I keep an eye on what’s going on in spring training, but I don’t have much desire to watch any of the games unless I happen to be in Arizona and I’m in the ballpark with a beer in my hand. I do wish, though, that I could have seen some of the Yankees’ game yesterday. Pitcher Pat Venditte threw a inning and a third for the team in a split squad contest against the the Braves. What makes him stand out in a relatively dull matchup is that he is ambidextrous. He wears a six finger glove so that he can switch hands between batters. He can’t switch arms for one batter, but he’s like a manager’s wet dream when it comes to matching up to righties and lefties – especially in tight games down the stretch when a manager would likely run through the bullpen quickly to get the matchups he wants. He allowed two hits and a walk while recording four outs in the game. He put up decent numbers in Class A ball last year, and is due to start in Class A again next year. That means we aren’t likely to see him in the majors for a long time – if ever – but that doesn’t make him any less interesting or intriguing. Very cool.

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