Comments on Basement Dwellers: Corey Patterson

In terms of his development, I don't have a proble...

2008-03-05T01:37:00.000-05:00

In terms of his development, I don't have a problem with Bruce playing another half-season in AAA either.

In terms of the Reds success this season, however, it seems to me that they need several things to go their way. And one of those things is to have an offensive player or two break out at least as well as Josh Hamilton and Brandon Phillips did last year. I can see Eddie Encarnacion having a good year. And MAYBE Votto, though I'm not sold on his power yet. Dunn'll have a good year, but probably not much better than last year...

But who's the guy who has the highest upside as a breakout impact player this season? It's got to be Jay Bruce. Sure, he's likely to just be "ok" in his first season. But the Reds need a bunch of surprises to contend, so I'd like to see them put themselves in a situation where they have a chance at getting a few of those surprises. :)

All that said, I've pretty much resigned myself to Bruce starting the year in AAA. And if Patterson's going to be our CF, I just hope he can be a league-average player for us.
-j

I am indifferent about this move. I felt the same...

2008-03-04T17:04:00.000-05:00

I am indifferent about this move. I felt the same way when we aquired Phillips, Lohse, and Keppinger.

I think Krivsky has proven his value with this type of move, low cost high upside. That being said, Would we be signing Patterson if Dusty weren't our manager???? Is this more Krivsky's skill or Baker's guy?

Because of that I am indifferent, but I do think it's smart to keep Bruce in he minors until June so you don't light the fuse on his arbitation years. It's probably good for every hitting prospect to have at least 400 ABs. Justin- there's a project for you, use historical analysis to define what is the fastest to move a top hitting prospect?

He was pretty good after the All-star break last year, in a damn good division, in a crappy line-up. That's gotta be worth something.

@Chris: I could see a lineup on a Griffey off day ...

2008-03-04T14:33:00.000-05:00

@Chris: I could see a lineup on a Griffey off day that has Patterson, Freel, Gonzalez, Phillips, and Ross, all of whom had an OBP of .331 or lower last year. Gonna be hard to score runs if they're not getting guys on base.

I'm not sure that Dickerson is going to be able to...

2008-03-04T13:09:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure that Dickerson is going to be able to hit in the big leagues, so I'm a bit partial to Patterson. There's only a 2-year age difference, after all.

Regarding leadoff...yeah, I'm sure that if Patterson is the starter, he's bound to be the leadoff guy. At some point here, I'll get around to finishing my Markov lineup post, and I'll take a look at Patterson vs. some of the other options in the leadoff slot to see how much difference it makes.
-j

I can see a world where Patterson, Gonzalez, and P...

2008-03-04T13:08:00.000-05:00

I can see a world where Patterson, Gonzalez, and Phillips are 3 of our first 4 hitters...and all have OBPs under .320.

I find the comparison between Patterson and Dicker...

2008-03-04T10:22:00.000-05:00

I find the comparison between Patterson and Dickerson telling. It seems to me that they are nearly identical -- except that Dickerson can take a walk. Clearly Patterson has an established level of performance at the major league level, which means something, but PECOTA pegs them as quite similar.

If Patterson plays CF and bats 7th or 8th, I guess it's not a big deal. I just have a sneaking suspicion that we just signed our new leadoff guy.