You may have already heard about Pat Venditte, the ambidextrous pitcher. If you haven’t, meet Pat Venditte, the ambidextrous pitcher.

Venditte was originally drafted by the New York Yankees in 2007 out of Creighton in the 45th round of the Amateur Draft but opted to return to school for his senior year. But the Yankees drafted him again this year - this time in the 20th round - and made sure this unique talent was in their system. This time, Venditte was quickly signed and made his debut for the Staten Island Yankees last night in the ninth inning and it resulted in some pretty amusing results.

As this video on Hot Foot shows, Venditte, who uses a special glove that allows him to switch from lefty to righty pitcher at will, faced off against Ralph Henriquez of the Brooklyn Cyclones with two outs in the final inning. Problem is, Henriquez is a switch-hitter. And he kept moving back and forth between the righty and lefty batter’s boxes before one single pitch was thrown, and Venditte was forced to keep switching his glove hand in response.

But from what i understand (I could be wrong) this is actually illegal in professional baseball. Rule 6.02 of the official MLB rulebook states:

The batter leaves the batter’s box at the risk of having a strike delivered and called, unless he requests the umpire to call “Time.” The batter is not at liberty to step in and out of the batter’s box at will.

So this means that unless the batter is granted a timeout, once he steps into the box, the pitcher has the right to throw one pitch. However, last night, after a few switches in the batter’s boxes, Venditte became annoyed. A delay ensued as a result while all parties involved attempted to sort through the impasse. I don’t know what the umpires told Henriquez to do, but ultimately, he batted righty, Venditte pitched righty, and it all ended with a strikeout to finish the game.

You have to figure that this is not the first time that Venditte has faced a switch-hitter, which begs the question as to how this was handled then. What do you think, UmpBumpers? How should this rule be interpreted?

Sal Fasano, the journeyman catcher whose facial hair promted the formation of one of the most passionate fan groups ever, Sal’s Pals, is back in the bigs.

The Indians acquired Fasano from the Atlanta Braves for a player to be named later. The Indians needed a catcher after the club lost starter Victor Martinez, who is out six to eighth weeks following right elbow surgery on June 13.

What can the Indians expect from Fasano? That depends entirely on which Fasano shows up.

Will the Indians get the fu manchu’d Fasano, the version that fans in Philadelphia and Toronto grew to love? If so, expect fireworks and rioting in the streets.

Will Fasano show up with a mustache similar to the one he donned as a member of the New York Yankees? There’s nothing wrong with a good mustache, as Jason Giambi has clearly demonstrated this season. But Fasano’s stache was just a toned down version of his fu manchu. It was like watching Sex and the City reruns on TBS. You still get the jokes and the plot, but even if you haven’t seen that particular episode before, you know you’re missing something (ie., the cursing and the sex).

Or, will Fasano arrive clean-shaven, like he did in Baltimore? I saw Sal during spring training last year. He was training with the Blue Jays and had shaved his face and nothing, and I mean nothing, is sadder than a clean-shaven Fasano.

Just like Sampson got his power from his hair and Papi gets his power from mango salsa, everyone knows Fasano’s strength lies in his whiskers. Hopefully, after 11 years in professional baseball, Fasano has learned that lesson. The fate of the Indians’ season lies in the balance.

First thing’s first. I’m a White Sox fan, and I took on the assignment of prescribing what the Cubs need to keep winning as an exercise in objectivity (or to try and magnify each flaw – viciously). You decide. But the truth is, it’s a very intriguing season when both Chicago’s North Siders and South Siders are in first place of their respective divisions. Oh and they meet for the first time this season in about four hours.

But before I descend into a point-by-point comparison of the two teams, allow me to switch gears and focus on the Cubbies.

Consistency is the key word. Lou Piniella’s Cubs hadn’t been swept all season until that pesky team from Florida took them to task this week. They did lose two in a row in a few occasions, but they usually followed those mini-streaks with a healthy string of wins (usually more than three) that have facilitated for that first-place 45 and 28 record (as of Friday, June 20, 10 a.m.).

On a statistical level, the Cubs are also on top. First in the National League in runs scored, team average, team on-base percentage, and second in RBIs; and first in team ERA and batting average against. So in essence, all they have to do is keep the engine running and coast into the playoffs. If you do the math, they have to play slightly better than .500 ball for the rest of the season, and they’ll win around 90 games. In a division where they already lead third-place Pittsburgh by double digits, and where an injured Albert Pujols won’t be a threat, the Cubs are almost a shoo-in to win it (and don’t give me any crap for the Brewers, their pitching is shoddy).

If they want to keep their consistency, however, the Cubs are gonna have to do something about injuries. Carlos Zambrano visits the doctor today to find out if his shoulder can hold up for the rest of the season. He’ll miss one start, but the tension in Cub land is palpable, almost to a point where the season is dependent on Big Z’s ability to go the distance this year. And don’t forget that Alfonso Soriano is out with a broken hand (though he may start taking batting practice on Monday).

It’s no surprise, then, that the Cubs have sent scout to watch pitchers like A.J. Burnett, and are increasingly being mentioned in trade talks for pitching.

But with the season going as it is, the Cubs are on a roll. Their free agent signings are producing, their starter-turned-closer has finally bit the bullet and gotten the hang of it. The fans are wired with expectations. And yes, even cross-town rivals like myself like the possibility of the Cubs and White Sox meeting in the World Series. So what do the Cubs need? Maybe a little hocus pocus to keep it going. Or another arm, whichever comes first.

-What They Need Index-