I have had enough of the dumb ass catcher

Following a loss that Lou Piniella called "our worst game of the year" on May 29th, Cub catcher Michael Barrett was asked about getting picked off second base by Marlin catcher Miguel Olivo. Here is what he told the press:

"That situation can't happen," Barrett said of his brain cramp on the bases. "I know they have a good-throwing catcher, I know they have a quick shortstop behind me. For some reason, I didn't realize I was that far off the bag. It was a mental mistake -- I don't like mental mistakes."

He also gave us these comments that same night:

"For me, starting with me, I need to play smarter," Barrett said. "It's one thing to play harder. It's no excuse to play dumber. The all-out rule of thumb for me now is that we have to play smarter baseball.

"Starting tomorrow, I'm going to start playing smarter baseball," Barrett said.

Now let's fast forward to tonite. In a ballgame that saw the Cubs take a 4-0 lead before the Atlanta Braves came to bat, Michael Barrett was once again guilty of baserunning that a little league coach would find unacceptable. After the Braves had taken the lead in the bottom of the 2nd (chasing Jason Marquis after 1.2IP). The Cubs came right back in the top half of the third. With one run already in, one out and with Barrett on second and Jones on first just recalled Mike Fontenot hit a ground ball to second baseman Kelly Johnson who flipped to Rentaria for one and threw to first where Fontenot beat the play. This is where the dumb ass catcher comes into the picture. Barrett rounder third too far and once again found himself in no-mans land. Braves first baseman Scott Thorman threw home to Brian McCann who caught Barrett in a rundown between home and third. McCann flipped to third sacker Yunel Escobar who ran down Barrett for the third out of the inning. So much for the "smarter baseball" Michael.

At that point I actually though we were gonna see Lou Piniella blow a gasket on the guy and pull him out of the game. I have no idea why Uncle Lou didn't go Zambrano on Barrett. I sure wanted him to. What good would that have done anyways? Barrett would just go in front of the press the next day and tell everybody how much he loves Uncle Lou. Enough is e-fuckin-nough.

So since making the comments he did back on May 29th what has been "smarter" in Barrett's play? I would really like to know. The guy is an absolute hack behind the plate. His game calling has come into question. His bat which was once a strong suit has done nothing. The guy has become a five tool liability for this team.

I know right now the Cubs don't have many options behind the plate. But these kinds of plays have really become the plays that Michael Barrett is all about. I am just sick of watching him make dumb ass play after dumb ass play and go to the media and tell us he will do better when he can't. He has no baseball smarts, NONE. The guy is a losing ballplayer. The Cubs will not win with him as their everyday catcher. The Cubs will be a better ballclub when this guy gets an address change.

Whew. I think I'm all better now. I apologize for the rant. Now back to your regularly scheduled weekend.