DivineBovine

LaTroy is hitting 97-98 on the gun. What happened to him?

This umpire's zone is ridiculous, and its helping Schmidt.

S@#$!!!!

See if he can throw a strike.

I believe he was out at 2B too, but the umps didn't give them the run, just the stolen base - the Cubs gave him the walk followed by the hit. Dempster pitched him like a chump. That was ridiculous. No power, ahead in the count, and couldn't throw a lousy strike. But he was out at 2B, for sure.

F@#$ YEAH!!

Tell me why Grudz is playing when we have Walker? Damn Dusty.

Come on Prior!! Geez.

Its amazing Aram hits as many doubles as he does, considering how many singles he seems to have which could be easily be doubles to other players.

What you said is exactly how I feel about Corey - unless some new "stance" will improve how he sees the ball and allows him to be more selective I don't think any new swing will help him. Pitchers exploit that lack of patience with him over and over again and will continue to do so until Corey can read the strikezone. I saw someone mention some machine that can be used to build "eye control" or something, but I believe I saw where the Cubs don't use it because they don't have the room for it (I wish I could recall the thread). Something like that is what I'd put Corey into every single day and have him keep working on it until he can better identify where the ball is going. Dang it's frustrating to root for a team where there have been a number of "potential" stars the last few years who just can't seem to get over the hump (Wood with his injuries, Farnsworth with his head or whatever and now Corey with his inability to read the strikezone). Horribly frustrating. Some AB's, it almost seems like he decides before the pitch is made whether he's going to swing or not. Like seeing the pitch has nothing to do with his decision on whether to swing. It's not even like he's just flailing at pitches 2 feet out of the zone. He takes good pitches a lot.

did he rob the homerun or something? It looked like he misjudged it a few times, and finally caught it on the run over his shoulder. It was a on the warning track. Not too tough a play.

The Frickin BACKUP catcher nonetheless It even seems that K-mian Miller does well against us now. M

He does it a lot. It's funny.

The better Walker plays, the more RBI's Lee will get. I think Lee has a shot, but Pujols will be tough.

I wonder how many more hits Aram would have if he had any semblance of speed.

Why am I feeling another DLee solo shot?

When Corey was torching ST pitching, some people chose to point out the most recent "change". The "hold on to the bat with 2 hands on the follow through" change. This can, at times, be effective.....in Little League. Bottom line, nobody in the organization has been able to isolate, or provide helpful criticism, of Corey's problems. This is the same organization that was so desperate for Sammy to move closer to the plate, even though he was hitting 60+ HR's a season standing the exact distance from the plate. It is painful for me to continue listening to these obscene "suggestions" from all of the ex-hitters. Before I get the usual response of "do you really think you know more about hitting than guys who have spent decades playing the game professionally?", allow me to respond. Yes. I am beginning to believe that I know more about hitting than the entire Cubs coaching staff combined. Hold on to the bat with 2 hands on the release?.....are you kidding me? If any of you are criticizing Corey for his release, long swing, stance, approach or discipline, please...I'm begging you....just stop. Corey's problems are even more basic than that...if you can imagine. Based on what the pitchers it the NL know of Corey Patterson, and barring any mystery muscle growth (ala Barry Bonds), Corey is not going to bounce back. Either he is not listening, or he is getting poor advice. Considering the fact that he went into the season with a different release, I would assume that we can use this as proof that he is willing to listen to suggestions, regardless of the value of those suggestions. For the record, I am not a "hindsight is 20-20" kind of guy. If any of you care to research, shortly into the beginning of the regular season, when Corey was actuallly hitting, I "predicted" he would have a terrible year. He is having a bad year only because he is receiving terrible advice from his coaching staff. Reading your post, I'm not sure I understand what your saying. But I'm definitely not criticizing any aspect of Corey's swing or coaching or anything like that. When I said "see it" I meant it figuratively, as in SEE THE RESULTS. I couldn't care less how long or short his swing is, or even care about his new "hitting philosophies". Personally, I think Corey is simply NOT a good ballplayer. A journeyman who someone will start in CF, but never a star. We've seen what he does, he bats .260, hits 25 home runs, strikes out a ton, doesn't walk, steals a lot of bases. He's better than the player he's been this year, but anyone expecting him to ever improve significantly beyond that, why? He hasn't even done it in the minors with the exception of one year in single A. Everyone points to his speed, strength, etc. Who cares? I don't consider that baseball talent. Aram is one of the slowest men on the planet and has a gut, but he has an uncanny ability to hit the ball. Pure and simple. Get the bat on the ball. Corey simply does not have baseball talent. He either lacks the eye, the coordination, or both. But he can't, and I see no reason he ever will change. I profess to know nothing about baseball hitting mechanics. I'd have no problem trading him for the right price. And I'll add something. If anyone is saying that CPatt is playing like crap because he's been mismanaged, miscoached, or mishandled, I say please stop it. It's ridiculous. Would CPatt be 2004 Beltran now if the Cubs had simply not mismanaged him? The Cubs gave him what every player wants, ample time to play. With all the criticism that Dusty does not play young players, Corey is one of the only young players in Dusty's Cub history he has ever played every single day. Even when he was playing like crap. Really, would getting the right video analysis or hitting in the correct spot in the order really have made any difference?

what happened? Burnitz playing deep, Griffey hits what looks to be a routine fly to short center, Burnitz can't get to it, single. Needless to say, CPatt easily gets to the ball, and most likely has a play at the plate.

Well, Hendry would probably say good things about Corey in AAA whether he means it or not, so I don't read much into that statement. But whatever. They can trade him as far as I'm concerned, I've given up on him.

First off, he is talented. Sure he runs fast, but he can get the bat on the ball and get on base. That's talent. Is Ichiro not talented? I wish Corey Patterson had a fraction of this kind of talent. I'm not so sure a slugger is what the Cubs need. Here are the Cub NL ranks in offensive categories: Average: #1 Home Runs: #1 Slugging Pct: #1 Runs: #6 They are already a slugging team. Why the drop off in runs? We all know the Cubs don't walk and get on base: Walks: LAST OBP: #12 out of 16 Granted Pierre has not been up to par in terms of OBP, but a speedy leadoff guy who makes contact and gets on base in front of Lee/Aram would definitely help this team. You can drop Walker down to protect Aram and lose Hollandsworth as an everyday player. Or you can move Hairston or drop him down also. Either way, he's a better option than Hairston or Hollandsworth as an outfielder, imo.

Nice read, but I think I remember hearing about Patterson "changing" in the past. I'll believe it when I see it. Good Luck CPatt.

I don't see how there's so much debate regarding Pierre vs. JHJ and gasp...Pierre vs. Patterson. Pierre is definitely a better option than anyone the Cubs have now at CF. So I'd get him if the price were right, and I'd definitely put CPatt in the deal if they wanted him.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/sports/20040413-121657-1462r.htm Cuban wrote an article on his blog talking about trying to develop a Moneyball-style system for the NBA http://www.blogmaverick.com/entry/5292100442243966/ I think it's safe to assume he'd be a sabermetrics owner from the article, which would result in much smarter spending than what the Tribune currently does. Welcome to the Forum. Very nice post. What did Cuban do to make himself George Steinbrenner? There is only one George Steinbrenner, and only one franchise like the Yanks. It's just not fair to judge the man because he acts a little crazy behind his bench. I'd love to see him buy the Cubs.

"It took them 83 games to realize that Hairston and Walker at 1 and 2 works a lot better." -Steve Stone A truthful jab on Dusty. But Stoney as always tells it like it is. He seems pretty high on the Cubs, though.

What's the way to win in the ML? How do you explain the perrennial playoff teams (Min, Oak, LAA, Fla, and Atl)? Even the Cards and Giants have competed with less than top 10 payrolls. Do the names Mike Hampton, Denny Neagle, Preston Wilson, and Eric Milton ring a bell? There's just as many overpaid mediocrity in the MLB. What about the Yankees? And Red Sox? In baseball, the only perennial contender is the Yankees. There are a lot of teams that become good for a few years, but I would never categorize Min, Oak, Fla, LAA as "perenial contenders". The fact is that all those teams have to get lucky to some extent to contend. When all is said and done, the high market teams will have an advantage. My main point is that the basketball comparisons are not fair. I wouldn't label him Steinbrenner based on his basketball team. Reinsdorf has had a ton of success as a basketball owner, but I wouldn't want him buying the Cubs.