Tony La Russa made a move in the bottom of the eighth last night that raised quite a few eyebrows, including mine. Jake Westbrook, a pitcher, was sent up to pinch hit, while the Big Puma Lance Berkman sat on the bench. Apparently Tony was saving Lance for later, but of course he never got into the game.
It's not so much that Westbrook came in to pinch hit that bothers me, it's how he looked at the plate that made me want to hide my head under the covers. The word embarassing doesn't do his swing justice, unfortunately.
This is the case with most pitchers in baseball. They focus on pitching, which is their main duty, and that's understandable. With that being said though, most pitchers that come up to the plate look like a fish out of water. They swing like the bat is too heavy, and I think they would have a better shot at making contact if they were to close their eyes. It's uncomfortable to watch.
Now let's examine the game for a minute. In Little League everyone plays everywhere. Sure, the coach puts the kid who picks dandelions and chases butterflies out in right field and hopes that no one can hit the ball that far, but no player has it written in stone yet that he's a catcher, shortshop, pitcher, etc.
In college, most starting pitchers will throw every 5th or 6th game. In games when they aren't scheduled to pitch, more than likely they are playing in the field, which means they have to know how to hit. The announcers always say that pitchers aren't athletes. Actually they are: major league athletes who make millions of dollars. Just because most are lanky and awkward looking doesn't mean they have to avoid the batting cages!
What happens between college and the majors? It seems like most pitchers completely forget how to swing the bat. I know that they use a DH in the minors sometimes, but come on. There's batting practice before every game, would it kill you to take advantage of it once in a while?
The fact that the American League uses a designated hitter and the National League makes pitchers bat for themselves is absolute crap in my opinion. It seems like every time a National League pitcher comes to the plate (usually hitting in the 9th spot, I wonder why...) it is a guaranteed easy out. This happens a lot when runners are on base, say in the early innings, with 2 outs. You know you aren't going to be pinch hit for so early in the game, but because you hold the bat like you're afraid of it, the team squanders a scoring chance when you strike out on 3 ugly swings.
American League games should always be high-scoring affairs, simply because they have a hitting specialist on their team who doesn't have to play the field. Big Papi is a perfect example. Do you remember Vlad Guerrero trying to play right field in the World Series last year? The Rangers needed his bat in the lineup, so they put him in the outfield with the other nose pickers and he messed up, badly, and more than once.
To sum up my ramblings, I think that if the pitcher has to hit, then he should spend more time in the cages or with the hitting instructor, so that he isn't going to be an automatic out every time that he steps into the box. I also think that both leagues should have the same rules: both have a DH, or make American League pitchers swing the bat too. That would be even more entertaining to watch...Bud Selig has done some amazing things for the game during his tenure as Commissioner, like interleague play and the Wild Card, but this is something that should be examined soon. I don't know if I can handle another at-bat like Westbrook's last night. Garcia is pitching tonight though, and he at least looks like he knows what he's doing when he comes to the plate.
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