We will miss the offense a bit...but couldn't we get something besides a backup catcher? It's not like we don't have backup catchers already in our system we could call up.

I guess I would have rather taken a chance on a pitching prospect. I know Barrett was having a bad year, but a Silver Slugger winning catcher should be able to get you a better asset back...especially if you are throwing in cash. I think Hendry is getting sloppy...he is not long for this job, once the new owner arrives in town.

No way is the Barrett deal a "precursor" to something bigger. Take it at face value. It's an addition by subtraction deal. Jones is next, but we'll get even less for him.

As for the comment about us never getting other team's "dumps" ... we have ... D Lee, ARam, Lofton, Randall Simon.

Finally, I have no problem dealing guys like Marshall, Marmol, and Gallagher for this year, but not for an injury prone guy like Griffey.

you guys know what's funny? and btw---i'm not singling anyone out or making fun of you or anything.....but when I hear "it's probably part of something bigger"----I have to laugh.

After all, in ST, when we signed Floyd, everyone on here---yours truly, included---thought for sure it must be about something bigger...meaning a Jones trade, which obviously never happened. Logic told us at the time that Pie would be given a chance to troll CF, even before his outstanding spring, and the thought at the time was Soriano would be in RF, and Floyd/Murton would share LF, unless of course, "it had to be about something bigger" which would either land us a stopgap CF, or someone else, right?

Don't be fooled. "trader" Jim is not that smart...no, no, no.....need I remind you that we're STILL stuck with Jones, Izzy, Eyre, and Ohman?!?!?! Those guys were ACTUALLY more of a problem than Barrett. For crying out loud, we could've kept Barrett for all these AL games, inserted him at DH, and put Hill behind the dish, to at least get his bat going more, and dumped the other guys before him....At least this trade proves that Hendry can FINALLY trade his favorite "pets" that he signs as FA or trades for. Usually he has a very hard time doing that...and I echo what Small Town Zach says in that Barrett will probably resurrect his career with the Pads....It's unfortunate that we have whiney little bitches on this team that ran out one of the only guys who seemed to give a crap whether we won or lost. Yes, his defense was suspect, but I just have to wonder if Maddux gives you his endorsement----which he rarely does to catchers----then you must know what you're doing. After all, I did notice that many many times last year, Barrett would be set up on the outside or far inside, and the pitchers would just throw right down the middle, and it'd be blamed on him for that....Now this year, I don't know why, but his game calling sucked ass. I remember when Ohman was pitching to Olmaedo Saenz of the Dodgers in one game, and we had a chance to win---the at-bat ended up being like 10 pitches or something, and frickin' Barrett told him to throw like 8 straight sliders!!!!!! He finally hit it up the middle to give them the lead, and break all of our hearts in that game...Who knows though, maybe that idiot Rothschild was calling those from the dugout....I guess we'll never know...

Anyway, sorry for my talking out loud there basically, but I'm just posing 2 sides of the story.

I wish Barrett well. I hope he does well. But I hope he doesn't do too well, and make Hendry look like more of a fool than he already is. I hope that single A young OF we got improves with us, and makes us look good. Maybe he could be a Dontrelle Willis-type of throw-in....or a Murton type of throw-in for us that makes it to the bigs with us. I also think Bowen is good and looks to be improving with experience, so this might work out for us in the end....

Unfortunately, as I mentioned, Hendry still neglected to trade our biggest 4 problems. I still believe Eyre and Jones could bring a decent return. But freeing up 4 roster spots for deserving guys like Pignatiello, Rapada, Patterson, and possibly Hoffpauir, just makes good baseball sense, but that's just my humble opinion

barrett has been underperforming, sure, but let's not forget he has 9 homers already - on pace to top his career high. yeah, he's been a liability in every other part of his game this season (gone from mediocre to downright awful) - but i really think he's going to come around. after all, maddux endorsed him, he was a silver slugger, and his defensive game can only get better (it certainly can't get worse) - and i believe it will with a little change of scenery. he had to go, but by the end of the season, when he's picked his average back up to .280, hit 20 hrs, and managed a servicable game in san diego, i think we'll all feel a bit of remorse that he's gone. padres fans are right to be excited about this deal. but still, he had to go. i hope this is part of something bigger.

what i don't understand is how the cubs manage to get in this predicament so often - talented players who, if playing up to their potential, are worth a pretty penny, but who the cubs are forced to dump for next to nothing. we dumped patterson, sosa, and barrett, and no doubt will be dumping jones soon. why do we always have to do this? where are the talented guys other teams are looking to dump, and why can't we be on the receiving end for a change? it hurts to give these guys away for so much less than they're worth. let's hope it all works out. and best of luck to barrett - i feel badly for how things ended here for him.

Ryan R,

I agree with your for the most part, however, it reaches a point where the team is just better off without the guy. His defense was MURDER, and it couldn't have made the pitchers feel comfortable, despite what they say. Just look at how they do with Hill back there...It was just becoming a distraction that needed to be fixed. A change of scenery for Barrett would be best for him, and hopefully the Cubs will continue to play good ball.

I realize that in the long run that Barret was gone after the season anyway, but I think this is a bad trade. I don't blame Barret for all the ills of the pitching staff, sometimes they just missed their spots. Plus, if Greg Maddux gave his indorsement of Barret, then the rest of us who think he is a crappy catcher are WRONG. I just think a fiery guy like Barret is what everyclubhouse needs. And by fiery I mean someone who is somewhat in control, not completely out of it like Z can get.

Gene: Maybe its a chemistry change that will spark a run to make us buyers.

Aaron: I agree on Hendry having a knack for selling our guys low. Thats why I said last night I hoped that Barrett got on a hot hitting streak to try and rebuild his value before we packaged him off somewhere. Instead, this trade happens. Too early to tell how this trade will turn out in the long run. Barrett was most likely not going to be resigned after this year anyway so its possible this could turn out better than it looks now.

DON'T trade Marshall or Marmol. These guys are both young and doing very well. I think the Cubs would be very foolish to trade either of them. Also, no one should expect ANYTHING from a JJ trade. Seriously the Cubs will have to pay a team to take him.

How is this not an equal value trade? We send a barely above average catcher (non-Cubs fans might say mediocre) and some cash (2/3 of his remaining salary) to the Padres for a young catcher (does 30 games this season equal back-up?) and a first-round draft pick. This of course does not include the intangibles, such as getting rid of a catcher who obviously has some trouble with our ace. I'm sorry, but if Saturday doesn't prove it to everyone, Barrett is on the negative side of expendable compared to Zambrano.

The question I have is still: Are we going to be buyers or sellers? I do not believe that is transaction answers that question. I think this is a chemistry change.

This was not an equal value trade at all. Which really answers the questions about JJ.

If all we get for Barrett is a backup catcher and a 19 year old minor leaguer, JJ would get even less.

It shows how much the rest of MLB values some of our middle-to-lower tier players.

ESPN reports that, yes, that Padres management talked to Maddux before the trade and that Maddux gave them a "ringing endorsement" of Barrett. I also read somewhere that the Cubs plan to make Bowen the starting catcher (probably in the same ESPN article, but I can't remember).

Our man Kyler, I believe, is actually 18, not 19.

It seems to me that this trade is a precursor to something else. The Cubs do save some (but only some) money in the transaction (700,000 I think) and gain an up-and-coming catcher (rather than retaining one having a sub-par year 10 years into his career) who serves much better as trade bait or even on the field in all likelihood. And anyway, if Hendry thought he could get something out of this thing I imagine he would have waited a bit to see if any sellers might have emerged in the next several weeks with some catcher to dump (A.J. anyone? . . . I'm just kidding -- but you have to admit that would have been hands down the most entertaining Cubs-White Sox trade ever, hot-head for hot-head!) It seems like Hendry has something else up his sleeve here.

Couple of comments. First, not at all surprised that it appears we gave up more value than we got, and hope this pans out better than it looks on paper. I think MB's offensive numbers are still pretty solid among NL Catchers, so would have liked to see us get more for him. Intangibles like how many runs has MB cost compared to provided? Legit question, but if you ask it, then don't you also have to ask how fair it is to single any ONE Cub out for poor fundamentals? Seems like only a select few can hold themselves above that standard.

Second, if Barrett was really a cancer on this club - and it seems the media, the manager, and the administration have made him the scapegoat for the lack of chemistry this year - then why wouldn't Maddux have nixed the deal like Gramps mentioned? Seems like Barrett was one of the few guys who gave a damn when the Cubs were abyssmal last year, and one of the few guys who would call out his teammates - even the purported "Ace" who takes April and part of May off every year. If that makes him a bad guy, then I'd like a bench full of bad guys. Instead, we get a bunch of candyasses who don't even plunk a Cameron on Sunday - a guy I'd have hit in his 3rd AB even without the day we had on Saturday. I dunno - maybe someone over there knows what they're doing . . . a hundred or so years of "selling low" seem to suggest otherwise.

Best of luck Michael - you'll still be my son's first favorite Cub.

I must say I will miss Barrett. What he did in the series against the Sox is legendary and he has been a Cardinal killer every time we play them. I did see a problem with his defense and his hitting has gone down this year, but we have TOO MANY outfielders that are causing much more of a distraction then Barrett in my humble opinion. Can anyone say Scapegoat. This team is underperforming and something had happen, I just don't like that it was Barrett. He will be missed by some of us.

I always liked Barrett. I wonder if he will be catching Maddux now! That's the one thing that bothers me about the trade....don't you think Padre management asked Maddux about Barrett before making the deal. We all know Maddux is there to win--nothing else--he does not care about all the BS. Makes me wonder if he told the Padre management that Barrett was ok. Hmmmmmm

Man this Giants are worthless piece of crap! Allready loosing 4-0 with Zito on the mound. 1st inning.

Does everyone expect Bowen to be the starting catcher? I prefer Hill at the moment.

Good trade..............for now....but again, trader Jim, up to his usual "sell low" mode, and we should've gotten more than just Bowen, which essentially is what this trade was for. The young outfielder had a line of something like .209 and .310 OBP....in ROOKIE BALL!!!!! Yeah, he's 19, but still, that's a joke for someone of Barrett's caliber. Oh well....hopefully this pans out.

For those of you who think trading Marshall and Jones for Griffey is a good idea, I think you're sorely mistaken...Marshall was like Maddux's prodigee last year, and has done very well for us. With Lilly coming back to earth to his usual 4 point something ERA, and Hill struggling too....I think we keep the effective pitcher, especially when the ONLY true reliable pitcher in the bullpen happens to be Marmol---who'd have to go to the rotation. I don't think you make that trade. I mean, who knows though---maybe Hill, Lilly, and Marquis were regressing with Barrett calling their games, and maybe Marshall would be expendable---I don't know, but I'd rather trade Gallagher, Jones, and Rocky Cherry for Griffey or something to that effect.

I think that Bowen's ability to call a game will more than make up for his percieved shortcomings at the plate. If he can throw out baserunners to boot, then we got a hell of a deal. I wish MB the best in San Diego, but we all needed this to happen. Hopefully, Jones will be packing next.

As long as Bowen is able to work well with the young pitchers, Cubs has more thing in its pocket to contend postseason.

Marmol is such a talent, great STUFFS: easy 95mph fastball with nasty changeup and slider. He might be Cubs' answer to White Sox's Bobby Jenks. Dempster, you can retire in a few years.

Good trade. Love the guy, but he was killing us.

In 33 games, Bowen has 3 errors and 2 passed balls. Barrett had 8 PB's in 55 games...

Good luck, Mike.

Wow! So you had a bad day...... Barrett gets his ass kicked by Zambrano, and he is the one who gets traded. LOL. I agree with Zip as I stated earlier, this guy was killing us. Even though his offense was decent, a catcher is responsible for many runs in a game, I'd guess barret cost about half as many rbi's on defense, as he had on offense. Ba - bye.

"Good widdins to bad wubbage"

As Elmer Fudd would say "Good winnins to bad wubbage"!

Lets hope this is the first of a flurry of moves.

This is really going to suck for that Rockies series...what are we going to do with 500 Michael Barret jerseys???

At least Cubs fans won't have to endure any more Bonehead Barrett baserunning "plays" or brain-cramp defensive "plays."

Good riddance.....

Well with this trade you have to look at what they are thinking. I think Koyie Hill has done a good job calling games and he can hit. He was hitting over .300 at Iowa and that was with splitting time with Geovany Soto. I also hope they give him more chances to play but when Blanco gets back they aren't likely to keep three catchers so he will be sent down. Like someone said, maybe Blanco is worse off than they thought and Hill will be there for a while. If he is, they need to play him more. He will hit once he gets some regular at bats.

I think we have a good balance of veterans and rookies and I think it is time to make a run. I liked Barrett but he was a problem this year and sometimes removing a problem helps a team focus on the task at hand. Still need to dump Jacque "Strap" Jones though to really clear things up.

Carrie Muskat was laying it down for us when she had that nice article about Catcher Hill a couple of days ago. I hope Hill gets more time now. Sorry to see a good guy like Barret Go, but he will be in a very good team and maybe we can meet in the playoffs.

[Did any one noticed that Barret was not seen in the fight against the Padres or was it just me]

I really am in shock, I guess it is not a bad move.

NOTE; Shall Dereck have Zambrano make sure Barret gives the money he promised before he leaves the Club House??? just kidding. I really wish Barret the best.

Good morning all...WOW!! I'm kinda glad he's gone but only time will tell..A group of friends and I went down to Texas last night for the game and it seemed like he played well. You'd think if there was any doubt of a trade this morning or last night, the Padres would ask the Cubs to sit Barrett for injury issues..

Wonder if the Padres would know if we shipped JJ with Barrett, for FREE!!

Last nights game was amazing, every pitch Sosa saw, nothing but flashbulbs and strikeouts...LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!! They said attendance was 38,000 and I gurantee 60% Cubbie fans. Its good to know we travel in packs..Have a good day all and take care.

Padre fan here. Bowen is a solid catcher and a good guy. He might not hit a lot, but he will call a good game, play good defense, and be a team guy. Not likely to fight with the staff ace. Give him a chance and I predict you will like him.

My bad. I read it the other way around. Makes more sense your way though David.

Steve,

The cash is going from the Cubs to San Diego so I don't think it sets up a Jones deal. But that said, the Cubs will likely make a similar dump trade with Jones in the next few weeks. It's the addition by subtraction thing. Hopefully it works.

Well, we kind of saw this one coming. I don't really know anything about Bowen to make an opinion as to how good or bad the trade was. He did go 2-4 with a homer against us though.

We'll see. Maybe the cash considerations were to set up a Jones trade. The Cubs will almost definatly have to eat a good chunk of Jones' contract in order to move him.

Barrett was killing us defensivly this year. I've always liked the guy, but I think this was a good move.

david,

i realy dont care about his hitting. Not like Barrett was hitting...with this lineup, we shouldnt need production from our catcher, just good defense, which he will give us. I like the trade.

DMac,

Very well said. Great post.

A pure dump trade. Nobody wanted Barrett so this is probably the most you could get for him. Bowen plays great defense and calls a good game. The downside is he's never hit much in the majors or minors. Over a full season, I'd project Bowen at .240-.250 with 8-12 HR's.

how is the evaluation made that a guy is a "shitty catcher" when he is 26 years old, playing in his second full season of major league baseball. He has decent numbers as a minor league catcher, and he does have a high OBP this year. About 65 points higher than barrett. Barrett was gone after this year, so it was smart to get something out of the deal.

Barrett has brought nothing to the table this year, and I venture a guess that he has aided in the losing of more games this year than he has in winning any.

Also, as for Kyler Burke. He was the 35th overall pick last year, and he is still only 19. Many trades in baseball are difficult to grasp because they often involve young, unknown players. Only time will tell.

for instance, when the Giants sent Boof bonser, Nathan, and Lirano for highly touted catching prospect (whom they must have thought was the next Johnny bench) AJ Pierzynski, I imagine many twins fans were up in arms. Even if Lirano never pitches again, they still made out better in that deal.

I think the cubs have played better ball the last two weeks with Koyie Hill behind the plate as opposed to barrett, and for that reason, I am confident that the two catchers we have will pay dividends in this year, but more importantly, for the years to come.

Jim-

Not sure we could have done much better for Barrett. His defense has been horrendous this year, he has made costly mistakes on the bases, and his offensive production has dropped off this season. I think this is the old cliche, " addition by subtraction ". I do agree that Jones should be next, but I'm sure teams are shying away from his big contract in contrast to his crappy numbers and rag arm. It isn't always easy to move you garbage and get something great in return. We upgraded the defense, and I think that Blanco is more hurt than the cubs are leading on. I have read that at one point the Cubs felt that Blanco's injury may be career ending. We'll just have to see. Maybe those crazy "score" rumors about Marshall and Jones for Griffey Jr. will pan out. I love Marshall, and God knows we need pitching, but perhaps Marmol is ready to step in to the rotation.

Barrett is the first one to go? What about Jones. I don't have a good feeling about this trade. I guess time will tell. I think Barrett could get you a little more than a shitty ctcher and a could be prospect.

I'm trying to familiarize myself with Bowen. He has a nice OBP, but I'm aware this trade was made to upgrade the defense. Barett had to go, he was hurting the team, and it is obvious that the pitching staff struggles more with him behind the plate. I'm wondering if this doesn't mean that Blanco is going to be out a lot longer than originally expected. I would not be suprised to see Blanco put on the 60 day, and Hill backing up Bowen. Hope this helps with the pitching. Now lets move jones for a left-hander out of the pen.

Welcome back trader Jim, to bad Jones wasn't in that deal. Let's see how Bowen does.

I did not see this coming. Not sure what to think yet. Lets see what we got in return.