Q: Do you think the Padres will repeat in the National League West because of their pitching staff, or did they mess up by not signing a big bat for some more offense?
— Joseph Martinez, San Diego

A: I can’t say that I disagreed with anything the Padres did or didn’t do this off-season, with the possible exception of trading Josh Barfield, who should be an excellent player for years to come. But they believe third-base prospect Kevin Kouzmanoff will hit with power at the big-league level, and they signed Marcus Giles to replace Barfield, so only time will tell if they are right.

Some eyebrows were raised when they didn’t re-sign Mike Piazza, who brought a lot to last year’s club besides power. But that was as much a financial decision as a talent-based one, and I think people will be surprised by the offensive production of the catching duo of Josh Bard and Rob Bowen.

You heard the Padres mentioned as possibly trying to trade for or sign a big free-agent bat to play left field, but again, when you factor in cost in terms of either talent or money, I think they made the right decision by not going in that direction.

I also agreed with the decision to hold onto setup man Scott Linebrink, as the Padres’ bullpen is one of the best in the game, and they shouldn’t mess with it. All that said, I think the Dodgers have a slightly stronger team, and I’m picking them to win the NL West, with the Padres close on their heels.

Q: Who was the most successful ambidextrous pitcher in baseball history?
— Larry Smith

A: To my knowledge, nobody ever has done it on any kind of regular basis, Larry. But I do know of one pitcher — Greg Harris — who did it successfully for one inning in a game on Sept. 28, 1995.

Harris was a pretty solid right-handed reliever for a number of teams in his 15-year career, including Texas, Philadelphia and Boston, who long had the goal of pitching left-handed in a game. And in fact, he had a specially made glove with webbing in the middle and fingers on each side, which you could wear on either hand. When I covered Harris with the Rangers, he often would throw left-handed on the side, and he could reach about 80 mph, as I remember.

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At the end of his career, he finally got his wish. Pitching for Montreal in the top of the ninth inning of a blowout (Cincinnati led 9-3 at the time), Harris faced four batters, two from each side of the plate, and alternated between righty and lefty. The inning went like this: Reggie Sanders (right-handed hitter) grounded to shortstop; Hal Morris (left-handed hitter) walked; Eddie Taubensee (left-handed hitter) grounded out to second; Bret Boone (right-handed hitter) grounded out to the pitcher. So as a left-hander, Harris walked one and retired one. He pitched in one more game, then retired.

Q: What is the process for a team to acquire the rights to an under-age foreign player?
– Keith, Spanaway, Wash.

A: I’m not certain what you mean by ‘under age’, Keith, but in general, it works this way: Only amateur players from the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico are subject to the annual June draft. They have to have graduated from high school to be eligible. Every other amateur player in the world is fair game. You find them before anybody else, and you pay the money to sign them.

That’s why teams are concentrating so heavily on finding talent untapped in places such as the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and lately, the Pacific Rim. You aren’t supposed to sign any player under the age of 16, but it has happened many, many times, if you believe what scouts say.

Without naming names, I’ve heard stories about a handful of notable big-league players from Latin American countries who were signed before they turned 16, or had agreements to sign in place prior to turning 16.

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