FanHouse CoreyPatterson

Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

While the majority of the American workforce got a day off on Labor Day, some major league hitters were getting their power stroke on in a big way. With only 11 games on the docket, four players left the yard twice in one game: Derrek Lee, Billy Butler, Mark Teixeira and Juan Uribe. The fantasy fallout isn't huge, save for one; Lee's having a resurgence, Butler a breakout campaign and Teixeira an MVP-caliber season. Uribe, though ... that's news.

When Dusty Baker was still managing the Chicago Cubs, he did a lot of things that Cubs fans just didn't quite understand. One of the things Baker did that drove most of the Cubs fans I know crazy was his seemingly undying devotion to Corey Patterson. Patterson was touted as a five-tool superstar in the making as a Cub, but he never developed into one, and instead spent most of his time striking out on forehead high fastballs or flying out harmlessly.

It was enough to make some people wonder if Corey had some kind of dirt on Dusty, and was blackmailing him for playing time. Then when Baker went to Cincinnati to manage the Reds, guess who he brought with him? That's right, Corey Patterson. Now after Reds fans were forced to watch Patterson play all season and hit .206 (not to mention the sparkling .241 OBP), they've come up with their own ideas for why Corey is sticking around. Rumors Dusty felt the need to refute publicly.

There's been a persistent rumor floating around the Reds that Baker's 28-year-old daughter, Natosha, is dating and/or engaged to outfielder Corey Patterson.

Baker finally had enough when players on the Astros asked him about it.

There are a lot of exciting things going on in Cincinnati right now. The Reds have won five of their last six games, Edinson Volquez is leading the National League in ERA (1.46) and strikeouts (83), Ken Griffey Jr. is one homer shy of 600 in his career, and Jesus Christ Jay Bruce is now manning center field instead of Corey Patterson.

In other words, there's a lot going on out on the field that manager Dusty Baker should feel good about. Unfortunately, instead of paying attention to his team or finding new ways to keep the bases unclogged, all Dusty can do is check out Bobby Cox's brilliant body control when he's being ejected.

It's another ejection from a game to you and me, but to Reds manager Dusty Baker watching Bobby Cox get ejected Saturday for arguing a play at the plate was cause for study.

"I learned something from Bobby; he's the king of ejections," Baker told reporters Sunday. "I learned - he crosses his arms, he kept his distance. I was really studying Bobby. I was, I'm not kidding. He was careful not turn on anybody, he backed up before he turned."

Baker, or course, was suspended for two games last weekend after he bumped an umpire before being ejected in a game at San Diego. Though I'm sure Reds fans would rather have Dusty pay attention to Bobby's ability to win his division for 13 years in a row. That would come in a lot more handy than learning how to avoid bumping an umpire.

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups

Cincinnati Reds (23-28) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (24-26) - 7:10PM Est.

There are certain events in human history which leave indelible marks on our lives and our memories. While we can't always remember where we left our car keys, or that cute girl from the bar on Friday's phone number, there are moments we just can't forget no matter how hard we try.

You remember exactly what you were doing and where you were doing it the moment you found out that John F. Kennedy had been shot. You remember everything about the morning that the World Trade Center came down.

Tonight we fast forward in time a full 30 years when you'll be telling your children or grandchildren the story of where you were the very first time Jay Bruce stepped into a Major League batter's box, ready to take on the world.

As if a Reds/Pirates matchup needed any more hype!

Good news for Reds fans, no wait: Great news for Reds fans, one more time: Reds fans are doing jigs in their homes tonight as news comes down from their favorite team that the 2007 Reds minor leaguer of the year, Jay Bruce, will make his debut in a Cincinnati uniform tomorrow

The frustration that Reds fans had with Dusty Baker keeping Bruce in the minor leagues to start the season (and where he's been hitting .364 with 10 HR's and 37 RBI's this season) came from the suspicion that Corey Patterson, who Baker signed to block Bruce's path to the majors, stinks. This season, Corey Patterson has put up numbers (.201/.242./.354) that proves the suspicion as fact: Corey Patterson indeed stinks.

The Reds press release announcing Bruce's arrival said that there would be a corresponding roster move. I'm sure that barring an injury, Reds fans might hope that the corresponding roster move to begin the Jay Bruce era would be to end the Corey Patterson era.

Arm Bash: Redleg Nation

The scariest thing about Adam Dunn attempting to sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the ninth with two runners on, only to hit a walk off home run, is that this is the second time the exact thing has happened under Dusty Baker's watch. And it's not so much scary because Dusty doesn't know what he's doing -- well, that is scary -- as it is terrifying that it is wholly possible Dusty might think bunt-bunt-bat could be the new way to go.

Dunn was told to try to advance the runners with a bunt, but fouled it off. He then latched onto a belt-high fastball, driving it deep into the seats in right field for his ninth homer.

'He actually is one of the best bunters on the team, believe it or not,' manager Dusty Baker said. 'We were trying to get the runners in scoring position, and he threw him a pitch he could hit. We're playing pretty good baseball now. Things are starting to go pretty good.'

I will go with "not" on the first one, Dusty. And I will counter with "He is also the best hitter of home runs on the team, believe it" in response. And "going pretty good" is Dusty-code for "backdooring wins despite myself". Regardless of outcome, there is absolutely zero reason why this set of events should have taken place.

It's not absurdly shocking, because nothing Dusty does is absurdly shocking. In fact, had he pinch hit Corey Patterson for Dunn, I might have been less surprised. Oh wait. Patterson already starts.

H/T: FJM

Ryan Freel has become a bit player for the Reds, seeing most of his time as a defensive replacement or pinch hitter. Why is this? Apparently because of a conversation he allegedly had with Dusty Baker in which he said he wasn't comfortable playing every day. Trouble is, Freel doesn't recall ever having this conversation. From John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer:

"It would have stunned a lot of people if they heard what was said about me. Apparently, I said I couldn't play every day to the manager. Apparently, I told him that this offseason. That would have never come out of mouth."

[...] "I talked to Wayne (Krivsky) to tell him I didn't say that," Freel said. "I would never in a million years say that. They gave me a two-year ($7 million) deal. I don't think it was to do this. It's frustrating. I can't explain it. There's a lot going on. It's a shame that I had to address it like this. I didn't want to get the media involved."

Fortunately somebody had the decency to remind Baker that Corey Patterson isn't very good at the game of baseball, but in the meantime Jerry Hairston has been recalled from the minors and taken a lot of the at-bats Freel would normally get, playing anywhere and everywhere on the field. Making matters worse (for Freel, not the Reds) is that Hairston is actually hitting right now (.364 heading into tonight's game), which means Freel will likely continue to be snubbed for the time being.

When Dusty Baker announced his impending reign of terror, he did so with great authority. He mandated that Joey Votto stop looking at so many pitches (even if they were bad) and he immediately sent top prospect and future of the organization Jay Bruce back down to Triple-A. Understandable, certainly, because Dusty had Corey Patterson on his roster.

Yes, by "understandable", I do in fact mean "certifiably and irrationally stupid". Bruce was the consensus number one prospect in all of baseball in 2007 and seemed nearly assured of the starting centerfield job in Cincy. Anyway, I hate to be overtly optimistic, much less to trust the mad (cow disease ridden?) brain of Mr. Baker, but I think there's a pretty good chance we see Bruce back in a Reds uniform within the next few weeks.

Why? Because Corey Patterson stinks, that's why. Yes, he started off hot, but as my good friend Mr. Greber pointed out in a new series of articles today, so did Chris Shelton. Now, he's batting .183 and not clogging up the bases to the tune of a .254 OBP. Congratulations, everyone. (The insane thing is that he has four home runs. Just weird.)

Bruce, meanwhile, is putting up numbers (.333/.348/.561) with three home runs and four stolen bases in just 16 games at Louisville. The best part, Dusty? Only two walks. That's right. You don't even have to tell him to swing more! Look, the point of all this Dusty-dogging and Patterson-bashing isn't to point out how silly the Reds organization was for signing him to coach the team (not entirely anyway).

The point is to tell you, the fantasy owner, what a steal you could be getting on Jay Bruce right now. The kid is a masher, he's ready for the majors and sooner or later, Dusty is going to have to cave and let him on the field at the major league level. You either need to a) pick him up and stash him now or b) make a play for him from another owner before it's too late. Bruce is the future, and if there's anything the Reds should learn from the way Votto, Johnny Cueto and Edison Volquez are currently playing, it's that the future is now.

Corey Patterson is mired in a 1-for-28 slump. Said slump has dropped his line to .186/.258/.475 (hey! look at that slugging percentage!) and he's pretty much been the not-Jay Bruce black hole at the top of the lineup that most Reds' fans feared he would be this year. Unsurprisingly, he got the night off in favor of Ryan Freel tonight. Logic dictates that the benching was due to his slump. Dusty Baker does not play by logic's rules. From Hal McCoy at the Dayton Daily News:

Baker was not aware of Patterson's slump until a writer informed him Sunday.

"Really?" said Baker. "I did not know that. He hasn't been striking out a lot so a long stretch of no hits is not as noticeable as when a guy piles up the strikeouts."

Unless Freel hits for the cycle, drives in four, scores five and makes three stupendous catches, Patterson will soon return. Not Tuesday, though. The Reds face lefthanded Hong-Chih Kuo, so Freel or Norris Hopper will be in center. Or maybe Jerry Hairston, Jr.

Can anyone point me towards a job that pays in the six-to-seven figures per year neighborhood that lets me travel across the country and watch baseball games from great seats without having to really pay that much attention to what's going on on the field? Because honestly, I'd kill for that gig. I swear I'd even notice when my lead off hitter only fails to get a hit over a seven-game span.

Fist-bump: BBTF

Before the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds played tonight, Tom Hardricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel talked to ex-Brewer and current Reds' closer Francisco Cordero about his decision this off-season to leave Milwaukee for Cincy. Cordero essentially told him that the Brewers didn't take him seriously when he said he had another suitor. As a result, Coco is a Red. Knowing that has to give Ned Yost heartburn every time he sees Eric Gagne on the mound.

Tonight, Gagne blew a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning by giving up a home run to Corey Patterson, only to be bailed out by the Brewers' bats again in the tenth inning. That's his second in three chances this year, if you're keeping track at home and if you think the Brewers are going to keep bailing him out and winning these games anyways, well, you're much more of an optimist than I am. In fact, you're much more of an optimist than most sane people.

Relegated to a side note from this game was another solid outing from Johnny Cueto (8 strikeouts and 2 runs in 6 and 1/3 innings tonight, still with no walks), and a bad night for Dusty Baker haters. He pulled Cueto after his 95th pitch in the seventh, even though that 95th pitch resulted in a strikeout of Corey Hart. And of course, Corey Patterson hit a big homer in the 9th. Then again, Dusty probably doesn't care what I think since the Reds lost and all.