Mr. Patterson Goes to Washington

Oh boy.

From MLBTradeRumors.com

According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Nationals signed Corey Patterson and Jorge Sosa to minor league deals.  Patterson gets $800K, while Sosa gets $850K.

Patterson, 29, was awful this year with a .205/.238/.344 line in 392 plate appearances.  He was above average defensively though.  The Nationals were an odd choice for him given their crowded outfield.

Mr. Leatherpants really does have a fetish with former Reds.

Remember.  The Reds paid him $3MM last season.

A Sad Note

An end to an era in Cincinnati.

According to Reds.com writer Mark Sheldon, Corey Patterson will not be in the future plans of the team as the Reds look forward to 2009 and beyond.

Jocketty admitted Patterson became a “hot-button issue” with fans.

I want to take this moment to say: THANK YOU, Walt Jocketty.  You have gained back a little of my respect by making it clear that Patterson won’t be able to make the first out of every game in the coming years.

Hopefully Dusty’s daughter isn’t too harsh during the break-up.

Things I Learned On Friday

On Friday night, I had the opportunity to attend another Reds game, my second of the season, by getting a free ticket, free ride, and some free food to boot.  This was the only way I would go to another game after the abomination this season has been.

Edinson Volquez is tired.  He didn’t look right from the first pitch to the very last he threw.  Maybe it is different seeing a pitcher for the first time in person rather than on TV but he didn’t look right.  He still had incredible velocity but seemed to almost immediately wear down after throwing a lot of pitches early.  What he needs to learn now is how to be more efficient.  He still has a huge upside and could easily replace Harang in the future as the number one starter.

Adam Dunn has been essentially erased by the Reds.  By that I mean he has had his picture replaced on the official scorecard sold on the GABP concourses.  I don’t know if this is normal, but I do remember Brandon Phillips being on all the scorecard covers that I bought last year.  Perhaps they just cycle the covers for different games or series.  I didn’t see if they changed the banner on the front facade honoring Griffey’s 600 home runs since I entered from the outfield side, but inside the stadium the mark on the outfield wall is still there and the home run counter in center has been replaced by “Good Luck Griffey”.

Corey Patterson is not upsetting any of the Reds fan base.  At least at Friday night’s game.  Perhaps fans are too beaten down to realize how horrible he is or something.  I don’t know.   But only hearing one or three people boo him (including myself) scares me a bit.  Dusty Baker insists on Corey getting to play in every game.  The bumper sticker “If you’re not outraged, you haven’t been paying attention” applies to this situation.

Barry Zito is a joke.  The worst contract that I can think of outside of the Reds organization.  No velocity, no movement.  Perhaps the Pirates would be interested in taking on Zito much like they did for Matt Morris.

Cincinnati residents really love their fireworks.  I haven’t a clue as to why.

YES WE CAN!

Organize for change!

H/T RLN and Chris Sabo’s Goggles

Fun with Spring Training Photos

Since we can’t be in Arizona or Florida for Spring Training, we try to live vicariously through Yahoo!’s photos.

Corey Patterson and Jayson Bay star in Disney’s newest film, “Failures In the Outfield”

Dusty Baker doing what he does best: shattering people’s arms.

The 2008 Florida Marlins payroll: $35

I get a hit now

On my way to Hall of Fame

Slapping ball to left

Matt Kemp shops for a Chinese male-carry all.

“Real funny, guys. Guys? Where are you going? GUYS! COME BACK!”