homemade pie

as the patterson death-watch continues, much attention has been paid to one felix pie, who is having a very nice season in centerfield for the cubs' double-a affiliate at west tenn. a lot has been said and written about pie (pronounced pee-AY, a la francais), but what should a cub fan make of him?

well, i hate to be the eternal pessimist -- or maybe i don't -- but he's quite possibly patterson part deux. check his lines against patterson's lines in the minors, and you'll see there isn't as much difference as one might hope.

for example, tell me who is who:

230 g, 42 hr, 71 sb, 70 bb, 200 k, .292/.346/.543
291 g, 16 hr, 68 sb, 102 bb, 262 k, .295/.357/.441

got a guess? yep, k-pat on top, pie on bottom. or compare the klown's 2000 west tenn season against pie's current run, which is his best in the minors (so far -- only half a year, after all). you can mentally double the numbers if you like, but pie's power surge might fade a bit -- he's never hit for this kind of power before, and in 58 games it might be just an aberration.

118 g, 22 hr, 82 rbi, 27 sb, 45 bb, 115 k, .261/.334/.491
58 g, 11 hr, 25 rbi, 13 sb/9 cs, 16 bb, 51 k, .305/.350/.551

the things to note about pie -- 11 homers and 25 rbi isn't such a problem because he's leading off most nights, whereas the klown hit third. but how about a more than 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio? the kid has a very slight .045 differential between average and OBP. and how about being caught stealing 41% of his attempts?

1060west pointman marino pointed out andrew jackson's buried contribution to the patterson deathwatch:

One reason the Cubs haven't gone out and tried to make a major move for a much-needed leadoff hitter is that they think Felix Pie, who who has a .353 OBP, .914 OPS and 32 extra-base hits in 56 games at Double-A, may get his toes in the water in September and possibly be ready to play next year. "He is still a little raw, but he has great athletic talent," says one Cubs official. "The fact that he's played a lot of winter ball has sped up his development."

but i'm afraid that the cubs might be wrong about pie being The Answer in center when The Problem is korey.

the guy down there that's really worth something is matt murton, currently going .352/.421/.492, 26 walks against 24 fans with 14 stolen bases in 19 attempts, who has hit at all levels. probable future leftfielder for your chicago cubs, but it may take another year.