Chicago Cubs Baseball

Somewhere between Ryan Dempster’s last strike in Tuesday’s game and today’s press conference, Michael Barrett strapped on the chaps, saddled up the ol’ Palomino and packed three-and-a-half years of Chicago Cub baggage to head off into the sunset. Or as I’m sure he’d prefer to have it known - his new team, the San Diego Padres.

Barrett’s riddance - er, trade for backup catcher Rob Bowen and minor league outfielder Kyler Burke, is a headline grabber for sure. A shocker? No way.

Since his arrival to the Cubs in 2004, Barrett has been known to carry a big stick and even a bigger chip. Especially over the past two years, Barrett was better recognized for keeping his mitts up rather than keeping his catching mitt down.

To say he “had a little tougher time defensively” this season, as Cubs general manager Jim Hendry pointed out in today’s press conference was the kindest of understatements. Barrett’s five errors and eight passed balls packed more punch about his defense, than say, any of his swings at opposing players or teammates.

But kind words on Barrett’s defense probably wasn’t the biggest stretch to come from Hendry’s mouth today. For my money, I’ll go with his explanation for moving Barrett.

“The fight had nothing to do with [the trade],” Hendry said, referring to the Barrett-Carlos Zambrano clubhouse rumble. “The Rich Hill situation, that’s normal Major League Baseball every night. It just happened to be seen and blown out of proportion. That happens all the time. It wasn’t even discussed in-house about being an issue. … We just felt like we were trying to shore up the position in a little different fashion, a little bit more defensively.”

To think that Hendry and the Cubs aren’t in the throes of a clubhouse clearance sale is just so much denial. Just ask Matt Murton, who now hangs his cleats in Des Moines.

Production excuses. It excuses porous defense, and maybe even an occasional swing at an opposing player or teammate. But when the output tanks faults are magnified. See Michael Barrett.

In the past, the former Cub catcher had been a stalwart with the bat - as far as catchers go. In his three full seasons with Chicago, Barrett averaged 16 homers, 60 RBIs and a .290 batting average. Decent numbers for a position player - good numbers for a catcher.

But Barrett’s offensive production is down and his recent fracases with the Cub pitching staff - physical and otherwise -  are up.  It’s no secret the Cubs need clout, not contusions. Cohesiveness instead of calamity.

Hendry and the Cubs are in a “win now” situation.  Repercussions await anything less than a formidable run at the playoffs, if not the World Series.

Of course, with San Diego contenders in the NL West, and the Cubs continuing to slip behind Milwaukee, Barrett may get the last laugh, if not the last punch in, after all.