Countdown to the Trade Deadline (4 Days Left)

With only four days left to the deadline, it's surprising how little has happened up to this point. However, as demonstrated in the past, that should change in the next day or so. In the meantime, let's do a quick review of what has transpired over the last 24 hours.

The Minnesota Twins swept the White Sox today, winning 7-4. By doing so, they moved into a three-way tie, along with the Yankees, for the wild card spot in the AL. The Sox haven't won consecutive games since they took three straight from July 4th to July 6th. Still waiting on GM Ken Williams to make a move of some significance... because we all know Mike "DL" MacDougal is exactly who's going to turn this team around. Give me a break. Williams is eerily beginning to resemble Jim Hendry. Ouch.

By the way, Phil Rogers, a columnist for Chicagosports.com, seems to think that the White Sox shouldn't be ashamed of earning a wild card spot. Yeah, he's right, because right now the Sox would have to consider themselves lucky to do even that.

The Cubs, not that it matters, took two out of three from the New York Mets, dropping the series finale 1-0 in 10 innings. Mark Prior gave fans a sliver of hope for next year, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning before having to leave because of a high pitch count. Jose Valentine's bases-loaded, two-out single off of Glendon Rusch (who else?) was the decisive play in the game. Michael Barrett was quoted as saying, "For me, it was a great series for us as a team, [Greg] Maddux gutting it out, pitching a great game for us, getting a win the first night, and then [Carlos] Zambrano [Tuesday], and now Prior sort of [followed] suit." So let me get this straight, the Cubs, who haven't swept a series since their opening homestand against the Cardinals, failed once again to take all three games, and Barrett is happy about it? Even Rusch, the one responsible for blowing the game, said, "It would have been nice to get three games here." Oh, Mikey boy...we'll get to you in a minute.

In some exciting news, the city of Chicago has been named as one of three finalists to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. The U.S. Olympic committee has narrowed its choice down to Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

Chicagosports.com thought that Brian McBride retiring from international soccer was worthy enough to be front-page news. As a soccer fan, trust me, no one cares.

Now on to the third player on my list of tradable Cubs...

Michael Barrett
Let me start by saying that Barrett is an amazing offensive catcher, as his .330 average would demonstrate. That said, defensively it does not get any worse. Throwing out runners, locating fly balls, handling a pitching staff, it doesn't matter, Barrett is ranked at the bottom of every category. A smarter strategy, that I would hope Hendry might actually consider, is to build up offense in other positions and allow a catcher such as Henry Blanco to take over everyday catching duties. Yeah, a one-legged Pomeranian named Armani could hit better than Blanco, but his defensive stats are always in the top 3rd of the NL.

To me there is only one solution and that is to trade Barrett to an AL team where he could be the permanent DH. He would thrive with no added defensive pressure and it would also keep his knees in tact, a common problem for catchers because of the constant squatting motion they have to make, prolonging his career. Now I've had this idea before the season ever started, so let me throw it out there and see what you guys think: The Cubs send Michael Barrett, Ronny Cedeno, Matt Murton, Sean Marshall and Felix Pie to Baltimore in exchange for Miguel Tejada, Ramon Hernandez and Daniel Cabrera. In the off-season, the Cubs tried to pry Tejada away from the Orioles by dangling Mark Prior as trade bait. However, Baltimore demanded two of three following players, Cedeno, Hill and Pie. When the Cubs refused, the deal fell through. I believe this could be Hendry's chance to redeem himself. The Cubs have almost no marquee names left on their roster, with the exception of Derek Lee, and adding Tejada would bring a level of excitement to Wrigley that hasn't been felt since the glory days of, dare I say it, Sam-ME Sosa. Ramon Hernandez is a good hitter, although not the caliber of Barrett, plus he has a good reputation for the way he handles a pitching staff. Cabrera has unlimited strikeout potential, 90 Ks in 85.5 innings, but it seems as if he can't find a way to turn that corner. He has never truly figured it out, and maybe a change of scenery will do him some good. It appears that he was simply rushed to the majors too soon, a la Corey Patterson. He is only 25 years old and you would have to think that his best years are ahead of him.

Why it will happen: Every time I read an article that has to do with the Baltimore Orioles, someone is complaining about Tejada never being on time for anything. His tardiness is starting to rub some of the Baltimore executives the wrong way. The team is going nowhere and the Orioles do not have the farm system to turn it around quickly, whether it be by trading prospects or calling them up. It is looking and feeling more and more like an Allen Iverson or Kevin Garnett type of atmosphere over there in Baltimore, meaning that the superstar wants to win now, but is not on a team that can fulfill his need for a championship. The only hope for the Orioles is to blow it all up and start over fresh and the Cubs should be more than happy to oblige. By acquiring Barrett, Baltimore kills two birds with one stone. First they get a player who should be more than happy to be the backup catcher, moving Javy Lopez, who complained about sharing backstop duties in the off-season, into the starting lineup. Barrett would not only give them a great DH, but would also pacify a grumpy Lopez who was forced to play a number of games out of position at 1B. Baltimore would also be receiving a good defensive shortstop, despite what his stats may indicate, in Cedeno as well as outfielder Felix Pie, the Cubs most highly touted prospect. Murton appeared promising last year and at the beggining of this season, but the more and more you watch him, it looks like he will never be more than a good to above-average player. Even so, he does have potential and Baltimore is thin at the OF position. Marshall would be a more than adequate throw-in. He performed at a reasonably high level this year considering he was rushed to the majors from double-A.

Why it won't happen: I seriously doubt that Hendry has, for lack of a better word, the marbles to give away his "golden boy" in Felix Pie. I'm also not so sure that he is ready to give up on Cedeno, Marshall or Murton just yet, even though I think they should be traded now before anyone else in the league realizes that they aren't that good. What ol' Jimbo doesn't seem to understand is that to get a great player you have to give some sort of value and somewhere along the line, now make sure you're sitting down Hendry, actually take a risk (gasp; the room falls silent). It's possible that Marshall might not be enough for the Orioles, he wouldn't be if I was their GM. I think they would ask for Rich Hill or Angel Guzman instead, but if I had my way, those guys would already be gone in previous trades (see the previous deadline posts). Murton, more than likely, would also not be adequate enough for Baltimore. Instead, they would probally want Jacque Jones, who in my opinion is one of the few guys the Cubs should keep. On top of that Barrett's offensive numbers are somewhat misleading because with runners in scoring position he is hitting .215. In addition, his power numbers are above-average at best, something which AL GMs might be scared off by if they invision Barrett as a DH. I also think that this is similar to the A-Rod situation where the only way that the Orioles would trade Tejada is if he comes to them and asks out. It appeared that he did so in the off-season, which is why the rumors were flying rampant, but then he quickly rescinded his demands. A team that wants to acquire Tejada would either have to wait it out until he hits his breaking point in Baltimore, or gut their entire farm system and half of their major league roster. I could see Tejada being traded, but I don't think it will happen for another three years, when the asking price would have to be lessened considerably.

Prediction: I don't think Barrett is going anywhere. I think that Hendry actually considers him part of the solution rather than the problem. So until he comes to his senses, Cubs fans will have to be exposed to Barrett's horrible defense. This year he's thrown out only 20% of potential base stealers compared to Blanco's 39%, which is third best in the NL. That said, here are some minor possibilities:

Detroit is looking for another bat, but if they aren't willing to give up any of their top pitching for Soriano, they definitely won't do it for Barrett. Whatever they might offer the Cubs would more than likely not be equal value. The only trade with Detroit the Cubs might accept would be to get Nate Robertson in return, but it's unlikely that the Tigers would agree to that.

When looking at the list of contenders, Minnesota seems like the only other team where Barrett would fit. Perhaps Barrett for Louis Castillo would work. It could give the Twins a top-notch bat and it would reunite Pierre, again that is if the Cubs resign him, and Castillo, giving the Cubs a potent one-two punch.

Hold on a minute, let me catch my breath. That was the longest post I've done so far. I'm going to exercise and work off some of this energy. But what does everyone think? Should Barrett go or stay? Let me know. Come back tomorrow, I'll be discussing Kerry Wood and Mark Prior and what, if anything at all, Hendry could get in return if he tried to trade them. Until tomorrow...