That's too bad....With the rising geek influence I guess veteran aura doesn't count for #### these days...

I can't believe that guy still has options left. It seems like he's been around forever.

Can they keep Hatteberg now?

Speaking of geeky, I'd like to see a ratio determined that would establish the player with the highest degree of suckitude over the most ABs in a given decade.

And I'd like to nominate Corey Patterson Most Sucky Player of the '00s. And yes, "hype" and perception of talent versus actual output should be part of the equation. A small part, but a part.

Sean Burroughs would be eligible, if not for the fact everyone figured out his suckiness after a shorter time. Patterson combines the years of service, ABs and low OF OPS+ truly needed to be called "MSP".

So they effectively dumped Hatteberg for Andy Phillips?

That seems unwise.

And I'd like to nominate Corey Patterson Most Sucky Player of the '00s.

I'd put forth Shea Hillenbrand. Slightly more offensive ability as Patterson, to be sure, but not nearly as much defensive ability.

A hacking mass team of the decade?

edit--wouldn't Neifi! be the captain of this team?

So they effectively dumped Hatteberg for Andy Phillips?

That seems unwise.

There's a possibility that Hatteberg is finally cooked at 38 or will never adjust to pinch hitting. If either is true, they're better off with replacement level Phillips.

"I can't believe that guy still has options left. It seems like he's been around forever."

Quoted for truth.

I especially like how Bruce applied the exclamation point to this move yesterday. Way to slam Corey in the ass with the door, Jay.

I'm inclined to go along with JRE on Hillenbrand. And he gets bonus points for being an insufferable moron.

I'm inclined to go along with JRE on Hillenbrand. And he gets bonus points for being an insufferable moron.

Luis Rivas and Cristian Guzman have sucked a lot of playing time from teams.

How the hell does Corey Patterson still have options?

Checking -- Yeah, he would've been optioned in 2001 and 2005. Maybe in 2000, assuming he wasn't sent back down after getting called up.

Still, he has to have enough service time so that he could refuse the assignment, no?

"Luis Rivas and Cristian Guzman have sucked a lot of playing time from teams."

God, Rivas is horrible. Every time I see his name in the lineup, I get a spasm in my gut.

God, Rivas is horrible. Every time I see his name in the lineup, I get a spasm in my gut.

He has more homers in the past three days than Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard, Lance Berkman, and Ryan Braun combined. Show him some respect.

You're right. He should retire right away, so we don't delay his entry into the HOF any longer than necessary.

No. 12 - I think that's right, but apparently he consented.

Sadly, if Bruce had gone 0-4 yesterday, then I bet that this wouldn't have happened.

How do you choose Andy Phillips out of those 3? I understand dumping Patterson due to the Dusty effect, but come on, Phillips is worthless.

Why do I have this unnerving need to defend Corey Patterson?

I'm still stuck in 2003 - and check his 2003 line out - this was a 23 year-old already plus defender, slugging .511, hitting .300, and legitimately looking like he really was on his way. Even his walk rate improved from vortex of suck to sinkhole of suck. There were Cub fans (I was among them) who legitimately thought he had a chance to make the all-star team, might even deserve it.

Then he tore up that knee the series before the all-star game - Kenny Lofton came aboard, and Alex Gonzalez and Dusty Baker made sure our October would be as painful as Patterson's July.

Corey was never the same. There were huge hopes on the 2004 Cubs - and another year on all the kids was supposed to fix everything.

He wasn't going to be Ken Griffey once he pretty much proved he was never going to draw enough walks to be much more than OBP neutral --- but he had legitimate shot to be Devon White or perhaps a bit better/more power... and that ain't half bad.

Doesn't Corey still have some potential upside? he still seems young to me and has shown individually at different times different major league skills. He's never going to be what was projected from him, but I honestly can't see why he isn't considered to be a legitimate number 4 outfielder/defensive specialist and pinch runner.

I honestly can't see why he isn't considered to be a legitimate number 4 outfielder/defensive specialist and pinch runner.

I agree. Actually, while I don't think it'll ever happen, you know what team he'd be a decent pickup for if the Reds released him? The Cubs. Patterson, as bad as he's been this year, actually has a higher OPS+ (51) than Pie (49) and Edmonds (-25 as a Cub - damn that was a stupid signing). The Cubs supposedly want a left-handed hitting centerfielder with some pop, which is sort of what Patterson is. Personally, I'd just stick Pie out there, but if for some reason the Cubs continue to refuse to do that, they could (and, in fact, are) do a lot worse than Corey Patterson.

Personally, I'd just stick Pie out there, but if for some reason the Cubs continue to refuse to do that, they could (and, in fact, are) do a lot worse than Corey Patterson.

I like the idea enough to start spreading silly theories about needing Patterson to triumphantly return to exorcise the demons of 2003.

I like the idea enough to start spreading silly theories about needing Patterson to triumphantly return to exorcise the demons of 2003.

I think it's more about getting Edmonds out of the lineup than exorcising Coreys demons

The thing with Corey is, he was actually pretty good in '04 too. He faded late, but even with that put up a 266/320/452 line. His walk rate once again jumped (.55 IsoD) And of course had excellent D in CF and was an excellent baserunner. I was almost as encouraged by Corey's '04 as I was his '03. I honestly have no clue what happened to him in '05.

Why do I have this unnerving need to defend Corey Patterson?

I'm still stuck in 2003 -

I never actually saw Corey play until 2003, and when I did I was amazed at how bad he looked while hitting .300- I still remember Glavine running him down in an interview (everything Glavine said has been shown to be true in 20/20 hindsight- essentially Glavine said he didn't care that Patterson was hitting .300+ at the time- or how athletic he was, he didn't know how to hit, his approach was awful and given enough Abs he wouldn't hit .300-

That was my introduction/first impression of Patterson and it stuck for awhile...

He certainly has shown that with his defense and his decent smidge of power that he should be a good 4th OF/ reserve, but he goes through stretches where he's just unbelievably awful, and when he's going good teams can't resist the temptation to make him a starter...

One of the reasons he has an option left is that he has been around forever. Options are for guys on the 40-man roster who aren't on the 25-man. But you get 3-4 years after drafting someone before you have to add someone to the 40-man roster (or expose to the Rule 5 draft).** Patterson was drafted in 98 and made his ML debut in 00. To that point, the Cubs didn't need to option him. They would have optioned him for the first time in 2001. He was also in the minors in 2005 and looks too long a stay to have been a rehab assignment (I really don't remember) so I assume that was option #2.

But if you come up young, you don't burn up options. I think Jay Bruce may have all his options left for example (not sure if they had to burn one earlier this year).

As noted earlier, after enough service time, they need your consent to exercise your option.

** One exception is if the guy signs a "major league contract", then they're on the 40-man from when you sign them. If memory serves, Prior did this and so did Wily Mo Pena. The Prior one made sense -- very little doubt he'd be in the majors soon. It was also interesting because it really makes the Prior-Mauer debate more complex. If memory serves, Prior got a 4-year, $10 M ML contract (with various escalators and opt-outs but let's ignore those) while Mauer got a $5 M signing bonus. But Prior's contract covered his first 3+ years of ML while the Twins had to pay $4.8 M plus the original $5 M for Mauer's first 4 years. The cost ended up being about the same. (I know, NPV plus those escalators for Prior) Still, the Twins used Prior's outrageous demands (and it's not clear he'd have signed with them for $10 M) to draft the "cheaper" Mauer #1 ... then they went out and traded for Rick Reed who had 2+ years and $16-17 M left on his contract. That might have been the right decision but it sure didn't save them any money.

Wily Mo is the downside of the ML contract. He could have used the extra development time but had to be added to the ML roster to stay by age 21 (or maybe 22).

Wow. Pena's ISO this year is 67!! What's going on there? I never thought he'd be much (hi BPro! :-) but it's unfathomable that he could hit with so little power ... even if it is 100 AB. Hmmm, walk rate is up, K rate is down ... somebody messing with his swing to teach him some plate discipline?

Walt -- Look at ALL the Nats.

Lenny Harris -- who took over mid-season last year for the drunken but effective Mitchell Paige -- is in so far over his head, he just sunk past the Titanic.

The entire teams approach at the plate has been digusting to watch at time. This godawful combination of see a strike, hit a strike along with going to the opposite field above all else.

You can't find one Nat who's been with him for any length of time who hasn't gotten significantly worse. Every single one of 'em, save for Guzman -- and he has the shoulder surgery and lasik procedure as counter balances!

Patterson certainly has enough service time that he could have declined to go to AAA, whether he had options or not. However, he'd give up his $3.5m contract in the process, and it's highly doubtful he could get that amount from anyone else at the moment.

Dayton Daily News blog:

And how sweet is Bruce’s swing? Only one hit Wednesday, but it was a solid double and his first major-league out, after reaching base six straight times, was a liner to center.

Permit me to return to last spring when the Reds signed Corey Patterson to a $3.5 million contract. Once again, as I’ve written before, don’t blame fired general manager Wayne Krivsky for that one.

As he told me, “I was told to sign Patterson and get the deal done, no matter what it takes.” It took $3.5 million - $3.5 million wasted dollars.

I haven't seen Bruce hit yet. Off to mlb.com...

Luis Rivas is useless in the NL

Rivas v. KC: .287/.336/.511 and 12 HRs

Rivas has 12 HRs against KC, and 33 in his career, total.

I am surprised Rivas is still playing.

I nominate Nick Punto for the all 2000's suck team.

Having checked the mlb.com highlights...

Yes, Bruce has quite a nice swing. Looks like he's got a shot in this league. Nothing wrong with an 1.800 OPS after 2 games...

Dayton Daily News: Patterson accepts demotion to minors

Dusty Baker planned on meeting with Cincinnati Reds center fielder Corey Patterson on Tuesday night, May 27, to see if he'd agree to accept an assignment to Class AAA Louisville. Patterson — he of the .200 batting average and the .240 on-base percentage — beat Cincinnati's manager to the punch.

"It was a mutual decision," Baker said. "I was going to call Corey in to talk to me, and he came in before I could call him in. He said, 'Hey, I have to get my act together and change some things.' He knows and we know he's better than the way he's playing. He's got skill. He's got talent. He's only 28 years old. It's a good move to go down, stay awhile and get his stuff together."
...
"He's still one of the best runners in the game," Baker said. "He's got an outstanding throwing arm. He's an outstanding outfielder. Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you can make a change. I'm not just going on whether I like or dislike somebody. No, I like the skill. I know skill when I see skill. I know talent when I see talent. If he was 35, it might be different."

I nominate Nick Punto for the all 2000's suck team.
I was going to argue that outside of last year...
but I looked at the numbers and .246/.314/.322 for a 70 OPS+ is plenty suck. Someone might argue that it's an OBP "heavy" OPS but ...

I don't see any reason Patterson can't be Endy Chavez. He's a good glove (albeit not Endy-good), but should hit a little more. Someone needs to tell him to bunt more and hit some GBs.

Corey belongs on a major league roster.

He's probably a little better than a 4th outfielder; he hits RH pitching well enough to start the majority of games in a CF platoon for a non-contender.