I used to have a guy who worked for me that we nicknamed "train wreck" because the guy was a perpetual screw up.  The only reason that I didn't fire the kid was that his heart was in the right place and he tried so hard he'd screw up even more.  I thought that maybe, given enough time, I could get the best out of him.  But I finally had to let him go when most of the staff refused to work with him and it began to become an issue.

The story of "train wreck" reminds me of the story of Cubs catcher Michael Barrett.  His skills as a catcher are non-existent.  He can neither throw, stop pitches in the dirt or handle pitchers, which is the skill set he is supposed to have.  His hitting is okay, but before you invoke the Mike Piazza clause (we can look the other way at his defense as long as he hits) Barrett is only hitting .247.  His relationships with pitchers are heavily documented, a dugout free for all with Carlos Zambrano that led to a locker room smack down and an animated conversation in the dugout with pitcher Rich Hill on Tuesday.

Barrett, who everyone to a man says is a good guy, may be a bigger head case then his cross town rival (who he sucker punched last year) as documented by a series of dust ups during his Cub career.

Cubs manager Lou Piniella says he believes in his catcher, but that Barrett needs some rest.  As evidence of this,  Koyie Hill caught the night game Wednesday night and the day game Thursday.  Usually, the rule is that if you catch the night game, you get the day game off, especially with a game on Friday.  The Cubs won both games Hill started and are 5-1 in games where he has been behind the plate. 

It is obvious that the Cubs want to give Hill extended playing time as they shop Barrett (who will be a free agent following the season)   to some AL team that needs a DH or a backup catcher with some pop.  It's not in the Cubs best interests to waive or release him, unless the situation erodes further.  But there is no doubt that the Cub starters do not like having Barrett behind the plate.  Zambrano has made that point fairly obvious, Hill seems to concur, and Shawn Marshall were battery mates in Iowa so it makes sense they work together.  So, that leaves Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis and Hill caught Marquis Thursday.

There is no telling when Henry Blanco will return from the DL, so for the time being, "give him some rest" may be Lou's code for "we need to jettison his sorry ass" "he's now the backup."  Hill doesn't have the offensive prowess of Barrett, but he is a much better catcher in every phase of the game.

So for Jim Hendry, a man whose team may be ready to come off the respirator, the question you have to ask yourself is cutting ties with Barrett addition by subtraction.  The answer is obvious.