Corey gets some of the blame too.

Yeah and that only got him a $136M contract.

When he bounced to the minors, he excelled there.
He had the tools to play the game.
Patterson had it in his head, I think, that he could not hit major league pitching.
Head problems = where's the coach? Where's the manager? Where's the GM with some sports psychology or some goddamn thing. I blame Ed Lynch. I blame Hendry. I'll even blame Dusty and Baylor so we can go ahead and piss off Nas.
Of course this is all entirely speculation, but I like it.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

It's Dustiny's fault. He tried to turn Patterson into a leadoff hitter and after it was apparent to everyonyone that he was not that type of player he continued to try. Patterson could still be playing CF for the cubs today if they would have just let him play his game. Bat him 7th and let him hit .250 with 20+ HR's, steal 30+bases and play excellent defense. Instead Dustiny tried to change his swing and brought in Brett Butler every freakin spring training teach him to bunt. He ruined that kids career.

I know people like to say Hawk is a dope but I never really understood what he meant by saying 'a managers job is find out what a player can't do and then don't ask him to do it' until I saw the way Dustiny handled Patterson. The Hawkaroo is right on.

So the Cubs overpay for a guy and that makes him good? I am not going to argue with you that Dusty sucks and can be blamed for failing to develop talent just ask NSJ about that with his unbridled Reds love. But at the end of the day Patterson has to shoulder alot of the blame for his unfufilled potential.

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http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/insider/columns/story?columnist=law_keith&id=4856310


12 Starlin Castro
Age: 19 (DOB: March 24, 1990)
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Position: Shortstop Organization: Chicago Cubs
Top '09 Level: AA (Tennessee)
2009 ranking: UR

2009 MINORS STATS


GM
127 AB
469 HR
3 RBI
49 SB
28


SO
53 BB
29 OBP
.342 SLG
.392 AVG
.299
Castro is one of the most exciting position player prospects in the minors as a quick-twitch player with an electric bat and a hose for an arm at shortstop. As a hitter, Castro has lightning in his wrists and the ball absolutely flies off his bat. He has excellent hand-eye coordination and adjusts well when pitchers try to come in on him, keeping his hands inside the ball and squaring up pitches many hitters would foul off. His swing can get long when pitchers work him away, but he still makes a lot more contact than most hitters do, courtesy of his bat speed and hand-eye. He recognizes breaking balls well for his age and projects to hit for power even to the opposite field. As a shortstop, he's quick on his feet with good range in both ways, especially to the hole, but it is his arm that really stands out, grading at 65 or 70 on the 20-80 scale. The Cubs have pushed him up the ladder aggressively because he can make contact and needed reps against better pitching, but it has obscured his power potential because he's been so young for his leagues. He's going to be an impact bat in the middle of the diamond and could arrive as early as late 2010.



30 Josh Vitters
Age: 20 (DOB: Aug. 27, 1989 )
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Position: Third Base Organization: Chicago Cubs
Top '09 Level: A (Daytona)
2009 ranking: 14

MINOR LEAGUE STATS (3 SEASONS)


GM
199 AB
782 HR
23 RBI
109 SB
8


SO
129 BB
28 OBP
.319 SLG
.448 AVG
.286
Vitters has everything he needs to become an impact hitter at the major league level -- except patience. And patience he lacks in the way the Sahara lacks water: He drew 12 unassisted walks in 2009, and has drawn 26 in total in 830 pro plate appearances. He's not a hacker; he's had strong contact rates at every level where he's played so far, and his swing is superb -- with a strong front side, good hand speed and excellent hip rotation to generate hard contact and power. He projects, based on his swing and ability to make contact all over the zone, as a .300 hitter with 30-homer power; but with a .320 on-base percentage, which may make you a Hall of Famer to the statistically ignorant, but means Vitters will produce a lot of outs in between those big hits. In the field, he's never going to be plus at third base but is playable there with plenty of arm. It's hard to teach Vitters' ability to make contact, and he may fit the cliché about the hitter who's so good at making contact that he never has to get to ball four, but in today's game you have to get on base to be an impact bat at a corner, and Vitters will have to dramatically increase his walk rate as he moves up the ladder to be that kind of player.



50 Jay Jackson
Age: 22 (DOB: Oct. 27, 1987)
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Position: Pitcher Organization: Chicago Cubs
Top '09 Level: AAA (Iowa)
2009 ranking: 98

2009 MINORS STATS


GM
24 IP
127.0 W
8 L
7 ERA
2.98


SO
127 BB
46 H
109 HR
11 BAA
.230
Jackson's first full year in pro ball in 2008 was a huge success, as he jumped all the way to AA and pitched well as a starter, missing plenty of bats with his low-90s fastball and out-pitch slider. Jackson was a two-way player at Furman University, and the athleticism is evident when he's on the mound, as he has a loose, easy arm action that he repeats pretty well. He throws four pitches, with the sharp mid-80s slider his best offering, but his changeup, while improving, could still use some work, and most of his trouble this year came against left-handed hitters. Jackson's 2009 season was interrupted by a punitive demotion after he had some very minor off-field issues, and he resolved the problem enough for the Cubs to promote him to AAA for the last week of the season. He could appear in the majors this year in relief, but he has enough of a chance to start, especially if he improves the changeup or finds another weapon to use against lefties, that a year in AAA would make a lot of sense.



58 Tyler Flowers
Age: 24 (DOB: Jan. 24, 1986)
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Position: Catcher Organization: Chicago White Sox
Top '09 Level: Majors
2009 ranking: 51

2009 MINORS STATS


GM
108 AB
353 HR
15 RBI
56 SB
3


SO
108 BB
67 OBP
.423 SLG
.516 AVG
.297
Flowers is ready to play in the majors every day, at least offensively. He'll just be marking time in Charlotte to start the year, behind a player he could outhit right now. Flowers' calling card is his enormous power; his swing has some length early, but he keeps his weight back and gets great rotation to combine for big-time power, comfortably a 60 on the 20-80 scale and possibly higher. He's very selective and runs deep counts, so while he'll swing and miss and rack up some strikeouts, he's also posted OBPs over .400 at high-A and Double-A and has to hit only about .250 or so to be a major contributor offensively for his position. His arm is average at best, and he's improving but blocky behind the plate with heavy feet; he can be an everyday catcher, but largely because his bat will be special there and will outweigh any defensive shortcomings.


79 Andrew Cashner
Age: 23 (DOB: Sept. 11, 1986)
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Position: Pitcher Organization: Chicago Cubs
Top '09 Level: AA (Tennessee)
2009 ranking: UR

2009 MINORS STATS


GM
24 IP
100.1 W
3 L
4 ERA
2.60


SO
75 BB
42 H
76 HR
1 BAA
.207
Cashner closed at TCU -- which has really improved its baseball profile in the past few years (including landing the top unsigned player from the 2009 draft, lefty Matt Purke) -- but has worked as a starter in the Cubs' system. It's a big arm, with a fastball at 93-98 mph even over multiple innings and a hard slider with very good tilt in the mid-80s, with his slider command ahead of his fastball command when I saw him. He has a changeup but rarely uses it; it has some tail but mostly just glove-side run. He gets ground balls but it's not extreme, and I don't think his home run rate from 2009 indicates some preternatural ability to keep the ball in the park. What's odd about Cashner is that for a guy with a power arm, he doesn't miss a lot of bats, and neither his control nor his ground-ball rate is high enough for him to be a good starter with a low strikeout rate. If he has to return to the pen, he'll be dominant there, but the Cubs will probably let him continue to start and see if he can improve his command and find a way to miss more bats.

95 Jared Mitchell
Age: 21 (DOB: Oct. 13, 1988)
Bats: Left Throws: Left
Position: Outfielder Organization: Chicago White Sox
Top '09 Level: A (Kannapolis)
2009 ranking: IE

2009 MINORS STATS


GM
34 AB
115 HR
0 RBI
10 SB
5


SO
40 BB
23 OBP
.417 SLG
.435 AVG
.296
Mitchell, a part-time wide receiver at LSU when he wasn't starting in the Tigers' outfield, showed more polish than anticipated when the White Sox signed him and shoved him right into the fire of the full-season Sally League. He's a plus runner with a plus arm, and has a chance to be above-average in center. His bat speed is good, but his swing is long with a late trigger, and his pitch recognition wasn't great in college, although he generally ran deep counts. He had a sizable platoon split both in college and pro ball in 2009, although he hasn't had many reps against southpaws and might just need more experience. When he squares a ball up, it takes off, and the lack of power in his pro debut doesn't give you a sense of his future home run potential. It's not a great swing, but he's a good athlete and doesn't have the wood-bat experience of the typical college product, so he has more room for upside once he's swinging wood and facing better pitching on a regular basis, especially if the White Sox can help him make a few mechanical adjustments.

Starlin Castro gives me hope for 2010. If he is anywhere near as good as some scouts think he is, he can really change this teams chances in 2010. He is said to be a superior defensive SS. If he can take over at SS, they move Theriot over to 2B and now it's a much better infield.....IF, he's the real thing and ready in 2010. It's THE story of this spring training for the Cubs.

_________________
Go Cubs!!!!

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL!

_________________
favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

If Castro is impressive with the bat this Spring, he needs to make the roster. I know Lou said this morning he will go to the minors, but he should be the SS and Theriot at 2nd. Theriot doesn't have the defensive ability for SS, and Fontenot shouldn't even be on the roster. Baker is ok, but off the bench.

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Fuck Edwards and Zobrist

I think we got all we're gonna get out of Fontenot, yeah. Always liked the guy, but Piniella overexposed the living shit out of him last season, and then Jeff Baker made him redundant. Give him just enough plate appearances to look okay again and flip him for something, anything.

_________________

The arbitration clock thing will keep him in the minors to start the season, but maybe by May or June he could be on the club. I would love to see him playing SS and Theriot at 2nd.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

I think this kid is going to be decent, I heard him compared to Renteria who has had a solid career.

However there is absolutely no way they bring this kid up until they feel he is ready to play everyday. Beckham even spent half a year in the minors, mainly to delay the start of his arbitration clock another year. You just want him to get accustomed to big league preparation methods and a taste of spring training, what he does on the field is irrelevant.

_________________
1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

Beckham would have stayed the whole year in the minors (until Sept anyway) if Josh Fields wasn't so fucking awful at 3rd.

_________________

I fully expect Castro to START the season at AA or AAA, if for no reason other than to extend the period before he's arbitration eligible as well as eligible for free agency, by another year. But if he does well in camp and tears it up in the minors, we may see him up in the majors before long. I see St Louis and Milwaukee both having better chances to win this division in 2010, so the best thing to do is look to the future. Keeping Castro under team control as long as possible makes more sense. Still, if he is as good as many believe, he can solidify a position that is awfully important. The infield suddenly gets better at 2 positions, with Theriot moving to 2B. I'm anxious to see him play in these spring games.

_________________
Go Cubs!!!!

Chase Utley! Hip surgey at age of 26? Roomie at UCLA was who?

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Garrett Atkins

I'll pm you the address to send my prize

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You never miss your wealth, till your well went dry
Seem like only yesterday, you were here smiling
Now you gone away, but I know you in a better place
No traces of you, what can I do?
Alone and confused