FREE DAVID PATTON!!

Carlos Zambrano is set to come off the Disabled List tomorrow, which necessitates a roster move. My bold suggestion: FREE DAVID PATTON!! Send his ass back to Colorado, or send something to Colorado in exchange for him so he can be optioned to AA. A rule 5 experiment is not what a contending team should be wasting a roster spot on. Bruce Miles: But right now, the Cubs are carrying 12 while using only 11. In other words, they have essentially an 11-man pitching staff without benefit of the extra position player. The guy the Cubs are trying to hide here is rookie David Patton, the Rule 5 kid out of Colorado they obtained at the winter meetings in a trade with the Reds. Having Patton on the roster would be all well and good if the Cubs were actually going to use him. As it is, Patton hasn’t appeared in a game since May 9 at Milwaukee, when he gave up 3 hits, 1 walk and 2 runs in two-thirds of an inning. Before that, Patton pitched May 5 and May 1. Since the 9th, he’s warmed up, but he hasn’t gotten into a game. Neyer agrees with Bruce: Miles is exactly right: It’s simply unconscionable for a contending team in a competitive division to devote a roster spot to a player who’s not allowed to play. I don’t know if young Jake Fox deserves that spot. But someone certainly does. I’d be fine with getting Fox a few swings on the big league club. But regarding tomorrow’s roster move, what’s more important is that we FREE DAVID PATTON. Patton’s numbers this year. He has a nice slider, and that’s about it. 11K in 12.1 IP, and too many BB in that time. No business in the majors at this point. FREE DAVID PATTON!!!