Lost in Translation

Greg Couch writes his second good piece in the last few days.

If this page seemed to have a Corey Patterson fetish, it was only because this page never saw the results match the hype. Once he was sent away, the "Korey" topic was also sent away.

But this article from Couch contains this section which is fascinating.

Dave Keller, the Cubs' minor-league hitting coach, was in Des Moines for a few days to work with Patterson. The Des Moines Register quoted Keller at length Tuesday, saying Patterson's feet were too close together in the batter's box, which forced him to lose balance. "We're trying to get him a little bit wider base," Keller said.

I asked Patterson if he has been told his feet are too close together.

He stared.

Has he been told to widen his base, spread his feet?

"Not really," he said.

I'm unclear if this is an indictment of Corey Patterson or the Jim Hendry regime. Is Corey profusely stubborn or do Jim Hendry's instructors lack the ability to teach young players?

Before you answer, "Corey's stubborn, dumbass!" ask yourself this: How many position players have the Cubs developed the last 5 years? The last 10? The last 20?

This is an indictment of both of them.