Look for left-handed Marlins outfielder Jeremy Hermida to lose more and more time to right-handed hitting Cody Ross, now that Ross has finally returned from a leg injury.
It's not only that Hermida has been slow to figure out left-handed pitching, but his fielding has been suspect as well. Hermida's seven errors in fewer than 60 games has cost the team wins in a tightly contested pennant drive, as has his misreading of balls coming off the plate, inability to run efficient routes and worse yet, his tendency to pull up short for shallow pops and liners.
Some of these shortcomings show up in the box score, but plenty don't.
Whether this trend will devolve into a strict platoon is an open question, though coaches clearly would prefer to see Hermida improve his field work so that the former No. 1 pick can play every day.
At 24, Hermida has time to iron out these difficulties. The problem seems to be that Hermida is either unable to improve, or unwilling to work at it as hard as he should.
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Doctor X -- the 'Baseball Medic' -- is an anonymous U.S. government trauma specialist with a Duke University sports medicine background and more than 20 years experience in emergency medicine. From time to time he considers MLB rumors, events and news reports as they pertain to baseball players' injuries, illnesses and various other disabilities, both on the field and off.
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