not only surprised but enraged by the move?

On Saturday, Hinch made no apologies for his decision to swap out Keith with Matt Vierling in the fourth, which ended in an RBI sac fly. He offered a warning that anyone upset on Sunday should've heeded: "I'll do it again, so it shouldn't surprise anybody. It's part of building this whole team."

AJ Hinch refuses to accept criticism for his decisions with Tigers' pinch-hitters

Sure, we'll admit that the Keith-Jones swap was frustrating in the moment, but what did we expect? Keith has a career .610 OPS against left-handed pitchers. An argument could be made that Hinch needs to give his young players the opportunities to prove they can succeed in roles they're uncomfortable with, but he does have a track record of doing that; remember Kerry Carpenter's ALDS Game 5 homer off of Mariners lefty Gabe Speier?

The fact is: this was a game in early April, and the last in a series the Tigers already had in the bag. Hinch has made matchups and stats-based maneuvering a huge part of this team's identity. Why are we getting so upset about this?

We'll allow that it was confounding for Hinch to sit Keith for the series opener against righty Michael McGreevy, and we'll allow that it's not fun to see the Tigers posting a losing record right now. But the reactions to Sunday night's moves were overblown, and we all need to take a collective deep breath.