Depends on:

- How hot Overbay and Hillenbrand are, respectively
- Who matches up better against the lefty on the mound
- Is the opposing manager likely to bring in a RHP to face Shea (he couldn't last night, because a pitching change had just been made)
- Who else is still on the bench (ie, are Molina and Johnson already in the game)--does pinch-hitting Shea exhaust the right-handed bench options
- The score and the inning. In some cases it might be preferable to keep Overbay's glove in the game

One thing I liked about last night's late-game moves was that it showed Gibbons's confidence in Hillenbrand, and his commitment to create playing time for all his players.

Can I vote for all three??  My first reaction was "huh? Overbay's 2 for 2!"  Then rationalized that Overbay hasn't done all that well against lefthanders this year.  Then it was "you'd better not hit into a DP Hillenbrand!".   Result - Shea gets the clutch hit and Gibbons looks like a genius.

I swear, all three of these thoughts passed through my mind in an instant much shorter than the time required to tell it...

Actually, one other thought went through my head as Hillenbrand was brought in to face Halama was: "Aaron vs. Mick".  Is a picture really worth a thousand words?

All I thought was, "Thank god I don't have to see Lyle flail away against a left-hander again." So I guess I liked the decision.

Before Overbay came up I was thinking to myself "This is where managers just dont get it" to me it was clearly a point in the game where a hit wins you the ball game. I was hoping he would send in Alex Rios to do the pinch hitting (one because he is mashing left handers and two because he has speed to keep out of a double play). Overall I was happy Overbay was pinch hit for as he has looked bad against lefties, I would have preferred Rios and i think if the manager didn't feel a loyalty to Hillenbrand that Rios would have got the call. So yeah i guess i thought about all three

My problem with that whole sequence was pinch-running Rios (Cat was on third, and they already had the lead -- it wasn't a runner on first with 0 out and trailing by one run, or anything) and then leaving Hinske in to hit the lefty. Hinske and Rios have been platooning, why not have Rios hit there?

I was watching at the time, and my initial reaction was firmly "Pinch hitting for Overbay?". Apparently Gibbons felt the matchup favored Hillenbrand (.385 in 13 ABs against Halama) and went with that. I don't hate the move so much in retrospect, it does look like a good spot for Hillenbrand. But, overall, I would have gone with Overbay because he's more patient and the bases were loaded.

That's exactly what I thought - why not Rios?  But Gibbons, as it turns out, wisely choose the veteran in this pressure situation.

Just because it turned out does not make it a wise decision. It was a good decision. But I still think Rios was the better option.

If you pinch hit Rios for Overbay then you have to make another move to put someone at 1B which I suspect is why Hillenbrand got the call over Rios.

Of course I suppose Rios could pinch hit for Overbay and then Hillenbrand could replace Cat, and it ends up the same.  Maybe Gibbons just wanted to save the scorekeepers some work.

All 3 within the span of a second.

Eric Hinske was DH'ing last night, so if you hit Rios for Hinske, you'd either forfeit the DH or prevent Rios from replacing Cat defensively.  You could have saved Hillenbrand for Hinske's spot, but you still couldn't hit Rios for Overbay because then nobody can play first.

Hillenbrand's highest value is against a lefthanded pitcher with a runner on third, less than two outs.  He's a good bet for at least a sac fly.

That pinch hit decision would have been great if Hinske wasn't on deck, waiting to flail helplessly at lefthanded pitching after Hillenbrand had his at-bat. In last night's case, I would rather have saved Hillenbrand to pinch-hit for Hinske, and just let Overbay take his at-bat.