Joe Sheehan of baseballprospectus.com wrote an excellent piece today that you can read fully here that discusses the Brewers general preference for left handed pitching. A quick look at the early returns this season (taken at the time of writing) bears out what he wrote. Against lefties, the Brewers are hitting (.333/.383/.583/.966). Against right handers, the picture dims considerably, with the team hitting (.283/.345/425/.770), though that .770 OPS is good for 3rd in the NL at this point. It should be noted that last year, the NL average OPS dropped from .772 versus lefties to .750 versus righties, which makes sense given the fact that more hitters are right handed than left handed. So how can Ned Yost and Doug Melvin manage this situation?

* Yost can use his heavily left handed bench to replace a right handed hitter or two versus the toughest right handed starters.

* Yost can use the bench for pinch hitting and late substitution duty to face tough right handed relievers.

* Melvin can look for possible left handed starting bats to trade for down the line, though it will be tough to find those at the positions the team could realitically upgrade.

* In a very long term sense, Scouting Director Jack Zduriencik should start putting some emphasis on drafting a few left handed impact bats to prepare for a few years from now. But that is a very long term issue.

Ultimately, there are going to be some rough days versus good right handed pitchers this year. The club will have to keep an eye on this and be on the lookout for a left handed bat that they could make a trade for. That could mean altering the core makeup of the club, and if it does, the move will have to make sense as much long term as it does short term. They will have to consider all options.

Thanks to Ghostdog for linking this one on the message board.