http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Sat, 14 Jul 2007 18:28:50 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/06/16/203724.php#comment-611119 If you are a batting against a pitcher that pitches the same arm you are batting, there is a huge difference in the angle from which you see the ball. Seeing the ball better from the other side of the plate makes a huge difference. I think their numbers would be far lower if they stopped switch hitting. 611119@blogcritics.org Sat, 14 Jul 2007 18:28:50 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/06/16/203724.php#comment-529635 I agree Brian Roberts should try batting lefty all the time, but you are dead wrong about his defense. He's significantly above average in all stats except the seriously flawed range factor and in watching him on a regular basis as an Orioles' fan he certainly looks above average and is by far the best defensive infielder the Orioles have. His glove is certainly far superior to the aging Chris Gomez who would be his likely replacement if he were benched against some lefties. Giving up switch hitting might be difficult for him because his father who was the baseball coach at UNC for many years taught him to switch hit before he taught him to read, so it's not like most switch hitters who picked it up in high school or junior high. I still think he should give it a shot in Spring Training though. 529635@blogcritics.org Wed, 7 Feb 2007 07:55:03 EST