Jim Hendry Never Sleeps

Rod Bowen must have had a busy and slightly confusing day. First off, the recent acquisition from the Padres was designated for assignment after batting only .065 in 10 games with the Cubs. While that is a very poor average, I don't think the Cubs ever really gave him a shot to settle into a groove. But no matter, for about an hour later he was being sent to Oakland instead of Iowa, a much more pleasant and sunny destination.

What? A catcher who gets in fights? Really?

Bowen was traded to the A's along with minor league pitcher Jerry Blevins for catcher Jason Kendall. You probably remember Kendall as the former catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he was very, very good. A career .298 hitter, Kendall has had a few extremely good seasons when it comes to batting average, including .325 and .319 in '03 and '04. To put that in perspective, remember when people thought Michael Barrett would have a shot at the batting title, except that he didn't have enough at bats? That was last year, when he ended up with a measly .307. Pansy.

Essentially what this all boils down to is that somehow Hendry traded Michael Barrett straight up for Jason Kendall, because the Cubs received a minor leaguer along with Bowen in the trade for the Padres. Even without taking into consideration Barrett's considerable temper...wow. Look at those stats and tell me that wasn't an incredible deal. Not only does Kendall have a high average, he gets on base enough that he is usually used as a leadoff hitter and he averages about 150 games played a year. Even if he's having a crappy year so far, I give a tip of my hat to Mr. Hendry for finagling this deal.