As if losing nine out of the last 12 wasn’t bad enough, now Patterson’s out for the season. The Cubs may now be especially tempted to trade away the farm for a slugger, any slugger, maybe even the slugging third baseman Mike Lowell. But I think the opposite is called for.

Patterson is a big part of the Cubs’ future, and there’s no point trying to desperately make up for his absence the rest of this season, when the team has clearly demonstrated it doesn’t have the stuff to make the playoffs anyhow.

The Cubs should be looking to unload Alou, Alfonseca (though who would take him?), Juan Cruz, etc. to teams in the mix with weaknesses at those spots.