Cubs’ Darwin Barney would trade Gold Glove for playoffs
BY GORDON WITTENMYER gwittenmyer@suntimes.com February 19, 2013 11:37AM
Chicago Cubs' Darwin Barney catches a ball during a spring training baseball workout Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013, in Mesa, Ariz. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Updated: March 21, 2013 6:27AM
MESA, Ariz. — If Brandon Phillips wants Darwin Barney’s Gold Glove so bad, he can have it as far as Barney’s concerned – as long as Barney gets Phillips’ playoff appearance in exchange.
Phillips, the flashy, talkative second baseman for the Cincinnati Reds, has made a habit of grousing about losing the 2012 Gold Glove to Barney, most recently telling mlb.com this week he thought he got “punk’d” when he was told Barney won.
``I can’t make myself win the Gold Glove, even though I should have,’’ Phillips told the website. ``When I didn’t win, I was surprised. I wasn’t mad at all, but surprised. I thought I got punk’d.’’
Barney, who tied the major-league record for consecutive errorless games in a season (141), tries not to pay attention to Phillips’ complaints but keeps hearing about them through friends and media.
``The thing is at this point it’s interesting reading something like that because for me it’s not about Gold Gloves right now,’’ he said. ``It’s not about myself. It’s about the team and what we’re trying to achieve this year.
Phillips, who has won three Gold Gloves, also told reporters that he believes managers and coaches who vote for the award snubbed him because they don’t like his flashy style.
“I do it with flair because baseball is a boring game,’’ he said. ``Do I think that’s one of the main reasons I didn’t win the Gold Glove? Yeah, I can say that.”
Phillips tends to leave out Barney’s record errorless streak, his range, better fielding percentage at the position (.997 to .992) and a defensive Wins Above Replacement number more than double Phillips’ (league-leading 3.6 to 1.6).
``At this point next year if we’ve made the playoffs and given ourselves a chance to win the World Series that would be the last thing on my mind,’’ Barney said. ``But I keep getting asked about it. It is what it is.’’
