Cubs.com E-Patt article.

[Brian]

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060202&content_id=1305398&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc

 

Pretty cool article that talks about him working with the infield instructor on his defense, it seems like the article is trying to scream "HE'S NOT COREY" because one of the main points is how coachable he is.

 

"It's very refreshing to a certain extent," Huson said about working with Eric. "Sometimes kids will say, 'Yes,' but you're not really sure they want to do it. He was able to apply it."

[rawaction]

Yeah, and we all know by Corey's face when he walks back to the dugout that he doesn't care and is uncoachable. Seriously though, and I know this wasn't you saying it, but how did Corey get this uncoachable tag? By reporting to spring training earlier than any position player the last 3-4 years? By getting to the park early and taking extra batting practice with his hitting coaches more often than any other player on the team? By trying to change his approach to become the leadoff hitter the Cubs thought they needed?

 

Corey Patterson is coachable. He does care. He is hard-working. He's just not a good hitter.

[CarolinaCubFan]

What's everyones opinion of when we may see Epatt in Chicago? And what type of numbers does he project? He looks impressive so far.

[Yeti]

Yeah, and we all know by Corey's face when he walks back to the dugout that he doesn't care and is uncoachable. Seriously though, and I know this wasn't you saying it, but how did Corey get this uncoachable tag? By reporting to spring training earlier than any position player the last 3-4 years? By getting to the park early and taking extra batting practice with his hitting coaches more often than any other player on the team? By trying to change his approach to become the leadoff hitter the Cubs thought they needed?

 

Corey Patterson is coachable. He does care. He is hard-working. He's just not a good hitter.

i agree with you're ideas here, except that corey isnt a good hitter, we saw glimpses of what he could be if left alone with his abilities in 2003... .298BA, .320OBP, .511SLG.

corey was over coached and forced into roles he was never meant to play, it screwed with his approach so much that he just lost it

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

Yeah, and we all know by Corey's face when he walks back to the dugout that he doesn't care and is uncoachable. Seriously though, and I know this wasn't you saying it, but how did Corey get this uncoachable tag? By reporting to spring training earlier than any position player the last 3-4 years? By getting to the park early and taking extra batting practice with his hitting coaches more often than any other player on the team? By trying to change his approach to become the leadoff hitter the Cubs thought they needed?

 

Corey Patterson is coachable. He does care. He is hard-working. He's just not a good hitter.

i agree with you're ideas here, except that corey isnt a good hitter, we saw glimpses of what he could be if left alone with his abilities in 2003... .298BA, .320OBP, .511SLG.

corey was over coached and forced into roles he was never meant to play, it screwed with his approach so much that he just lost it

 

New roles shouldn't mean that plate discipline (if he ever had it) goes out the window. Strike zone recognition shouldn't change that much depending on the hole you are in. He's always been a free swinger and if you get down in the count like he often does, it's no wonder that he bombed. Pitchers found a gaping hole and exploited it with 2 strikes (high fastball). His inability to adjust to that one pitch is baffling.

 

His success in '03 was also in only 329 AB.

[Balsa]

What's everyones opinion of when we may see Epatt in Chicago? And what type of numbers does he project? He looks impressive so far.

 

Well Murton and Greenberg got called up from AA last year, so who knows?

 

The extreme earliest I would expect him would be the expansion of rosters after Sept. 1st. And then he'd just get a taste of the big leagues. I would doubt he'd be called up for significant time this year.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Preach it, raw!

[Outshined_One]

The extreme earliest I would expect him would be the expansion of rosters after Sept. 1st. And then he'd just get a taste of the big leagues. I would doubt he'd be called up for significant time this year.

 

Ditto to this remark. I'd like to see Eric get significant playing time against AA/AAA pitching this season, especially considering he'll be seeing much more advanced pitchers at those levels.

 

I'm not quite sure what to expect from Eric if he reaches the majors, to be truthful. He did a very good job against Low A pitching last season, but he was advanced for his level. Now, as memory serves me, he did pretty well during his time in AA last season, but it's hard to take those numbers and predict how well he'll do in the majors.

 

Still, he's a legit prospect and there's plenty there to like. He'll hopefully push for the full time 2B job in 2007.

[Jon]

It looks like he batted .263 in 57 regular season and post-season ABs with the Diamond Jaxx.

[stitchface]

Yeah, and we all know by Corey's face when he walks back to the dugout that he doesn't care and is uncoachable. Seriously though, and I know this wasn't you saying it, but how did Corey get this uncoachable tag? By reporting to spring training earlier than any position player the last 3-4 years? By getting to the park early and taking extra batting practice with his hitting coaches more often than any other player on the team? By trying to change his approach to become the leadoff hitter the Cubs thought they needed?

 

Corey Patterson is coachable. He does care. He is hard-working. He's just not a good hitter.

i agree with you're ideas here, except that corey isnt a good hitter, we saw glimpses of what he could be if left alone with his abilities in 2003... .298BA, .320OBP, .511SLG.

corey was over coached and forced into roles he was never meant to play, it screwed with his approach so much that he just lost it

 

 

his lack of plate discipline screwed him up.

[Tim]

On Corey:

 

I think it was a combination of his own innate inability to recognize pitches and the Cubs persistence in trying to make him something he wasn't that screwed him up. I think his lack of ability to recognize pitches was the key, though.

 

If he gets a full time shot in Baltimore, I'd still give him even odds of putting up better numbers than Jacque Jones, though.

 

 

On EP:

 

Given his own issues with strikeouts, my expectations are a bit lower than many. Just for fun:

 

              G    AB    R    H    2B   3B   HR  RBI   SB   CS   BB   SO   Avg    Obp    Slg   Ops
Corey   19   112  475   94   152   35   17   20   79   33    9   25   85  .320   .358   .592   950
Eric    22   110  432   90   144   26   11   13   71   40   11   53   94  .333   .405   .535   940

 

This doesn't really mean much, but Corey had a better strikeout rate at low A than Eric did while being three years younger at that level.

 

Let's not rush Eric any more than we have to!

[stitchface]

agreed tim. I think we'll learn a lot with his performance in AA this year. That .405 to .358 helps offset the k difference (which is pretty small really). I'd like to see his pitch/AB since that is probably a big part of the reason for his ks. maybe? can he hit a big league curve - or at least lay off of it?

[stitchface]

I didn't realize eric had hit for that much power - that really is a pretty stellar year.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

On Corey:

 

I think it was a combination of his own innate inability to recognize pitches and the Cubs persistence in trying to make him something he wasn't that screwed him up. I think his lack of ability to recognize pitches was the key, though.

 

If he gets a full time shot in Baltimore, I'd still give him even odds of putting up better numbers than Jacque Jones, though.

 

 

On EP:

 

Given his own issues with strikeouts, my expectations are a bit lower than many. Just for fun:

 

              G    AB    R    H    2B   3B   HR  RBI   SB   CS   BB   SO   Avg    Obp    Slg   Ops
Corey   19   112  475   94   152   35   17   20   79   33    9   25   85  .320   .358   .592   950
Eric    22   110  432   90   144   26   11   13   71   40   11   53   94  .333   .405   .535   940

 

This doesn't really mean much, but Corey had a better strikeout rate at low A than Eric did while being three years younger at that level.

 

Let's not rush Eric any more than we have to!

 

The K% are not that far apart though, 18.8% for Eric to 17% for Corey.

[Tim]

On Corey:

 

I think it was a combination of his own innate inability to recognize pitches and the Cubs persistence in trying to make him something he wasn't that screwed him up. I think his lack of ability to recognize pitches was the key, though.

 

If he gets a full time shot in Baltimore, I'd still give him even odds of putting up better numbers than Jacque Jones, though.

 

 

On EP:

 

Given his own issues with strikeouts, my expectations are a bit lower than many. Just for fun:

 

              G    AB    R    H    2B   3B   HR  RBI   SB   CS   BB   SO   Avg    Obp    Slg   Ops
Corey   19   112  475   94   152   35   17   20   79   33    9   25   85  .320   .358   .592   950
Eric    22   110  432   90   144   26   11   13   71   40   11   53   94  .333   .405   .535   940

 

This doesn't really mean much, but Corey had a better strikeout rate at low A than Eric did while being three years younger at that level.

 

Let's not rush Eric any more than we have to!

 

The K% are not that far apart though, 18.8% for Eric to 17% for Corey.

Consider the K-rates in context, though. It was the first exposure to pro ball for Corey, who had not played in college and wasn't even a full-time baseball player in high school. One measure of success I look at in minor leaguers is the number of extra base hits per strikeout. Corey's ratio of 72/85 is really, really good when considering the context. EP's ratio of 50/94 is still good, but nowhere near as good as Corey's and comes with three full years of experience in a strong baseball program.

 

Now, his walk rate is better than double Corey's, which is obviously a good thing. And they are different players, so any comparison is reasonably worthless to begin with. I'm merely suggesting that I'd really like to see EP have success at the upper levels of the system before writing him into any future lineup.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Consider the K-rates in context, though. It was the first exposure to pro ball for Corey, who had not played in college and wasn't even a full-time baseball player in high school. One measure of success I look at in minor leaguers is the number of extra base hits per strikeout. Corey's ratio of 72/85 is really, really good when considering the context. EP's ratio of 50/94 is still good, but nowhere near as good as Corey's and comes with three full years of experience in a strong baseball program.

 

Now, his walk rate is better than double Corey's, which is obviously a good thing. And they are different players, so any comparison is reasonably worthless to begin with. I'm merely suggesting that I'd really like to see EP have success at the upper levels of the system before writing him into any future lineup.

 

Completely agree, I don't see EPatt as a 2B option until late '07 or Spring '08 unless he goes nuts at a level, which I don't see happening(partially because of the aforementioned K rate).

[rawaction]

Yeah, and we all know by Corey's face when he walks back to the dugout that he doesn't care and is uncoachable. Seriously though, and I know this wasn't you saying it, but how did Corey get this uncoachable tag? By reporting to spring training earlier than any position player the last 3-4 years? By getting to the park early and taking extra batting practice with his hitting coaches more often than any other player on the team? By trying to change his approach to become the leadoff hitter the Cubs thought they needed?

 

Corey Patterson is coachable. He does care. He is hard-working. He's just not a good hitter.

i agree with you're ideas here, except that corey isnt a good hitter, we saw glimpses of what he could be if left alone with his abilities in 2003... .298BA, .320OBP, .511SLG.

corey was over coached and forced into roles he was never meant to play, it screwed with his approach so much that he just lost it

 

I said he is not a good hitter. Not really close right now. But it's not because of lack of trying.