brfahey

I agree that he has come up with some timely hits. Unfortunately, with a better hitter at the top, DLee's RBIs increase, putting us in fewer critical late game situations. What the hell does that mean?

The intensity and breadth of the Perez bashing never ceases to amaze. That blind squirrel has found a more than a few nuts this year. Why do I get the felling that if Patterson had got that hit we would get more than a few posts stating that it was a sign that he has turned the corner. Perez is no all star but give the guy credit when he deserves it.

Gotta go in a minute just in someone thinks I am ignoring their queries. With regard to the earlier question, I can off the top of my head give you my impression (for what it's worth) of Hairston and Walker and one in relation to the other. If anyon really cares to hear it.

What's your preferred method for explaining the game? There's no way to fully explain the game, that's just the point. if the game could be objectively explained fully why hasn't it been in the 150 years people have been playing it. Does the team with the best stats win very year? Only if you are correct and cite the only stat that matters: wins and losses. Stats can be helpful to try to predict how things will go. But can you explain with stats the dread I feel facing the reds lineup while i really don't fear the cards and haven't for a couple of years. Intangibles exist. If you think you can explain this game fully you've got some ego on you. You didn't answer my question. How do you know that Patterson has "sucked" more than Perez this year without looking at their stats? i watch the games. Without looking it up, what do you think the discrepancy in hits between Hairston and Walker is? Hairston only has a couple more ABs. I have little or no idea. What is the point of the question? I didn't know it was a quiz here today?

What's your preferred method for explaining the game? There's no way to fully explain the game, that's just the point. if the game could be objectively explained fully why hasn't it been in the 150 years people have been playing it. Does the team with the best stats win very year? Only if you are correct and cite the only stat that matters: wins and losses. Stats can be helpful to try to predict how things will go. But can you explain with stats the dread I feel facing the reds lineup while i really don't fear the cards and haven't for a couple of years. Intangibles exist. If you think you can explain this game fully you've got some ego on you. You didn't answer my question. How do you know that Patterson has "sucked" more than Perez this year without looking at their stats? i watch the games.

There may be. But I sure don't know any of them. Fair enough. perhaps I phrased inartfully. I think people have spent alot of time on this board ripping perez. While there has been ripping of patterson the perez bashing is out of proportion relative to the patterson bashing to their performances this year. I'm not sure there has ever been a topic discussed on this board to a level in proportion to the level that topic deserved. Some talks escalate, they stir emotions. If somebody says Neifi sucks, and the replies are pretty much in agreement, the discussion isn't going to go anywhere. If a person decides to reply in defense of Neifi, however, the debate is much more likely to rage. I personally rip Neifi more than Corey for a couple reasons: A) I expected Neifi to suck and I hate being proven right on something that hurts the Cubs; B) I can't stand all the over-the-top praise Neifi has gotten from media/announcers/coaches; C) However slim it may be, there's still some hope for Corey to do something positive, whereas Neifi is hopeless. Again, far enough and well explained. I think you are hoping with your heart on ©.

What's your prefered method for explainging the game? There's no way to fully explain the game, that's just the point. if the game could be objectively explained fully why hasn't it been in the 150 years people have been playing it. Does the team with the best stats win very year? Only if you are correct and cite the only stat that matters: wins and losses. Stats can be helpful to try to predict how things will go. But can you explain with stats the dread I feel facing the reds lineup while i really don't fear the cards and haven't for a couple of years. Intangibles exist. If you think you can explain this game fully you've got some ego on you.

There may be. But I sure don't know any of them. Fair enough. perhaps I phrased inartfully. I think people have spent alot of time on this board ripping perez. While there has been ripping of patterson the perez bashing is out of proportion relative to the patterson bashing to their performances this year.

Reality is what drives me crazy. All the Santos in the world can't keep spreading the lie that he's been great. He sucks. The numbers back it up. He's always sucked. Does he suck more than Patterson? Do the numbers back that up? This year Corey sucked more. For their careers they are very similar. Neifi is right now what Corey would be if he never improved for 6 years but kept getting chances to play a lot. Corey may never improve. I certainly won't guarantee it. But there is a chance. With Neifi, we know he sucks and he'll always suck. At least you're not unreasonable. I still think there are people who do not want to admit that Patterson has sucked this year while ripping others in the same breath.

Reality is what drives me crazy. All the Santos in the world can't keep spreading the lie that he's been great. He sucks. The numbers back it up. He's always sucked. Does he suck more than Patterson? Do the numbers back that up? This year Corey sucked more. For their careers they are very similar. Neifi is right now what Corey would be if he never improved for 6 years but kept getting chances to play a lot. Corey may never improve. I certainly won't guarantee it. But there is a chance. With Neifi, we know he sucks and he'll always suck. At least you're not unreasonable. I still think there are people who do not want to admit that Patterson has sucked this year while ripping others in the same breath.

Neifi is 32, he's had almost 5000 PA, and he's always sucked. Corey is 26, has had less than 2500 PA, and has not always sucked. He's been terrible this year. But the fact is players usually do improve throughout their 20's. Neifi is a lost cause with no upside. However small the likelihood is for Corey, at least he has some chance to be a decent starter. Neifi's always sucked? What is it about him that drives you guys crazy? The fact that he's one of the worst hitters of his era? What is there to like about his performance over his career? Please, withoiut nerding it up too much with VORP etc, tell me how Neifi is one of the worst hitters of his era? How does he have 5000 abs if he sucks so bad. I like his chances to get 7500 abs better than Corey's to get 5000. Okay, I won't "nerd it up" with more accurate metrics. Neifi's career OBP is .301, and a third of his career ABs have been at Coors field. His career numbers away from home in his career(his home parks have been primarily Coors and Kaufmann, the two biggest hitters parks): .246/.281/.335/.617. Humiliatingly awful. To you. If baseball could be completely explained by stats, why isn't it. Why do the Cubs play the Cards well and stink it up against the Reds? Why can't the Yankees beat the Devil rays. All of the stats in the world do not and will not ever completely explaing the game so stop pretending like they can.

Nerding it up? Gotta love that tough guy "stats don't matter" attitude. Neifi has had 5000 PA because a lot of people in baseball purposefully avoid objective analysis. It's called conventional wisdom, and it's why so many franchises repeatedly fail. How can you support Neifi so much when his career numbers are no better than Corey's? And that comes with playing half of his career in Colorado. Stats are something, not everything. I am not supporting Neifi per se. I am pointing out the selectivity of some who bash him but defend Patterson. PS: I here Gary Scott's still got a chance to make it. I think we gave up on him too early.

Reality is what drives me crazy. All the Santos in the world can't keep spreading the lie that he's been great. He sucks. The numbers back it up. He's always sucked. Does he suck more than Patterson? Do the numbers back that up?

Neifi is 32, he's had almost 5000 PA, and he's always sucked. Corey is 26, has had less than 2500 PA, and has not always sucked. He's been terrible this year. But the fact is players usually do improve throughout their 20's. Neifi is a lost cause with no upside. However small the likelihood is for Corey, at least he has some chance to be a decent starter. Neifi's always sucked? What is it about him that drives you guys crazy? The fact that he's one of the worst hitters of his era? What is there to like about his performance over his career? Please, withoiut nerding it up too much with VORP etc, tell me how Neifi is one of the worst hitters of his era? How does he have 5000 abs if he sucks so bad. I like his chances to get 7500 abs better than Corey's to get 5000.

Neifi is 32, he's had almost 5000 PA, and he's always sucked. Corey is 26, has had less than 2500 PA, and has not always sucked. He's been terrible this year. But the fact is players usually do improve throughout their 20's. Neifi is a lost cause with no upside. However small the likelihood is for Corey, at least he has some chance to be a decent starter. Neifi's always sucked? What is it about him that drives you guys crazy?

I may be as guilty of it as others, but why is there even any discussion regarding if Patterson should be retained? Many posters can't seem to help but rip Perez who has been far more productive offensively than Patterson and is a good defensive player but we still don't know if patterson should come back. News flash, this is who he is a player. The first half of 2003 was 2 years ago. Patterson's head is permanently planted, for baseball purposes, up his rear end. If hendry can get anything for him, fine. if not, non-tender him and say bye. I think we will be able to replace those 30 RBIs somehow.

Yes, he can, but his ceiling is an MLB utility player. His OBP has been pretty good in the minors and he has good plate discipline. And apparently, I agree with Outshined on this topic. Trading/releasing a young player like Corey doesn't necessarily improve this team, especially considering the alternatives in CF. Man, talk about your tired Patterson excuses....he is NOT young. He's 26 yo, has played in parts of SIX big league seasons, and has over 2,000 big league ABs. Not only has he not realized his quasi-talent, not only has he not improved, but he has regressed to the point that he is one of the five worst hitters in all of baseball. THE GUY HAS A **LIFETIME** OBP UNDER .300, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!! Do you have any reckoning of just how bad that is?? He's a 1st round bust. Face it. He's not the first the Cubs have had (not even close!), he won't be the last. He gets paid $3MM this year, how laughable is that? Yes, you dump him, he has no value because he STINKS. You don't hold up the organization waiting for snow to fall in Mexico. Save the $3MM and release him. I would much rather take that $3MM and put it in the "Sign Johnny Damon and Brian Giles and Rafael Furcal and BJ Ryan" fund. Thnak you for that post. I think the mention in this thread of magic beans should refer to what the Corey apologists are clutching. This argument that we can't get rid of him because we won't get anything for him is ridiculous. Addition by subtraction. Does anyone think we would be a better team had we held out to get "top notch" players in return for Sosa? Sosa would be stinking it up here. It never ceases to amaze me about the amount of slack cut Corey on these boards. The guy is not a baseball player. Last night you could see he was going to get picked off. he had way too big of a lead and was not reading that pitcher's move at all. He just appears to not understand the game. His fault or someone else's? Don't know and don't care. He hurts this team by his presence on it and he needs to go, for something or nothing at all.

Amen.

Poor Corey. Poor little Corey. He just hasn't been coached right, that's why he hasn't hit in two years. Boo hoo hoo. If/when he goes good riddance. Another point, why does it seem that it is only Corey who hasn't been coached well? Maybe macias and perez aren't coached well either.

What do you mean? Barrett's one of our best hitters with runners on. I'm signing off in a minute so I can't rehash the whole thing, but Barrett has good stats with men on base. I happen to think that those stats are padded in games where the outcome is not in doubt. GIDP with bases loaded and a weak looking strikeout today. Posted a week or so ago about Barrett hitting with the bags loaded. Average looks good but two of his four hits were in games where the Cubs lead by 5 or more when Barrett batted. Results (Ks popups when Cubs trailing or tied). I think Barrett's numbers in these situations are examples of (and I know a lot of the stat-ophiles don't like this) there being more to the game than just looking at numbers.

I don' recall ever seeing a guy who's a decent hitter otherwise looking so anxious in a RISP in a tight game at-bat than Barrett.

Corey, Corey, Corey, Corey, Corey, Corey.

I'm sorry, I was unaware this board was lacking in Corey bashing. The point is there is a discussion of guys who haven'r produced and his name isn't being mentioned. Give me a break. Why does Perez merit greater bashing than patterson? Topic of the hour? Not every discussionhas to be about Corey. This one for instance, is about the Niefster. Some of the people on this board have an unbelievable double standard. Are you talking about me? If so, please enlighten me....otherwise, carryon. I'm talking about those criticizing players for being non-productive and mentioning a number of names without Patterson's name coming up. Those and all the excuse makers for him earlier in the year ("it's, sob, Dusty's fault, sob, that Corey swing, sob, at pitches over, sob, his head.") who never desist in ripping Perez and macias while calling for an end to Patterson bashing.

I'm sorry, I was unaware this board was lacking in Corey bashing. The point is there is a discussion of guys who haven'r produced and his name isn't being mentioned. Give me a break. Why does Perez merit greater bashing than patterson? Topic of the hour? Not every discussionhas to be about Corey. This one for instance, is about the Niefster. Some of the people on this board have an unbelievable double standard.

I'm sorry, I was unaware this board was lacking in Corey bashing. The point is there is a discussion of guys who haven'r produced and his name isn't being mentioned. Give me a break. Why does Perez merit greater bashing than patterson?