Scapegoat

Have I said this before?

I am embattled Chicago Cubs centerfielder Corey Patterson‘s biggest fan. I do not make excuses for his failures this season and last — namely, a struggle to adjust his swing and penchant to strike out. I do not deny that he has a nasty habit of swinging at the first pitch.

However, I think it’s absolutely ludicrous to pin the failures of this season upon Corey. He has had a lost year, true. He has seemingly regressed, lost confidence in himself and his abilities, and perhaps lost whatever promise remains in his career.

But he is not — repeat — NOT the scapegoat for this lost Cubs season.

Patterson has his faults as a baseball player. He has failed to curb these faults this season. Some accountability rests with him. However, to hear Cub nation tell it — he refused to listen to Don Baylor, he refused to listen to Gene Clines, he refused to listen to Gary Matthews, and he refused to listen to Dusty Baker. He refused to adjust, to change.

This attitude is bullshit. Absolute fucking bullshit. Who are the fans — the writers — anyone — to claim an attitude problem where one doesn’t exist?

There is a lot — a lot — wrong with the Cubs. First and foremost, this organization’s hitting philosophy, up and down the organization (I do give AA hitting coach Von Joshua a pass — and I would like to see him in charge of the big club’s hitting) is the worst in the major leagues.

The Cubs are unwilling to adapt any sort of patient approach at the plate. Set Moneyball aside, basic major league common sense dictates that the hitter faces better odds when he is selective early in the count. Even better odds when he is coached, taught, and prodded throughout his career with video, supporting a patient, researched, yet quick-thinking approach.

Hitters are set up to fail when they are taught to swing early. It is ludicrous to think otherwise.

I’m not going to say there’s never a time to swing at a first pitch — in fact, out of the bullpen, sometimes it is a nifty idea — I am going to say, that it is completely arrogant, shortsighted, and backward to implement a free-swinging, faux-aggressive philosophy throughout the major league team. It goes against common sense, reeks of hubris, and why do I feel as though I’ve typed this about Dusty F. N. Baker before?

Players often suffer a decline in offensive stats when batting under Baker, notably with the Cubs. Todd Walker? Looks lost at times. Todd Hollandsworth? Fell down a well this season. Sammy Sosa. Moises Alou. Alex Gonzalez. Nomar Garciaparra. Jeromy Burnitz. Jason Dubois. Corey Patterson.

And Cub prospects, too. Ronny Cedeno. Bobby Hill. Hee Seop Choi. Patterson. Dubois. David Kelton.

All the aforementioned players suffer — suffer mightily – from an approach that lets them swing away. In fact, the only major leaguers that benefit minimally from this approach — “Dusty guys” Shawon Dunston, Ramon Martinez, and even Jose Macias — succeed (not very often, but perhaps more than they would normally) because they hack at first-pitch meat-of-the-plate fastballs, because the opposing pitcher knows he can’t get burned too badly.

It is an awful approach. This season, last season, and the season before. It is this that kills the Cubs. It killed them when Ricky Gutierrez, Matt Stairs, and Gary Matthews Jr. were whiffing around an MVP-caliber Sosa, and it kills them now. It desperately has wounded Patterson. And he won’t — will not — be the last.

Secondly, Patterson alone is singled out by his manager, called out to the media. Dusty supported Chris Speier’s ludicrous decision on Aug. 22 in the eighth inning of a tie game to send Mike Barrett from second on a two-out line drive base-hit to right, when Corey was on deck, because “Corey hasn’t been going too good lately.” Barrett was out at the dish by 20 feet.

Dusty, you’re the fucking manager. If Corey’s so goddam bad, then pinch hit for him in the eighth. Hello. You PLAY TO WIN THE GAME. You do not play “not-to-lose.” Unless, of course, you are arrogant, self-absorbed, and out for yourself.

Tell him, tell the team, he was 0-for-3, and you liked Hairston’s chances to get on. Don’t harp on the media, don’t call him out. This is disrespect at its finest, but also Dusty building in an excuse for when he fails as a manager. And I’m scarcely the only person who realizes Dusty is adequate only at creating excuses for his players and himself.

Thirdly, Patterson’s recall did him no good, nor the Cubs. Pat Burrell and even Alou have had “lost seasons” recently. It’s somewhat normal, occurring with several players. Alou in 2002, Burrell in 2004. Perhaps it’s the same with Patterson this season. Regardless, the same team that “fired” Patterson in 2005, sending him to Iowa, also recalled him too quickly.

Not only that, with Jerry Hairston installed in Patterson’s place, the big club ran off a respectable streak. Hairston isn’t a worldbeater (In fact, the swing-early philosophy is killing his career as well) but he was doing better than Patterson, and the team was winning more often. However, Patterson was recalled because Jerry went to the DL. Jerry is now back. He is not starting in center field. Patterson is. I know, huh?

I, for one, think it’s admirable that Corey Patterson doesn’t suffer too badly in the field because of his hitting. His defense is still very, very good — but I don’t agree that alone should have vaulted him over Hairston.

The Cubs played well with Hairston at the top. Ergo, Hairston should have been re-installed. Dusty’s backward thinking doesn’t permit this, however. He realizes that “Matt Lawton” is supposedly now his “leadoff batter,” and now that he’s in the lineup, Corey can be included just for his defense. On a team that couldn’t score at a Hooters convention, you can’t gloss over any offensive lineup spots. Corey shines in an inadequate outfield, but his defense doesn’t make up for his lineup spot that this run-starved team needs.

(Aside: No one player suffers more from the swing-first approach than Matt Lawton. Talk about looking completely lost as a Cub. Go figure.)

Finally, Corey is quiet, trying to improve, perhaps a little concerned with his individual skills. This doesn’t sit well with the fan base. Who knows what they want, besides winning, but they transplant all sorts of emotions onto him.He’s a head case. He’s arrogant. He has a me-first, No. 1 draft pick mentality. He’s resistant to change. He’s stubborn. [ Ed's note: Previous link added Aug. 25. ]

Are you kidding? These suppositions all are bandied about just because he is quiet?

Unlike Todd Walker, who gets a free pass for atrocious defense and GIDP after GIDP?

Unlike Neifi Perez, who hacks at everything he sees, and is an offensive liability?

Unlike Todd Hollandsworth, who has seen more one-pitch pinch-hit ABs than Lenny Harris in his entire career? (Besides when Harris was a Cub, and predictably swung at everything and was run off.)

Unlike Matt Lawton, who has shown up and not produced?

Unlike the bullpen — of whom Ryan Dempster and Will Ohman have only managed to avoid repeated failure?

Ridiculous. And Corey compounded the problem this week, when after a tough weekend in Colorado (Note: I was at the damn games. He lined out 3 times; and three times was a victim to great defense. He swung at some early pitches, grounding out. He struck out twice. And he looked no worse than the rest of a poorly-managed, lackluster team. Sosa had worse weekends than this. Christ, eternally worthless Cubfan-boy Mark Grace had worse weekends than this.) Anyway, after the game, Corey voiced the opinion, frustrated, that “it was only a game.”

This, predictably, sends fan-site posters and writers into a tizzy, because the world of the Cubs is more important to them, than it is to the players. (Always true in all sports.)

Corey said that, of course, to try and bolster himself. To try and relieve the enormous pressure he (not to mention a rabid fan base) puts upon himself.

To try and put the game into some perspective, to keep his eyes in front of him, and not on a lengthy struggle through the year.

And perhaps, to put it in perspective with the fans and media who continually call for his head.

But can you blame him? He doesn’t want to be here anymore. How could he?

He’s got a manager that not only doesn’t believe in him, but doesn’t believe in teaching him, doesn’t believe in helping him, but believes in making an excuse out of him.

He’s got hitting coaches who haven’t developed a legitimate prospect in years. Never their fault, right?

He’s got a fan base that pins it all on him. But really, the fans are the least of his problems.

And you may say good riddance. You may say he deserves this. You may say I’m an apologist. (They’re a .500 team. The problem is the organization). But, regardless, similarly to everyone else, I believe, for all of us, Corey has to go. For his own good. His own sanity. For the good of his career.

And I wish him the best. He’s 26, not a spring chicken, but still with baseball to be played. For all the naysayers who claim his first 2000 ABs in his early career speak to his true caliber, I don’t think you can so easily reconcile 6 bad months (Sept. 2004-now) with 1000 ABs (Aug. 2002-Aug. 2004) that rival Carlos Beltran‘s and Andruw Jones‘, at their respective same ages.

I hope that he winds up with Oakland or Boston — hope that by their preaching of patience, and by using his defense — and with a manager who believes in him, I hope he becomes a solid player. I don’t think he will ever be a star, but I could see him hitting seventh for Boston, playing great defense, driving in a few runs off the Monster (once he’s told to look the other way, which is the key to his success. See Spring 2003 and July 2004).

In fact, perhaps if successful in Beantown, he could help win a World Series. But no recent former Cubs ever helped with that, right?