Stealing the thunder from WALKOFF WALK’s Corey Patterson Watch, we report with a bit too much glee that Dusty Baker could not find his lineup card even if he stapled it to Darren Baker’s jersey and told him to follow Daddy around at all times.

This must be why Dusty Baker forgot to bat Corey Patterson in the ninth inning Sunday, instead running up Dave “I’d Hit It” Ross out of order in an 8-3 loss to the Mets.

(Ed Betz of the AP gets our early vote for the photography Pulitzer)

The sharp-eyed Willie Randolph (filed under “Phrases We Never Thought We’d Utter with a Straight Face”) spotted the error after Ross slipped in front of Patterson to start the final inning.

THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER emphasizes Baker’s regular bench coach had to take third base when that coach left for a family matter. We assume this bench coach also makes sure Dusty always leaves the clubhouse with pants on.

And whither Corey Patterson? Brought on the roster to make Dusty feel more at home and to suffocate fiddle with the contract status support the development of Joey Votto, Corey Patterson has gone from suck to blow this season but continues to get extensive playing time. How could his father figure (who incorporated tough love into his teaching regimen in Chicago) forget to run Corey out there as much as possible?

Corey should be truly peeved at Dusty; after all, it’s not like Corey can afford to skip one of his few remaining major league at-bats.

We suspect Dusty has a plan to avoid this in the future, though, so we’re not worried. After all, he probably believes there’s an ethnic group out there that’s really good at being organized and doing math. He’ll just hire one of those to handle the lineup card from now on.