He's very good against everyone. But you've got a great hitter in the middle of the worst offense in the game. There is literally no reason to give him drivable pitches. yeah but he's the first batter of the inning. unless the rest of the offense is pitchers, it's a pretty bad idea to just give a free pass to a leadoff hitter. No, but you don't feed the middle of the zone, either. Pitch him borderline, and if you lose him, you lose him. He's the only guy in their lineup who has proven he can hurt you. It's Ryan Dempster, it's not like he can put the ball exactly where he wants it. And it's not like the guy can't drive a borderline pitch either.