Ok, it is not as if there is not enough bad to say about Patterson that there is a need for this theory, but I just want to get it off my mind...Patterson cooled Bruce off last night.
How? It is simple. Anyone that has played the game of baseball knows that it is a game of ebbs and flows...an emotional and mental rollercoaster of sorts. At times whatever rut your teammates are in, no matter how high on the mountain you are, you find yourself slipping down into their ditch.
But players are in slumps all the time, so how can Patterson's "slump" be the reason for Bruce's 0-4? Patterson is not in a slump, he is simply a bad hitter. Now that is certainly not a newsflash. However, he takes such a bad approach to hitting (always swinging on the first pitch, swinging for the fences, his shoulder coming off the ball so quickly) that I truly feel it subconsciously changed Bruce's at bats.
Early in the game Jay was his regular self, working the pitcher and finding a pitch to hit. He simply was put out the first two times. Then, as his time in the batters box with Corey at the plate increased, young Jay's patience decreased. His final two at bats were simply not Jay Bruce like.
Now it might be argued that he was trying to take a different angle at hitting, considering he did not hit Myers the first time. But I argue it was simply Corey Patterson's suckiness slowly cooling him down.
So Dusty Baker...I deplore your decision and beg you...never place Corey Patterson in front of Jay Bruce again, unless you want to be blamed for ruining yet another young possible future hall of famer's career.
Originally Posted by JayBruce32
