Posts tagged CoreyPatterson at FanHouse

There are a lot of exciting things going on in Cincinnati right now. The Reds have won five of their last six games, Edinson Volquez is leading the National League in ERA (1.46) and strikeouts (83), Ken Griffey Jr. is one homer shy of 600 in his career, and Jesus Christ Jay Bruce is now manning center field instead of Corey Patterson.

In other words, there's a lot going on out on the field that manager Dusty Baker should feel good about. Unfortunately, instead of paying attention to his team or finding new ways to keep the bases unclogged, all Dusty can do is check out Bobby Cox's brilliant body control when he's being ejected.

It's another ejection from a game to you and me, but to Reds manager Dusty Baker watching Bobby Cox get ejected Saturday for arguing a play at the plate was cause for study.

"I learned something from Bobby; he's the king of ejections," Baker told reporters Sunday. "I learned - he crosses his arms, he kept his distance. I was really studying Bobby. I was, I'm not kidding. He was careful not turn on anybody, he backed up before he turned."

Baker, or course, was suspended for two games last weekend after he bumped an umpire before being ejected in a game at San Diego. Though I'm sure Reds fans would rather have Dusty pay attention to Bobby's ability to win his division for 13 years in a row. That would come in a lot more handy than learning how to avoid bumping an umpire.

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups

Cincinnati Reds (23-28) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (24-26) - 7:10PM Est.

There are certain events in human history which leave indelible marks on our lives and our memories. While we can't always remember where we left our car keys, or that cute girl from the bar on Friday's phone number, there are moments we just can't forget no matter how hard we try.

You remember exactly what you were doing and where you were doing it the moment you found out that John F. Kennedy had been shot. You remember everything about the morning that the World Trade Center came down.

Tonight we fast forward in time a full 30 years when you'll be telling your children or grandchildren the story of where you were the very first time Jay Bruce stepped into a Major League batter's box, ready to take on the world.

As if a Reds/Pirates matchup needed any more hype!

Good news for Reds fans, no wait: Great news for Reds fans, one more time: Reds fans are doing jigs in their homes tonight as news comes down from their favorite team that the 2007 Reds minor leaguer of the year, Jay Bruce, will make his debut in a Cincinnati uniform tomorrow

The frustration that Reds fans had with Dusty Baker keeping Bruce in the minor leagues to start the season (and where he's been hitting .364 with 10 HR's and 37 RBI's this season) came from the suspicion that Corey Patterson, who Baker signed to block Bruce's path to the majors, stinks. This season, Corey Patterson has put up numbers (.201/.242./.354) that proves the suspicion as fact: Corey Patterson indeed stinks.

The Reds press release announcing Bruce's arrival said that there would be a corresponding roster move. I'm sure that barring an injury, Reds fans might hope that the corresponding roster move to begin the Jay Bruce era would be to end the Corey Patterson era.

Arm Bash: Redleg Nation

The scariest thing about Adam Dunn attempting to sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the ninth with two runners on, only to hit a walk off home run, is that this is the second time the exact thing has happened under Dusty Baker's watch. And it's not so much scary because Dusty doesn't know what he's doing -- well, that is scary -- as it is terrifying that it is wholly possible Dusty might think bunt-bunt-bat could be the new way to go.

Dunn was told to try to advance the runners with a bunt, but fouled it off. He then latched onto a belt-high fastball, driving it deep into the seats in right field for his ninth homer.

'He actually is one of the best bunters on the team, believe it or not,' manager Dusty Baker said. 'We were trying to get the runners in scoring position, and he threw him a pitch he could hit. We're playing pretty good baseball now. Things are starting to go pretty good.'

I will go with "not" on the first one, Dusty. And I will counter with "He is also the best hitter of home runs on the team, believe it" in response. And "going pretty good" is Dusty-code for "backdooring wins despite myself". Regardless of outcome, there is absolutely zero reason why this set of events should have taken place.

It's not absurdly shocking, because nothing Dusty does is absurdly shocking. In fact, had he pinch hit Corey Patterson for Dunn, I might have been less surprised. Oh wait. Patterson already starts.

H/T: FJM

Ryan Freel has become a bit player for the Reds, seeing most of his time as a defensive replacement or pinch hitter. Why is this? Apparently because of a conversation he allegedly had with Dusty Baker in which he said he wasn't comfortable playing every day. Trouble is, Freel doesn't recall ever having this conversation. From John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer:

"It would have stunned a lot of people if they heard what was said about me. Apparently, I said I couldn't play every day to the manager. Apparently, I told him that this offseason. That would have never come out of mouth."

[...] "I talked to Wayne (Krivsky) to tell him I didn't say that," Freel said. "I would never in a million years say that. They gave me a two-year ($7 million) deal. I don't think it was to do this. It's frustrating. I can't explain it. There's a lot going on. It's a shame that I had to address it like this. I didn't want to get the media involved."

Fortunately somebody had the decency to remind Baker that Corey Patterson isn't very good at the game of baseball, but in the meantime Jerry Hairston has been recalled from the minors and taken a lot of the at-bats Freel would normally get, playing anywhere and everywhere on the field. Making matters worse (for Freel, not the Reds) is that Hairston is actually hitting right now (.364 heading into tonight's game), which means Freel will likely continue to be snubbed for the time being.

When Dusty Baker announced his impending reign of terror, he did so with great authority. He mandated that Joey Votto stop looking at so many pitches (even if they were bad) and he immediately sent top prospect and future of the organization Jay Bruce back down to Triple-A. Understandable, certainly, because Dusty had Corey Patterson on his roster.

Yes, by "understandable", I do in fact mean "certifiably and irrationally stupid". Bruce was the consensus number one prospect in all of baseball in 2007 and seemed nearly assured of the starting centerfield job in Cincy. Anyway, I hate to be overtly optimistic, much less to trust the mad (cow disease ridden?) brain of Mr. Baker, but I think there's a pretty good chance we see Bruce back in a Reds uniform within the next few weeks.

Why? Because Corey Patterson stinks, that's why. Yes, he started off hot, but as my good friend Mr. Greber pointed out in a new series of articles today, so did Chris Shelton. Now, he's batting .183 and not clogging up the bases to the tune of a .254 OBP. Congratulations, everyone. (The insane thing is that he has four home runs. Just weird.)

Bruce, meanwhile, is putting up numbers (.333/.348/.561) with three home runs and four stolen bases in just 16 games at Louisville. The best part, Dusty? Only two walks. That's right. You don't even have to tell him to swing more! Look, the point of all this Dusty-dogging and Patterson-bashing isn't to point out how silly the Reds organization was for signing him to coach the team (not entirely anyway).

The point is to tell you, the fantasy owner, what a steal you could be getting on Jay Bruce right now. The kid is a masher, he's ready for the majors and sooner or later, Dusty is going to have to cave and let him on the field at the major league level. You either need to a) pick him up and stash him now or b) make a play for him from another owner before it's too late. Bruce is the future, and if there's anything the Reds should learn from the way Votto, Johnny Cueto and Edison Volquez are currently playing, it's that the future is now.

Corey Patterson is mired in a 1-for-28 slump. Said slump has dropped his line to .186/.258/.475 (hey! look at that slugging percentage!) and he's pretty much been the not-Jay Bruce black hole at the top of the lineup that most Reds' fans feared he would be this year. Unsurprisingly, he got the night off in favor of Ryan Freel tonight. Logic dictates that the benching was due to his slump. Dusty Baker does not play by logic's rules. From Hal McCoy at the Dayton Daily News:

Baker was not aware of Patterson's slump until a writer informed him Sunday.

"Really?" said Baker. "I did not know that. He hasn't been striking out a lot so a long stretch of no hits is not as noticeable as when a guy piles up the strikeouts."

Unless Freel hits for the cycle, drives in four, scores five and makes three stupendous catches, Patterson will soon return. Not Tuesday, though. The Reds face lefthanded Hong-Chih Kuo, so Freel or Norris Hopper will be in center. Or maybe Jerry Hairston, Jr.

Can anyone point me towards a job that pays in the six-to-seven figures per year neighborhood that lets me travel across the country and watch baseball games from great seats without having to really pay that much attention to what's going on on the field? Because honestly, I'd kill for that gig. I swear I'd even notice when my lead off hitter only fails to get a hit over a seven-game span.

Fist-bump: BBTF

Before the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds played tonight, Tom Hardricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel talked to ex-Brewer and current Reds' closer Francisco Cordero about his decision this off-season to leave Milwaukee for Cincy. Cordero essentially told him that the Brewers didn't take him seriously when he said he had another suitor. As a result, Coco is a Red. Knowing that has to give Ned Yost heartburn every time he sees Eric Gagne on the mound.

Tonight, Gagne blew a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning by giving up a home run to Corey Patterson, only to be bailed out by the Brewers' bats again in the tenth inning. That's his second in three chances this year, if you're keeping track at home and if you think the Brewers are going to keep bailing him out and winning these games anyways, well, you're much more of an optimist than I am. In fact, you're much more of an optimist than most sane people.

Relegated to a side note from this game was another solid outing from Johnny Cueto (8 strikeouts and 2 runs in 6 and 1/3 innings tonight, still with no walks), and a bad night for Dusty Baker haters. He pulled Cueto after his 95th pitch in the seventh, even though that 95th pitch resulted in a strikeout of Corey Hart. And of course, Corey Patterson hit a big homer in the 9th. Then again, Dusty probably doesn't care what I think since the Reds lost and all.

You will probably not hear as much about the first three pitches that Edwin Encarnacion saw last night. You will hear a lot about the last one though. That's because Encarnacion, with two men on base, facing a 1-2 count against Arizona closer Brandon Lyon, turned on a ball and launched it over the left field wall for a walk off home run. Yay! Reds celebrate! Woo!

Well, here's the problem. Encarnacion actually failed to do his job and got partially booed by the Cincinnati crowd. How could he fail when he hit a game winning home run, you ask? Well, Dusty Baker sent him to home plate and told him to bunt. Yes, that's right. With runners on first and second, Dusty wanted a player who had never successfully laid down a sacrifice bunt in his entire career to do so in the bottom of the ninth inning instead of taking a swing and trying to score some runs.

'It doesn't matter how you win 'em,' Baker said. 'That first one always seems like the toughest one.'

As pointed out in the 'Haus discussion of the would-be-debacle turned walk-off-win, if Dusty would do any sort of due diligence he would find out that his team is more likely to score with runners on first and second and no one out than second and third with one out. And clearly, it does matter how you "win 'em", because if you're not being smart in your attempt to win, or giving yourself the best possible competitive advantage, you will win less.

But clearly, Dusty doesn't believe in that type of "math stuff"had no interest in having Encarnacion clog up the bases. And in doubly super unhappy news, Corey Patterson hit a home run, meaning, clearly, that Jay Bruce just isn't needed at the major league level right now.

When you've got the best prospect in baseball, as the Reds have in centerfield raker Jay Bruce, and he's consistently beaten all scouts' expectations to the point where he is considered, almost unequivocally, to be the best prospect in baseball, and he's, you know, THE BEST FREAKING PROSPECT IN BASEBALL, what do you do? Do you:

A.) Put him in the five hole and let him crank 25 home runs at nearly no cost to your team.
B.) Sign Corey Patterson to his position and send him back to the minors.

If you're anyone but the Reds, you choose option A. If you're the team that hired Dusty Baker in the offseason, you choose option B, at which point you might as well just built a giant picture of a middle finger on the outside of the Great American Ballpark.

This is baffling enough on its own, considering Ryan Freel is a negligible contributer and Corey Patterson can't stop (won't stop) waving his bat everywhere, but it's even more so considering the Reds traded Josh Hamilton over the winter to open this spot up for Bruce. Why, Dusty? Why?