Quick...somebody find the red phone.

they are going to have to add offense since this offensive-tailored team really hasn't produced...we're below avg. at rf (big gap there), c now, ss and 2b...cf is undetermined.

their biggest off-season need remains a SS and now maybe a capable C...I dunno who/what's gonna be available, but Barrett's defense was a big liability...lost them so many games, and then lost the pitcher's confidence, he had to go.

But that offensive hole--remember, the Cubs batted him 4th on occasion--will need to be filled, somehow. RF and SS look like the most likely spots, there aren't a lot of great hitting C's around anymore....

Good deal overall.  The Cubs lead the league in idiotic plays and Barrett was a big reason why.  This will help team chemistry.

The Braves have 2 good young catchers they don't seem to want to part with however unless they're BLOWN away, by what, i dunno...

Who else besides the obvious FA's big-names/old & declining types might fill the bill?

I for one would welcome A.J. to the North Side but know he's under contract for another year to Sox...Cubs need to upgrade offense in RF and SS if they're going to go with a defensive-minded C for sure.

At this point, both parties may be better off with Barrett elsewhere---and being as how he caught Maddux last year, I doubt Mad Dog will say anything now, whoever suggested such. And while we may have gotten a prospect in return, the Bowen part of it's a little troubling for two reasons. 1) Our current ML-catchers have both been released twice in what, the last three years? Does this bother anyone else? 2) I think this shows that Blanco's injury is worse than previously believed. If he was going to be back soon, you would probably trade Barrett and promote Soto until Henry was back. Getting a backup catcher makes it look like Henry won't be back anytime soon.

It would have been nice to have gotten Linebrink or one of their other relievers. Actually, I like any deal at this point that gets us somebody that makes sense.

I agree Blanco's short-term outlook is not good, and unless they've made a steal with this switch-hitting catcher from SD, Cubs will need to find someone to fill the position capably down the road...I always thought Murton should try C he won't make it or stick in majors as an OF!! He's hopeless out there, time to try another position Matt!! (his hands don't seem very good at catching balls, however).

...you know, because the Cubs were just too good offensively.

As if it wasn't hard enough for this team to score runs, we just dumped a guy - who sometimes batted cleanup for this offensive juggernaut - in exchange for a bag of magic beans.  

Sounds like the beginning of a white flag trading mentality to me. I think we can determine that the Cubs will be sellers at the trade deadline, and this is the first quiet concession of that truth.  I see no reason to believe that Hendry has any interest in acquiring anyone for the stretch run who'll require something in return.  And since Hendry can't trade with Hendry - the only means by which he'd be able to acquire a player for almost nothing - I can't see anything more than the usual bullpen-acquisition-of-this-year's-trade-deadline happening.

Sad that Jim Hendry has quietly given up on this team in June - again.

I still don't see how this trade could have possibly, or even theoretically, happened.  You know, because Jim Hendry has always sworn an oath to us - given us his solemn word of honor - that you just cannot possibly ever, ever, ever acquire a player this early in the season.  It's impossible - I mean, a team like the Padres would have to give us Jake Peavy and their top Minor League prospect to get a player like Barrett this early in the season, right?  Isn't that what Hendry always tells us every year as we wait until three weeks after the trade deadline to see if the Cubs get any help at all?

Hendry just proved his own annual political spin to be a big bag of lies, and he just raised the white flag half mast in June.  It's a damned shame this man gets to be the one to dump our players to contenders before the deadline, a damned shame.  

Oh well, who needs to score runs to win ballgames, anyway?  Just howl "underperformers" really loud and beat your breast and gnash your teeth as usual.  Why sway from a great annual gameplan like that?

Paging the Cubs' bullpen:  even perfect won't be good enough now.  You're officially the goats no matter what happens the rest of the year.  I pity you for being the cheapest commodity.

Sorry about the negativity Cub Nation....