Barrett dealt to Padres

[wilkerson_rulz-06]

Josh Bard wasn't up to the task.

And in came Barett.

What a terrible deal, wow, a borderline backup catcher and a minor-league OF for him, that's pathetic, fire Jim Hendry right now.

http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070620&content_id=2038291&vkey=news_sd&fext=.jsp&c_id=sd

[rockin500]

one problem being that Barrett was playing himself into a borderline backup catcher himself. They got nothing for him, and it is a bad deal in that regard, but the coaching staff obviously had no real use for him either as his offense wasnt good this year, his defense was atrocious, and his baserunning putrid. Its amazing any team even wanted him, really. To the cubs, it was addition by subtraction, which always puts you behind the 8 ball in terms of trades.

fire hendry for other reasons, not this one.

[micsmith]

How does this tradehelp the Padres? Is Barrett an upgrade defensively? Offensively?

[Hammerin Hank]

fire Jim Hendry right now.


Fire Jim Hendry three years ago.

[natsnsoxfan]

How does this tradehelp the Padres? Is Barrett an upgrade defensively? Offensively?

He has a track record of being a good offensive catcher but hasn't been good this year, he can also play 3B if thats what the Pads were thinking but that wouldn't be a smart idea at all.

[Old Sweater]

Barrett's tussle with Zambrano probably had something to do with this trade.

[rockin500]

Barrett's tussle with Zambrano probably had something to do with this trade.
a factor? perhaps. but the most important factor? not a chance. his (lack of) relationship with Lou was a bigger factor.

[nerfan]

Well, here are some minor league stats of Rob Bowen's that should make you consider something...

Drafted out of high school in 1999, in the pitcher-friendly Midwest League (Single-A) at age 20, in 2001, Bowen blasted 18 home runs and batted .255/.321/.452- decent lines for a major league catcher. He struggled the next year in High-A ball (batting just .184/.272/.313 in 342 AB), but was nevertheless promoted to AA. There, for the first time in his then 4-year career, he batted over .300. This earned him a midseason promotion to AAA, where he batted .257/.333/.495 in about 100 AB, improving on his Midwest League line. Then the wheels sort of came off for Bowen. He only had about 500 at-bats his next few years, playing terribly in his minor league stints with the big club. He was waived by the Twins, then again by the Tigers. He had 93 at-bats in 93 games for the Padres in 2006, while batting a decent .245/.339/.394. A solid backup catcher, right? A minor league line of .238/.324/.391 with some success at AAA could mean a small hope at becoming a Sal Fasano type, right? Wrong. This Bowen character has just 1786 at-bats over 8 seasons. This is equivalent to 223 1/4 at-bats a season. The frequently injured Bowen is not a great player. Barrett is much better.

And oh, yeah, Sal Fasano's minor league line was .257/.346/.493. And Michael Barrett's was .289/.336/.427. No way is Bowen's future anything.

[slugger33]

Horrible deal I agree.

[Zito75]

Barrett's tussle with Zambrano probably had something to do with this trade.

You're darn skippy. I heard he had problems with more guys than just Zambrano.

[hiddengem]

Well, here are some minor league stats of Rob Bowen's that should make you consider something...

Drafted out of high school in 1999, in the pitcher-friendly Midwest League (Single-A) at age 20, in 2001, Bowen blasted 18 home runs and batted .255/.321/.452- decent lines for a major league catcher. He struggled the next year in High-A ball (batting just .184/.272/.313 in 342 AB), but was nevertheless promoted to AA. There, for the first time in his then 4-year career, he batted over .300. This earned him a midseason promotion to AAA, where he batted .257/.333/.495 in about 100 AB, improving on his Midwest League line. Then the wheels sort of came off for Bowen. He only had about 500 at-bats his next few years, playing terribly in his minor league stints with the big club. He was waived by the Twins, then again by the Tigers. He had 93 at-bats in 93 games for the Padres in 2006, while batting a decent .245/.339/.394. A solid backup catcher, right? A minor league line of .238/.324/.391 with some success at AAA could mean a small hope at becoming a Sal Fasano type, right? Wrong. This Bowen character has just 1786 at-bats over 8 seasons. This is equivalent to 223 1/4 at-bats a season. The frequently injured Bowen is not a great player. Barrett is much better.

And oh, yeah, Sal Fasano's minor league line was .257/.346/.493. And Michael Barrett's was .289/.336/.427. No way is Bowen's future anything.

They only thing you or anybody else knows about Rob are his numbers. NUMBERS ain't everything, sorry to tell you. Clubs want and keep players arond for reasons other than numbers.

[CubNZ]

They only thing you or anybody else knows about Rob are his numbers. NUMBERS ain't everything, sorry to tell you. Clubs want and keep players arond for reasons other than numbers.

True, but from the fans point of view we are looking for some reason to explain this trade at this time... and we are not seeing any good answers. While Cubs fans are finally seeing something from the Sosa dump in Mark Fontenot's form this one doesn't seem to have upside now or in the near future.

[sds416]

HG is dead on. Teams keep players around for a lot more than just numbers on a piece of paper.

That's what irks me most about this site. Too many people that want to judge a player on nothing but their stats and believe that stats alone justify their point. It is clearly obvious those are the ones who never got beyond little league or grade school baseball, never got to spend any time playing the game at a higher level, never got to spend time around those who did play at that level and never really learned the game at all, from the inside out point of view.

There are a thousand or more things that factor into judging a player and maybe 10 percent of those are found on a piece of paper, especially when you are considering a catcher. Good catchers are worth their weight in gold. Its not all about the offense. Factors like how a catcher works with the staff, calls a game, plays defense and "quarterbacks" the infield, etc. You won't find those on a stats sheet.

That's the reason why guys like Kelly Stinnett, Sal Fasano, Mike DeFelice, Jason Phillips, Mike Redmond, etc. have little or no trouble finding jobs in pro ball every year.

[KCGHOST]

I suppose the Cubs could be telling themselves that Barrett had worn out his welcome in Chicago and at age 30 is beginning a serious decline. Bowen is only 26 and maybe coming into his own.

On the surface it looks like a terrible deal.

[hiddengem]

True, but from the fans point of view we are looking for some reason to explain this trade at this time...

Its not your job to find reasons to explain the trade. Thats why they have a GM that does his homework on the guy. Your job is to watch the game and enjoy the entertaiment.

Obviously they felt Barrett needed a change of scenery and would be better off in a different situation.

[hiddengem]

HG is dead on. Teams keep players around for a lot more than just numbers on a piece of paper.

That's what irks me most about this site. Too many people that want to judge a player on nothing but their stats and believe that stats alone justify their point. It is clearly obvious those are the ones who never got beyond little league or grade school baseball, never got to spend any time playing the game at a higher level, never got to spend time around those who did play at that level and never really learned the game at all, from the inside out point of view.

There are a thousand or more things that factor into judging a player and maybe 10 percent of those are found on a piece of paper, especially when you are considering a catcher. Good catchers are worth their weight in gold. Its not all about the offense. Factors like how a catcher works with the staff, calls a game, plays defense and "quarterbacks" the infield, etc. You won't find those on a stats sheet.

That's the reason why guys like Kelly Stinnett, Sal Fasano, Mike DeFelice, Jason Phillips, Mike Redmond, etc. have little or no trouble finding jobs in pro ball every year.


Take notes folks.

[Big_Mac]

That's the reason why guys like Kelly Stinnett, Sal Fasano, Mike DeFelice, Jason Phillips, Mike Redmond, etc. have little or no trouble finding jobs in pro ball every year.

you hit the nail on the head there. catchers have much more value that you can't see on stats then offensive numbers.

however, i think they probably could have gotten a little more for barrett.

[natsnsoxfan]

Is anyone even factoring in the other player in the deal? The guy has a ton of power potential and could be an amazing player, the problem with him is that theres not much middle ground, he'll either be a star or he will never make it to the majors.

[Spieluhr]

Its not your job to find reasons to explain the trade. Thats why they have a GM that does his homework on the guy. Your job is to watch the game and enjoy the entertaiment.

Obviously they felt Barrett needed a change of scenery and would be better off in a different situation.

Your right it's not our real job to explain the trade, but part of enjoying the game is discussing and analyzing the moves made, call-ups, trades, etc. As for the cause of the trade I would say the fight was a contributing factor, but if you take the fight out of the picture and look at Barrett's performance on the field, which was sub-par, I would say he would still be traded.

[Erik Bedard]

HG, correct me if I'm wrong, but did you play with Bowen last year? What's your impression of him?

[nerfan]

They only thing you or anybody else knows about Rob are his numbers. NUMBERS ain't everything, sorry to tell you. Clubs want and keep players arond for reasons other than numbers.

Of course. Dead on. Numbers CLEARLY don't mean everything. Take, for example, Derek Jeter. Jeter is a fine, fine player, with the numbers. But he and perhaps possibly Tim Duncan bring more intangibles to the field (or arena) every time they play. I can't tell you what Bowen is like, or what Bowen fields like and calls a game like, but I can tell you that if he in fact CAN call a game well, and CAN work with pitchers well, and IS a friendly guy, and knows his baseball, he WILL have a spot on a major league team. Just from a hitting aspect, this was a terrible trade. But, if Bowen is entering his prime right now, he will be a serviceable major league backstop. And if Barrett is losing it right now, as most catchers (and players) do, at the age of thirty (just if you don't know, ages 26 and 27 are the peaks of most ballplayers), this could be a great trade for the Cubs.

I'm simply saying, however, numbers aren't everything. You have to look, especially for a catcher, at injury history. And the injury history, based on what I can deduce from his numbers, ain't great.

The other guy, Kyler Burke, is too short into his career. The guy was taken with the 35th overall pick, so maybe this trade can yet be a good one for the Cubbies.

[hiddengem]

HG, correct me if I'm wrong, but did you play with Bowen last year? What's your impression of him?

No, I never played with him.

[bluezebra]

Why not do the intelligent thing, and wait until the season is over before rating the trade?

Bowen went 1-for-3, with an RBI, and two walks.

Bob

[Spieluhr]

At the end of the year, I think the Padres will be happy they made the trade. Barrett is one of the better offensive catchers and even though Barrett has struggled offensively this year, it wasn't a real decline in skill and he will bounce back.