Broadcaster Mark Patrick Still on XM Radio Payroll?

Baseball commentator Mark Patrick -- formerly co-host with Buck Martinez on XM Radio's "Baseball This Morning" daily talk show -- is believed by a former network insider to be equivalently collecting pay from the satellite network while he contemplates options to return to broadcasting.

Having abruptly departed from XM last November, the former Fox sports radio personality is being paid through the period when catchers and pitchers report to big league training camps in Florida and Arizona next month. The prearranged contractual agreement likely will have been discontinued by the time major league exhibition games begin in March, according to speculation.

Ironically, Patrick's departure from XM came at a time when he and Martinez -- a former manager and 17-year major league catcher -- had developed an outstanding chemistry and were gaining the attention of a small but devoted following. Martinez remains with the network and also broadcasts for ESPN.

Patrick -- a former batboy for the Triple A Indianapolis Indians -- could not be reached for comment.

Though he has often been assailed for his ego, Patrick remains among the most talented and buoyant voices in sports broadcasting, with a broad range of knowledge, experience, grace under pressure and other divergent gifts.