Someone Actually Has to Tell Dusty Baker That Corey Patterson Sucks

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