Who bats 9th?

[Rubeskies]

Batting your worst player last so he gets the least number of ABs throughout the season is often the prevailing logic in the NL. The pitcher usually bats last. (Allthough I'll admit that even when the pitcher is a decent hitter he still usually bats last even if he's a better hitter than one of the other 8.)

But in the AL that doesn't seem to be the case. Teams often will use a "second leadoff hitter" in the 9 hole. The Yankees hit Miguel Cairo 9th 2 years ago when he was hitting around .300 with very little power. Last year they used Robinson Cano (solid average, average power) a lot in the 9 hole. These are the examples I'm familiar with since I am a Yankees fan, but there are others throughout the league.

What do you guys think of this strategy?