I will try my best to keep you up to date on how Corey is doing in
Iowa. I have bookmarked his stats page already.


MIAMI -- Chicago Cubs hitting coach Gene Clines said the team hasn't
lost confidence in Corey Patterson, who was demoted to the Minor
Leagues on Thursday. But it's up to the young center fielder to
regroup.
The move, which will be Patterson's first trip to the Minors since
2001, was prompted by the center fielder's struggles at the plate.
He was hitting .232 overall.

"He really hasn't had any adversity in baseball," Clines said Friday
of Patterson, who was the Cubs' No. 1 draft pick in
1998. "Everything's always come easy for him. Sometimes, you have to
hit rock bottom before you can take a step back to realize a lot of
things said to you in the past were to try to help you.

"He knew it. He knew he could go in the cage and do it, he could do
it in [batting practice], but when it came to game time, it wasn't
there. I can't figure it out. All I can do is show you videos and
tell you this is what you need to do. I don't know what else to do."

Patterson had regressed this season, not progressed. He batted .284
in April, but was hitting .158 (19-for-120) in his last 33 games. He
surprised the Cubs on June 22 when he volunteered to bat leadoff.

"To me, one of the disappointing things was that after he talked to
[Cubs manager Dusty Baker] and said he wanted to move back up to the
leadoff spot, he knew what he had to do," Clines said. "He had to
bunt, take more pitches, get in the count, be creative. And he
didn't do it.

"It was a constant reminder, 'Get into the count,' 'Run more,'"
Clines said. "These are things we've been saying for three years. I
felt so good when he said he was ready to move back into the leadoff
spot. Maybe he's turned the page and was ready to do the little
things, but he hit rock bottom."

Patterson was optioned to Triple-A Iowa on Thursday along with
outfielder Jason Dubois. Patterson did clear waivers, and was not
claimed by any team. From May 1-July 31, teams will often place
players on waivers primarily to be able to option them. Another team
could claim a player, but the host team -- in this instance, the
Cubs -- has the right to pull the player back off the waiver wire.

After July 31, teams tend to claim players placed on waivers to
block potential deals.

Patterson was expected in Mesa, Ariz., to work with Minor League
hitting coordinator Dave Keller next week, and then report to Triple-
A Iowa on Thursday. The Iowa Cubs' games this weekend in New Orleans
were postponed because of Hurricane Dennis, and then they have time
off for the All-Star break.

"He needed a break," Clines said of Patterson, who also had slipped
defensively. "If he's doing one or the other, playing good defense
and not hitting as well but making progress, you could live with
that. But both started to go bad."

Baker said it's too early to give up on Patterson as a leadoff
hitter. The talent is there.

"He's going down because it appeared that once the league learned
how to pitch him as a whole, he's not in control of most at-bats and
not in control of the situation," Baker said. "It appears he was a
little bit overmatched. He's going to go down to hopefully play
against guys his age or a little younger, tear it up, star, and come
back with a lot of confidence."

Clines isn't going to abandon Patterson, but planned to call at
least every other day. He already had talked to Iowa hitting coach
Pat Listach.

"I feel very positive about him," Clines said. "This is a learning
experience for him. It's something he's never gone through. How do
you handle adversity, especially at this level? On the big league
level, everything you do is scrutinized, magnified. Everybody sees
it. It's no fun when every time you go to the plate, you strike out
and you're booed."

Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee talked to Patterson before the team
left Atlanta on Thursday night for Miami.

"I told him to make it a positive, and that it happens to all of
us," Lee said. "Most people at some point get sent down. You have to
make it a positive rather than get down on yourself. Make it work
good for him. Hopefully he can find his swing and come back and help
us out."

The Cubs are looking forward to Patterson's return this season.

"We decided the time to do it would be now," Baker said. "It's
frustrating for him. You think we're frustrated and the fans are
frustrated, how do you think he feels? He knows he has the skills,
he knows he has the talent. When you're used to starring all your
life and you quit starring, that's a very humbling and devastating
thing for people."