That’s better than your teammates doing it for you, as is usually the case with Michael.
Barrett has kind of a Clubhouse Cancer reputation, but our personal experience with him doesn’t show that.
He’s an intense, kinda dumb guy that carries no racial bias…the funny thing is that a guy like Carlos Zambrano is so mentally fragile, even the slightest perceived insult is enough to set him off. Of course, since Zambrano is the goose that laid the golden egg, when Barrett finally said what the rest of the team was always thinking, which set off their 2007 dugout/clubhouse/media brawl…it was the lesser ballplayer that got shipped off.
A Major League clubhouse is a delicate balance of nationalities these days. Just like many other jobs in this country, Hispanic co-workers don’t automatically get along with each other. Dominicans and Venezuelans have a naturally contentious, sometimes bitter relationship and demand respect at all times, but it generally won’t develop into a physical altercation. So, when a doofusy white dude like Michael Barrett crosses the imaginary ‘respect’ line…fists of Latino fury tend to fly.
Happened again this season with Kevin Youkilis and Manny Ramirez.
Worked out pretty well for the Cubs though, as Geovany Soto will be the first ever NL rookie catcher to start the All-Star game.
