And So It Continues

More Korey bashing in the Trib today. Paul Sullivan now takes the angle that the fans are starting to get on Patterson. The key graphs:

The fans at Wrigley Field have cut Patterson little slack, unlike most young players coming up with the Cubs.

The harsh reception is likely to make Patterson consider leaving the organization when he becomes a free agent after the 2007 season, unless things change drastically in the next two years.

This is so wrong in so many ways.

First, the fans have given Korey a ton of slack. They've forgiven him for surliness, strikeouts, and slumps. Sure, they booed him last year when he was in the tank, but when he hit August and hit everything in sight, they adored him. Even this page gave him his props.

But that he hasn't built on his sporadic success and shows no signs of ever "getting it" is what's causing the bulk of fans to tire of his act now.

The second graph, in which Sullivan states that the fans' reaction to Korey may make him leave is such crap. First: If Korey was any good, he'd be offered a long term contract well before 2007 ends. That hasn't happened and the chance of it ever happening are more and more remote.

Second: This sure seems like one of those statements that a Jim Hendry can lean on when the eventual trade of Korey is made. "We wanted to move Corey Patterson to a place where he can focus on baseball and get away from the outside pressures he faced as a Cubs."

The stars are aligning to make the upcoming trade more palatable to the fans. Now, if Korey could only get into a 3 week hot streak and boost his value a little.