In terms of perceived baseball chemistry, it’s not easy for the Dodgers to establish a sense of continuity when a different batting order appears on the lineup card almost nightly. Conversely, if the squad is winning, it makes the management team look brilliant. However, as soon as the club falls victim to any type of losing skid, the concept of the platoon and the sabermetric philosophy in general are trashed by the majority of the fans — without hesitation.
Advanced statistics didn’t exist when I was a kid. I was a switch-hitter from the time I was eight years old, but pretty much focused on hitting left-handed exclusively by the time I was 12, because of the domination of right-handed pitching in youth leagues.