MVN - Most Valuable Network

Why Do Padres Continue To Play Michael Barrett?

As I sat on the trolley tonight, returning from another exercise in interleague frustration, I pondered a question for which I have no answer.  Not how the Padres could have prevented another loss, this one a 4-2 downer to the Seattle Mariners.  Not what this season might have been had we retained Mike Cameron and Milton Bradley or if we had fewer injuries.

What possible upside is there that is convincing the Padres to continue to pu Michael Barrett out there night after night? Two things we know about Michael. He intimidates no opposing baserunner faster than Cecil Fielder and he can no longer hit anything not named Zambrano.

The eleven year veteran is hitting a paltry .184 with only eight RBI.  Nor is he in the process of pulling out of a slump.  In the last thirty days, that average is .162.  He was an arbitration case and is on a one year contract, so it is not about investment.  He is a sub-par defender with a minus arm at best.  And although I have not charted recent games nor been in a position to know what came from the bench, it seems to this ex-catcher as though he is no genius at calling a game either.

Meanwhile, Luke Carlin sits the bench.  While only five calendar years younger, Carlin is light years away from arbitration.  True, he is also hitting poorly, .022 points below even Barrett.  However, Carlin is getting his first taste of the majors and has yet to be given a solid stretch in which to make any adjustments.  And the fact that he has 7 walks to Barrett’s 8 in in 27 fewer plate appearances shows that at least Carlin can recognize a ball on occasion.

But the most important thing is that Carlin adds something to the team… defense.  An arm. Carlin adds an extra dimension in the field and helps blunt the running attack that even pedestrian teams are using against us.  He is younger, more enthusiastic and provides something that Barrett clearly cannot.

Michael Barrett is a mistake.  He was worth taking a chance on, because we hoped he would sign somewhere and get us a draft pick.  But that failed.  He is as glaring an error as bringing in Jim Edmonds and nearly as expensive.  Sit him down, and let’s see if Luke Carlin can do anything with a little experience.  Carlin was hitting .387 at the time of his call up from Portland.  The only time we would associate that number with Barrett this year is if we were speculating on the number of attempted throws to second he has dropped during the transfer and seen roll to the umpires feet.

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 28th, 2008 at 9:53 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.