Cubs Send Down Patterson and Dubois
The Cubs' 8 game losing streak is leading to some interesting measures. The Cubs sent Corey Patterson and Jason Dubois to Iowa following tonight's game, reports the AP. They called up outfielders Matt Murton and Adam Greenberg from double-A West Tenn to take their place.
Patterson is hitting .232/.270/.379 this year. He has not played in the minors since 2001. Dubois is hitting .239/.289/.472.
Murton was acquired along with Nomar Garciaparra last year, and has had an excellent year so far, hitting .342/.403/.498.
Greenberg is hitting .275/.384/.418. He's never been considered a major prospect, but understands the importance of on-base percentage, as The Cub Reporter noted last November. He can play centerfield, but has not played it much this year, due to the presence of Felix Pie at West Tenn. With Murton playing left, Greenberg has spent a good deal of time in right this year.
According to MLB.com, "[t]he Cubs would've considered calling up outfielder Felix Pie, but he has a bone bruise on his right ankle and will be sidelined at least one more week, possibly more."
The demotion of Dubois makes less sense than Patteron's demotion. It takes away one of the Cubs' best hitters (858 OPS) against lefthanded pitching. As for Patterson, something is clearly not clicking for him. He ranks last among 33 qualifying National League outfielders in runs created per 27 outs, and by a wide margin over the 32nd ranked Juan Pierre.
Patterson did not speak to reporters after the demotion. Dubois put forth a good face, indicating that this will ultimately help him get back on track.
With the recent call up of shortstop Ronny Cedeno, the Cubs now have three rookie position players on their team who they did not expect to be on the big league roster this year. With veterans available for Dusty Baker to play in leftfield, centerfield, and shortstop, all three can be expected to see some significant bench time. The AP does quote Baker as saying, however, "We're getting them up here to play. Maybe they can give us a spark." Playing behind Greenberg in center will not make Jerry Hairston, Jr. any happier.
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40 man roster refill
Just last week, Brian C noted that it was interesting that the Cubs had three open spaces on their 40-man roster. That's now down to one open space.
Why not Fontenot for Macias?
Rob G. at The Cub Reporter asks some interesting questions regarding this move, among them: "The callup of these 2 specific players is most curious. Their most admirable baseball traits are the ability to get on-base and put the ball in play, skills in direct contract to the 2 players they replaced. Has the Cubs brass had a change of heart? If so, why not include AAA’er Mike Fontenot (.286/.395/.458) and replace Jose Macias, while you’re at it?"
Macias
Maybe that's next. I presume that it's hard to do more than two roster moves at a time without leaving yourself shorthanded the next night.
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Who's Mr. Henry?
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