Of course he can. Lavender was likable enough in the context of the film, but there's nothing inherently remarkable about her.

But he knows better than to so much as hint to Matilda that he's thinking something like that.

"Certainly," he says, with some cheer, and strolls out to the pitcher's mound. (Blame his American personae for that, especially Jimmy O'Malley. There's a sense of drama associated with that spot that simply doesn't exist on any other part of the field.)