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Freddy Guzman in, Eric Hinske out for Yankees

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Although the Yankees have until 10 o’clock Friday morning to decide on a roster for the American League Championship Series, Manager Joe Girardi said Thursday that he was only planning one change from the team he used in the division-series sweep of the Minnesota Twins. Girardi said he would activate speedy outfielder Freddy Guzman in place of utility man Eric Hinske.

Guzman appeared in just 10 games for the Yankees during the regular season, batting seven times. But he stole four bases, and Girardi planned to use him as pinch runner, when necessary, against the Angels.
‘We thought we could use another speed guy in this round,’ he said. ‘We’ve had some success doing those type of things late in games. And in a seven-game series, we felt that it could come up late in games.’

Hinske played in 93 regular-season games, hitting .242 with eight homers and 25 RBIs. But he did not see action in the series with Minnesota.
Although Girardi could change his mind this morning, he has apparently decided to keep left-hander Damaso Marte in the bullpen rather than activate right-hander Brian Bruney, something he had contemplated after Marte pitched poorly in the first round of the playoffs.

-- Kevin Baxter

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