The Didi Dilemma: Why don't we have anybody to pinch hit?

Yesterday, in the tenth inning, this awful thing happened.

As you can see, the game was on the line. The Evils had two men on base, and up comes Didi Gregorius, who on a good day is batting over .200. In the dugout, the Yankees have Brett Gardner, Brian McCann and the increasingly irrelevant Garrett Jones. Earlier, they had pinch-hit Stephen Drew - for what reason I cannot instantly fathom. Thus, they have no one to play infield. So here you go, Mudville: Game on line, Didi at the bat. And he... pops it up.

Two innings later, this awful thing happens:

Listen: I realize that extra inning games stress a lineup. But how many pitchers do the Yankees need? It's a bullpen, Mr. Cashman, not a Cecil B. DeMille battle scene. And what's the good of having pinch-hitters if you can't use them for your worst batter?

The answer, of course, is Jose Pirela - the poor guy who a month ago hit the CF wall in Tampa like a bug on a windshield. Theoretically, in a Rob Refsnyder way, Pirela could play SS. He certainly can hit more than Didi. (Kate Upton can hit more than Didi.)

Final note: This is the retching of a fan after a game is lost. If somebody had homered, and the Yankees won, we wouldn't be going through this horrible self-flagelation. But it's also a sign of an unbalanced team. If we've learned anything thus far on the season, it is that Gregorius will be lucky to hit .240 - and he's more likely to finish near .200. If our game plan is to pinch hit Drew - batting .167 - well, good luck with that.