COREY PATTERSON SPEAKS

It's appropriate that I read this column on Thursday, when a local sports radio station does a segment called "Who Ya Crappin" and that I also read it in a stall taking care of post-lunch business. The column was in the Sun-Times and written by Greg Couch. What I have read/heard before from him has been good, so I want to give him a pass. But I can't. Corey either. Hang on--here we go...

Couch asks what Corey he is doing at the park so early.
"Working on shortening my swing,'' he said.
Did anyone ever tell him to do that before?
"Not really.''

OK, so we've gone from overcoaching to not enough coaching. Yes, through Baylor, Pentland, Baker, Gene Clines, Sarge and other coaches he has never been told to shorten his swing. I'll have to guess that that statement is false if not an outright lie. What exactly does he mean by "not really"? We don't know because apparently Couch didn't ask. He questions it in the coulmn, but not to the subject. Hmm.

Then Couch writes:

"The Cubs pumped him up too much as a kid, pressured him with the five-tool thing to hit homers. They didn't coach him on the basics, rushed him up, screwed him up by making him a leadoff hitter, which he doesn't want to be. He might be the perfect example of why Cubs position-player prospects just don't develop."

I don't know about you but I've never heard anyone in the Cubs organization say that Corey needs to hit more home runs. I think what I have heard on numerous occasions are things like: use your speed, bunt more, be more selective, go for a higher OBP/AVG instead of power, etc. Was Patterson rushed? Yes. But is he the perfect reason why Cubs position players don't develop? No. He's the perfect reason players on any team don't develop. Failure to listen and adjust. It's not a Cubs thing. Go look down the road at Borchard. Or Crede. Happens all the time. Occam's Razor, anyone?

Then we get this gem:

"Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee said Patterson's problem is that he's talented in so many ways and doesn't know when to use which talent. "Exactly,'' Patterson said."

That's just absurd. Couch adds:

"The Des Moines Register quoted Keller at length Tuesday, saying Patterson's feet were too close together in the batter's box, which forced him to lose balance.

"We're trying to get him a little bit wider base,'' Keller said.
I asked Patterson if he has been told his feet are too close together. He stared. Has he been told to widen his base, spread his feet?
"Not really,'' he said.

Perhaps the saddest/funniest comment by Corey:

"It's hard to change something,'' he said, "when you're having continued success.'' I don't want to be playing here the next two or three years,'' he said. "I know it won't be overnight, but I'm a quick learner. I got out of whack a little, a couple of bad habits, and they snowballed.''

Is he having delusions of grandeur?

More from Corey Logic 101:

"The biggest thing in this game is learning yourself, what you can and can't do,'' Patterson said. "If they put Lee at leadoff hitter, he's not going to change his approach.''

He wouldn't have to. He's good. And he knows how to approach hitting.

Couch finishes with some more garbage reasoning:

"The Cubs are giving Patterson every last chance because they still believe in his talent -- and because admitting that Project Patterson was a failure would be the ultimate condemnation of general manager Jim Hendry's minor-league system."

Um, no they are doing it because he's a stubborn player who didn't change his style to play in the big leagues and he's not very good. And because--hello--they hope he rips it up and his value increases so they can get something good for him if they do trade him.