Odds and Ends...

The Strange Case of Corey Patterson

Corey has really turned it around in July. He has been red hot (.368 batting average this month) after being just as cold as can be for the first half of the season. It's only been seven games but since Trembly has tried Patterson as the #2 hitter he is hitting .357 and OPSing .821. Much like the Millar as cleanup hitter experiment, I hope Trembley leaves him there until he plays his way out of the role.

But the strangest thing about Patterson's performance is his turnaround against left handed pitching. He has hit .242 for his career against lefties but has worn them out this year at a .344 clip! That would be great if he suddenly hadn't forgotten to hit righties (.262 for his career, .218 this season, even after his recent hot streak). I have never seen this kind of turnaround in an established player.

Leave Huff At Home

Aubrey is hitting .294 and slugging .447 at Camden Yards and hitting .220 and slugging .327 on the road. The solution? Sit him on the road. Nothing else seems to be working.

If Paul Bako wasn't so horrible with a bat, I'd suggest the same thing for Ramon Hernandez (.806 OPS at home, .638 OPS on the road)...

Send Up A Mannequin Instead

Paul Bako would be a much more fearsome hitter if he never swung his bat. He only sees 3.4 pitches per plate appearance, the lowest on the team outside of Corey Patterson and Jay Payton but at least those guys have some offensive skills to offer by swinging the bat. Sitting there like a pitcher and letting three balls go by is hardly worse. Better yet Paul, anything that looks like it's going to be in the strike zone, foul it off. Just don't swing or swing to foul it off. At least you'll be there to piss off the opposing pitcher and in some small way help wear him down.

And I want to hear no more about his defensive prowess. Opponents have stolen 17 bases off of him and he has caught only 4 good for only a 19% kill rate. Only 6 catchers in the majors have more passed balls than him...and they're all regulars! He's terrible. Would it really be so bad for J.R. House or even Eli Whiteside to sit back there once a week? Alberto Castillo would be a better choice. One of the worst signings this team has ever made.

Speaking of J.R. House...

Hey, O's! The season is lost outside of playing for pride. Let's see what some of the kids can do. Is Paul Bako really in your plans for next season? Let's get House up her and see how he does. House's line in Norfolk: .307/.366/.461. He's can't be worse than what we have as a backup catcher. Jon Knott's up but maybe we could throw him out in left everyday and see what happens. Maybe we could see if Adam Stern can hit with Patterson probably out the door after the season? And let's play Brandon Fahey out there everyday to see if he can really play. (I don't think he can but at least we'd know for sure.)

Dave Trembley's playing for his job so I doubt this will happen...