by Jack Cobra, Cobra Brigade
They say that you don't find love, it finds you and you can't help who you love...Corey Patterson is my favorite MLB player. I'm sorry, he just is. I can't even truly explain to you why just like I can't explain to you why he hasn't been signed yet this offseason.
When Patterson was a big time prospect coming up through the Cubs minor league system, I looked to the day he be playing at Wrigley Field with heightened anticipation. You want a guy with speed, power and defense. Check, check and check. If you are looking for a guy who is going to give you his all...look no further. If you are looking for a guy with some plate discipline.....that's another story, but he is getting better (65 k's last season).
Patterson's tenure with the Cubs ended prematurely, at least for me, when he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in search of a 'fresh start'. He played decently in Baltimore as he had over 30 stolen bases in both of his seasons there, but now that he's a free agent....no one wants him?
Tons of teams are looking for center fielders this offseason. The Twins, Cardinals, Braves, Brewers (possibly) and the Orioles (again) just to name a few. I've even called for the Cubs to re-sign Patterson on my own site! None of these teams seem to think that Patterson is the answer in center field for them and I don't understand why. He's a left handed hitting center fielder who is 27 years old. He has a lot of speed, some power and plays really good defense....and he's not asking for that much money (supposedly $3 million a year). So, maybe some of the enlightened commenters here at Epic Carnival can help me out and tell me why since I'm obviously being blinded by my personal feelings...
Thursday, January 10, 2008
NO ONE WANTS COREY PATTERSON?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Subscribe to the Epic Carnival
7 comment(s):
Patterson was not bad for the Orioles but he was not good either. His speed and defense are excellent.
Unfortunately, he can not get on base to utilize his base stealing ability.
His inability to lay off breaking pitches in the dirt remind me of fat kid's need for unhealthy food.
Your points are valid, he should at least be a 4th OF/bench player somewhere.
You are right, his shortcomings are well known at this point but he can be a serviceable player for a lot of teams and is better than a lot of players that are already under contract
Ж That's the closest I could get to typing a backwards K.
he's a "serviceable" fourth outfielder.
last year, in 461 ABs, he walked 22 times (once intentionally). While his strikeouts are down, he continues to have zero plate discipline. His OBP was 304, which isn't terrible, but really isn't anything to write home about. His WARP (one of my favorite statistics of all time) is 1.6. That's atrocious for a CF.
In fact, Corey Patterson ranks 19th of all full time Major League CFs, ahead of Vernon Wells (terrible season) and Chris Young in offense. He's tied for 35th in walks, and is second to last in OPS, behind Juan Pierre.
Yes, he is a good defensive player (10th of all mlb CFs in fielding percentage), but so are David DeJesus and Nook Logan, and they have far better numbers (in that they get on base more).
There isn't a rush for Patterson simply because he doesn't get on base. He's got the defensive skills and the speed to be another, say, Juan Pierre, when he was a good baseball player. (You also mentioned that he has power, but I don't buy that; they guy hasn't hit more than 16 home runs since 2004; maybe a better comparison on my part would be Gary Matthews, Jr.). But until he can learn some plate discipline, there's no reason for teams to come knock on his door.
Ok, you are comparing him to a guy making $8 million this year (Pierre), a guy coming off a 30/30 season (Young) and a guy starting a $126 million dollar contract this season (Wells)?
Seriously though, I know he's not Willie Mays, but for $3 million you would think someone would jump on a 28 yr old who has shown the ability to play in the major leagues. Atlanta, Texas and St. Louis don't even have CF's on their depth charts yet!! He reminds me a lot of Carlos Pena (TB) in the fact that he had to bounce around a bit before finding a place where he could excel. Again...I'm blinded by the fact that he is like my favorite player, so I welcome the well thought out responses.
Simon...come on, he's usually flailing at breaking pitches in the dirt like mac g said.
Patterson needs to Dump Boras like ARod did. Then teams won't be so worried about writing his contract.
As for his his hittting woes, he has good power but in impatient at the plate. Almost always first pitch swings and pitchers know this give him away pitch and he starts out behind in the count. As a leadoff If he learns to work the count it helps his teamates, drives up the pitch count and gives him time to see a better pitch.
I agree though that Corey is fun to watch when he on base and in the outfield.
Good luck Corey
Post a Comment