John Patterson released

[bmfc1]

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/2008/03/breaking_news_john_patterson_r.html#comments

He is oft-injured but has been good in the past and might be a good pickup to store at AAA.

[metirish]

Patterson always had that look about him, like very blas�.

[smg58]

He can't be an any more improbable reclamation project than Ollie was, and he won't cost anything. So why not?

If the Nationals were so unsure of him, why didn't they just nontender him? Releasing him now isn't any cheaper than demoting him and hoping he gets better would be. As it is, they're paying Felipe Lopez $5M to be a very disgruntled reserve, and either Nick Johnson or Dmitri Young will be an expensive backup as well. I'm trying to figure out why some of those guys are still there, being that they're expensive and can't help the team contend.

On the other hand, between Johnson, Young, Lopez, and Brian Schneider, I'd have said Schneider had the least value.

[seawolf17]

I'd stick him in AAA. He can be friends with former teammate Tony Armas.

[Guest AG/DC]

smg58 wrote: He can't be an any more improbable reclamation project than Ollie was...

I'll disagree.

[Guest Triple Dee]

AG/DC wrote: ="smg58"]He can't be an any more improbable reclamation project than Ollie was... I'll disagree.

I agree with your disagreeance.

In 2004 Ollie put up Cy Young Award winning type numbers, and I dare say, would have won it if he played on a winning ballclub.

ERA lgERA ERA+ WHIP K/9
Perez 2.98 4.31 145 1.153 10.97

Compared with the eventual winner*;
Ro-ger 2.98 4.36 146 1.157 9.155


* while cheating

[Guest Number 6]

I would normally say that I'd like my team to take a flier on a guy like Patterson, but it's clear that we don't have the room. Instead, I'd think he'd be a good fit on a team which, say, has a young, low-ceiling starting rotation, minimal hope of contention this season, and just put their nominal top starter on the disabled list.

I guess they really must think that he has nothing left. Too bad, his 2005 season was a beaut.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Oh, we can find room. Not be Panicky Penelope, but seemed we had more legit *contenders* for that call-up, spot-start spot last year than we do right now and remember we needed each and every one of those stiffs (Park, Vargas, Lawrence, Sele etc etc etc)

[Valadius]

Why not try him out for long relief?

[nymr83]

He had a good season in 2005, he hasn't had another full season his entire career and he's 29. Theres enough potential that if he's willing to go to AAA and come up when Martinez/duque gets hurt and/or Pelfrey is ineffective that would be great. but i don't see him as worth a roster spot right now if he insists on pitching in MLB on april 1st.

[Guest AG/DC]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Oh, we can find room. Not be Panicky Penelope, but seemed we had more legit *contenders* for that call-up, spot-start spot last year than we do right now and remember we needed each and every one of those stiffs (Park, Vargas, Lawrence, Sele etc etc etc)

When John Maine siezed a place in the rotation two seasons ago, he had shown up in camp 12th or 13th on the depth chart of starting pitching options, behind the likes of Yusaku Iriki. We have nothing like that kind of redundancy right now, and I think New Orleans can use a Patterson or two.

[nymr83]

AG/DC wrote: ="John Cougar Lunchbucket"]Oh, we can find room. Not be Panicky Penelope, but seemed we had more legit *contenders* for that call-up, spot-start spot last year than we do right now and remember we needed each and every one of those stiffs (Park, Vargas, Lawrence, Sele etc etc etc) When John Maine siezed a place in the rotation two seasons ago, he had shown up in camp 12th or 13th on the depth chart of starting pitching options, behind the likes of Yusaku Iriki. We have nothing like that kind of redundancy right now, and I think New Orleans can use a Patterson or two.

Most definitely, but is he willing to go to New Orleans instead of seeking more immediate opportunity in say Pittsburgh or Cincinatti?

[Guest Triple Dee]

Gee, getting cut by the Gnats is as close to rock bottom, as it gets. Then again, he'll be a front-of-the-rotation starter on the Cardinals roster.

[smg58]

Nymr83 wrote: Most definitely, but is he willing to go to New Orleans instead of seeking more immediate opportunity in say Pittsburgh or Cincinatti?

A perfectly fair question. He could easily get a more immediate opportunity elsewhere than we'd give him. Then again, maybe the Nationals' demand for immediate results is what got him released, and his ideal spot is with a team that would be patient with him for a couple of months and then, if things work out, give him the opportunity to pitch in meaningful mid or late season games. There's no harm in asking, at any rate.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Obviously given the Nats' pitching picture, Patterson prolly needs some serious sorting out. But one thing I recall Omar saying about Maine when he first arrived was that he compared favorably to Patterson, which was meant as a complement. Omar loves his old Montreal guys, we'll see what happens.

[Guest Triple Dee]

Apparently the Mets have already said they aren't interested in Patterson.

]A Met official told the Post's Bart Hubbuch that the team is not interested in John Patterson. That is surprising to me because over the years Omar Minaya has loved John Patterson. Minaya acquired Patterson for the Expos/Nationals in 2004 when Minaya was the GM of that team. The downside with Patterson is that he is just never healthy. Patterson's best year came in 2005 when he replaced the injured Tony Armas in the rotation. Armas, another injury-prone pitcher Minaya has always liked, was signed this winter by the MetsNew York Mets and recently sent to their minor league camp. In 2005, Patterson went 9-7 with a 3.13 ERA in 31 starts. But he has made just 15 starts since then. I think the Mets have real depth issues beyond their starting five, even if you like Mike Pelfrey as a sixth starter. And, therefore, they should be trying to enlist as many pitchers such as Armas and Patterson as possible so that when the inevitable injuries/poor production occurs, they have some inventory to pick among. http://blogs.nypost.com/sports/st/archives/2008/03/1_extra_john_pa.html

[metirish]

It's surprising , he's a former expo and he's never healthy, a perfect Minaya fit.

[Guest OlerudOwned]

Being cut from a team like Washington, which made their rotation of literally whatever hot hands they could cobble together for a few weeks at a time, is a bad sign. This is a team made to take fliers.

[Frayed Knot]

Will Carroll in his 'Under the Knife' column over at BP isn't too optimistic about Patterson being all that useful anytime soon.

The Nats' former ace was released on Thursday after the team determined that he wasn't getting better, and that the injuries had finally taken their toll on him. Patterson was never able to get above the mid-80s with his fastball and seemed confused by the team's demanding that he use it more often. It's not that he isn't back to his 2005 form after multiple arm surgeries; it's that the Nats saw him as a worse option than their various options for the back-end of the rotation, like Matt Chico or Tim Redding. Given the shallow pitching of many teams and the chance that Patterson could show some effectiveness down the line, he's likely to latch on with a team like the Cardinals or Red Sox that have shown a tendency towards taking chances on retreading projects. One observer that I spoke with thinks that Patterson is going to need to reinvent himself as a pitcher to be effective again.

[Guest GYC]

="Frayed Knot"]Will Carroll in his 'Under the Knife' column over at BP isn't too optimistic about Patterson being all that useful anytime soon. The Nats' former ace was released on Thursday after the team determined that he wasn't getting better, and that the injuries had finally taken their toll on him. Patterson was never able to get above the mid-80s with his fastball and seemed confused by the team's demanding that he use it more often. It's not that he isn't back to his 2005 form after multiple arm surgeries; it's that the Nats saw him as a worse option than their various options for the back-end of the rotation, like Matt Chico or Tim Redding. Given the shallow pitching of many teams and the chance that Patterson could show some effectiveness down the line, he's likely to latch on with a team like the Cardinals or Red Sox that have shown a tendency towards taking chances on retreading projects. One observer that I spoke with thinks that Patterson is going to need to reinvent himself as a pitcher to be effective again.

Can't El Duque barely break 80 on his fastball? Isn't he trying to reinvent himself with a new wind up and everything?

[Guest AG/DC]

Patterson, Texas Ranger.

[Farmer Ted]

His new bride would have made a good addition to wifey watch, anyhoo.

http://shannonschambeau.com/SS_Photos.html

[soupcan]

Great quotes all over the place today.

From Shannon's bio:

]"On one of her spring breaks, she traveled to Haiti where she painted a house"