The New #20

Felix Pie made the unfortunate choice of chosing a new jersey number. Felix really deserves a better number because the last guy to adorn his pinstripes with that number was really, really, bad.

This page had a rather heavy case of dispassion for one Corey Patterson. The lack of love was not because Corey didn’t pan out. It was because he seemed to show no understanding of how the game was played. Corey was a guy that got a Jim Hendry E-Ticket (in the old Disneyland sense) and played like a guy who didn’t have to learn or try, just show up.

That dispassion is starting to find a new home in Michael Barrett.

This page has long held that Michael hurts you with his play in the field more than he helps you with his bat. The fact that Greg Maddux used Paul Bako and Henry Blanco as his personal backstops should be a red flag. That Lou Piniella sent Blanco out to catch Carlos Zambrano a few days ago is another tip off. He’s just not that good a catcher.

But last night, Michael showed us all, once again, why he is not a money player. After leading off the fourth inning with a double to right, Michael made back to back boneheaded plays. First, Jacque Jones hit a deep shot to center that Bill Hall caught running with his back to the infield. Barrett, who must have forgot that the wind was blowing in and would hold a fly ball up, failed ti tag up. Barrett was standing near the short stop position and had to retreat to second. Had Barrett been on second and tagged, there is no way Hall can throw Barrett out at third.

Now, instead of Barrett on 3rd with 1 out, Barrett is still on second. Mark DeRosa then hits a screaming liner that Rickie Weeks snags after taking three steps to his right. Barrett, who must have either forgotten the outs or was busy talking to Mike Quade, was, again, by the short stop position. He was doubled off easily.

Michael Barrett may be one of the best hitting catchers in the league. But he is so fundamentally unsound in all other areas of the game that it offsets his offense more than Al Gore’s carbon credits.

For this team to get better, Michael Barrett needs to leave.