Twins Lose

Samuel Dedudo is starting to look more and more like an average Twins starter.

Yes, one of the runs he gave up last night was unearned, but his once tricky fastball has stopped moving and he's starting to walk batters again. That the Twins can't seem to score without hitting home runs is also more depressing.

I'd rather talk about something else. Why is it that switch hitters at the major league level are such a big deal? Now if you are Pete Rose and can hit .335 from both sides of the plate and end up with more hits than anyone else in the history of the game, I can understand the appeal, but what if you are Pedro Florimon instead?

Pedro bats pretty well from the left side of the plate. He's demonstrated good power there as well, but could someone, ANYONE, explain to me how he's MORE valuable as a switch-hitter? You see, he has this problem when he hits from the right.

That problem? He can't hit.

Literally.

Now technically we are ALL switch hitters. When playing softball I switch to the left side once in a while just to mess up the pitcher. But anyone who knows me, KNOWS I really can't hit from that side. I probably hit .600 from the right, but from the left, I'm lucky to even make contact.

That's how I feel when I watch Florimon hit from the right. Seriously, does GARDY really think Florimon has a better chance facing a left-handed pitcher batting from the right side? Personally, I'd end that experiment and take my chances with him hitting from the left instead. Every time. In fact, I'd eliminate every switch-hitter from my ball club if he's significantly worse from the right side.

Left-handed hitters have an advantage just be being left-handed. Since they are closer to first base, they have a better chance of beating out slow ground balls to the infield. I'd take THOSE odds over someone who can't hit from the right side any time.

Good switch hitters have their place in baseball. But if you aren't good at it, you really shouldn't be doing it. It's like sending an American League pitcher to the plate every time Florimon comes up from the right side.

I LIKE Florimon. His defense just keeps getting better and his homerun power was a pleasant surprise this year. But he shouldn't be batting from the right side of the plate any more than I should be batting from the left side.

At least I KNOW I'm not a switch-hitter. It's about time someone told Pedro, he's not either.