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So San Diego, already with the best record in the National League, officially kicked off the summer trading season this week by fleecing the Chicago Cubs, who are viewing the Michael Barrett deal as addition by subtraction.

Question is did the Padres just acquire a deranged psychopath bent on punching out the lights of every single one of his teammates?

Michael Barrett has right-handed power, experience and veteran Greg Maddux in his corner. (AP)

Or did they snag a catcher who will add another dimension to an already very good team?

Evidence in favor of the Psychopath Theory: Videos and still footage of Barrett's heavyweight dugout bout with Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano early this month and with White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski last summer, and harsh dugout words with Cubs starter Rich Hill several days ago.

Evidence in favor of the Padres adding a serious piece who can help them get deeper into October: Barrett's right-handed power, his experience ... and Maddux's evaluation.

"Kind of hard to judge somebody from a 20-second clip on SportsCenter," said Greg Maddux, a teammate of Barrett's in Chicago for the first half of last summer.

San Diego general manager Kevin Towers routinely talks with key players as part of his research and, in the case of Barrett, Maddux -- a teammate of Barrett's last summer in Chicago -- was one of the people he quizzed.

"Oh, I don't know what you're talking about," Maddux says with a sly smile.

"I asked Greg how Michael Barrett would fit into our clubhouse, and he said pretty much anybody would fit into this clubhouse," Towers says.

Though Maddux was said to prefer throwing to Henry Blanco rather than Barrett before he was traded to the Dodgers last summer, the right-hander spoke of Barrett in glowing terms -- before leaving the clubhouse with his new lockermate late Wednesday night to help the catcher get adjusted to his new surroundings.

"He's a complete player," Maddux said. "He works well with a staff, he gets along with his teammates. He's easy to root for. He can call a game, he can hit, he can drive guys in and hit behind runners. He's got occasional power."

It's pretty much a no-lose situation for the Padres as they work toward staying ahead of NL West rivals Arizona, Los Angeles and Colorado. Barrett has both experience and some right-handed pop -- the former something Josh Bard, who has done a good job catching, is gaining; the latter something the Padres lacked.

The Cubs are paying $1.5 of the $2.2 million left on Barrett's salary this season. If the Padres don't re-sign him this winter -- Barrett is eligible for free-agency -- they'll receive two compensatory picks in next June's draft.

They gave up light-hitting backup catcher Rob Bowen and a fringe minor-league outfield prospect.

•  Cubs manager Lou Piniella is notoriously hard on his catchers, and he and Barrett never clicked. It wasn't only the clashes with pitchers that drove Piniella nuts, Barrett also was guilty of multiple base-running mistakes this season that added to the Cubs' sloppy fundamental play.

•  There was a time, believe it or not, when the Orioles were so respected that anybody would have jumped at their manager's job. But with Joe Girardi withdrawing, it will be telling to see which way the O's go next. Dusty Baker is being mentioned as a candidate, but it might be difficult for chief operating officer Andy MacPhail to sell him based on the colossal disappointment the two were a part of in Chicago with the Cubs. Mets coach Jerry Manuel deserves another chance to manage, though these Orioles need someone to pick them up by the scruff of their necks and shake them hard. Manuel's personality isn't that way. Jim Fregosi, anyone?

•  Several players and a couple of coaches told me Wednesday night that they hope the club gives interim manager Dave Trembley a chance to earn the permanent job. It would be one of those nice underdog stories, but didn't they just do that with Sam Perlozzo in Baltimore? And look how quickly the players quit on him.

•  Texas owner Tom Hicks would have been a whole lot more effective had he done his homework and surmised that Juan Gonzalez was on steroids and could be on the verge of a crash before handing him that $24 million deal. His speculative comments now on Gonzo make him look ill-informed. Which, given some of the contracts Hicks has handed out, has appeared to be the case for a long time now.

•  Of all the things wrong with the Orioles, here's something very right: Right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, scooped up from Cleveland as a waiver claim, is blossoming quickly in the Baltimore rotation. The kid throws a high-90s fastball and a razor-sharp slider and is 4-1 with a 2.42 ERA. He breezed through San Diego the other night, after which Padres manager Bud Black called Guthrie "as good as we've seen" all season. Orioles pitching coach Leo Mazzone loves the kid, offering the highest praise: "I gave him all of my Greg Maddux stuff." Guthrie should be bright enough to digest tips from the great Maddux, too: He's from Stanford.

•  This pattern clashes: Baltimore has specialized in sacking its skippers when the team is playing on the West Coast, thousands of miles from home. The Orioles fired Lee Mazzilli two summers ago when the club was in Anaheim, and they canned Sam Perlozzo on Monday as the club was traveling to San Diego.

•  If Craig Biggio doesn't start hitting better against right-handers (.214 through midweek) and on the road (.194), look for Houston manager Phil Garner to reduce his playing time after Biggio collects his 3,000th hit.

•  Cincinnati continues to listen to offers on outfielder Adam Dunn, though the Reds' asking price right now is high.

•  The best place to look for spare parts as July 31 approaches? Right now, it looks like the South Side of Chicago. The White Sox have lost 19 of their past 24 games and aggressive general manager Kenny Williams has several pieces that could be keys to kick-starting a retooling project, including left-handed pitcher Mark Buehrle, right-hander Jose Contreras and outfielder Jermaine Dye.

•  Some might argue Texas is a better place to go with infielder Mark Teixeira, outfielder Kenny Lofton and closer Eric Gagne available. But the Rangers will ask a premium price on Teixeira, Lofton is just a flicker of what he once was and Gagne remains an unknown after surgery.

•  The way Dmitri Young is hitting in Washington (.336, 35 RBI), Nationals general manager Jim Bowden should be able to use him to help rebuild the Nationals farm system by midsummer. Which was the prime reason Bowden took a chance on Young this spring.

•  Sometimes things don't turn out as planned dept.: It's not necessarily a bad thing for the Angels, having to put outfielder Garrett Anderson (hip) back on the disabled list. Reggie Willits' emergence during Anderson's first DL stint helped turn the Angels' offense around, and with Willits, Chone Figgins and Orlando Cabrera hitting one-through-three followed by Vladimir Guerrero, Gary Matthews Jr. and Casey Kotchman or Howie Kendrick, Mike Scioscia's club is well-balanced with on-base guys, speed and run production guys.

•  "We've got some great groupings of guys," Scioscia says of his current lineup. "We've got a group of guys who set the table for the next group, guys that can run and guys that can knock the ball in. ... I don't think we've ever had as many threats to steal a base or go first-to-third since we've been here." The 2002 World Series champion Angels were really good at going first-to-third, but the current group might run the bases as well as anybody in the game.

•  Yes, that was Angels owner Arte Moreno on the field before Monday night's game "apologizing" for failing to come through on his guarantee last September that his club would make a major offseason move for a big bat. "I've apologized about 10 times up and down," Moreno said. "It's not like we haven't spent a lot of money." Of course, he's also pretty happy where his club is, too -- neck-and-neck with Boston for the best record in baseball. "There are certain areas we feel we can improve our team," Moreno said. "And obviously, we'd like that person to be able to hit."

•  Cleveland is tied for first with Detroit in the AL Central and, after releasing reliever Roberto Hernandez this week, Indians general manager Mark Shapiro is batting .500 in his offseason moves to shore up a dreadful bullpen. Hernandez is gone and Keith Foulke retired this spring, but Aaron Fultz is contributing and closer Joe Borowski does have 20 saves. Shapiro's take: It's a bigger sin to make an error in the bullpen by signing a guy to a long-term contract than it is to work in short-term deals, and the stability Borowski has provided at the end of games outweighs anything else.

•  One more impressive thing to note about the Indians: they're tied for first despite the fact that their projected rotation for the season has yet to be all in one piece at any time during the season: C.C. Sabathia, Jake Westbrook, Paul Byrd, Cliff Lee and Jeremy Sowers.

•  The way struggling Seattle right-hander Jeff Weaver handcuffed Pittsburgh on Wednesday -- a complete-game shutout which lowered his ERA to 8.56 -- is more evidence that Weaver made a bad decision in returning to the designated hitter-laden AL over the winter.

•  Are you a Hank Aaron fan who is cringing at Barry Bonds' pursuit? Here's a good cause that serves as both a tribute to Aaron and a fundraiser for the Arthritis Foundation and American Diabetes Association: www.IknowBetter755.com.

Extreme Power Rankings

This week: Summer vacation destinations.

1. San Diego: Catcher Michael Barrett escapes the heat and humidity of the Cubs clubhouse for the soft Pacific Ocean breezes and buddy Jake Peavy.

2. Seattle: Cincinnati's Ken Griffey Jr. returns this weekend for the first time since the Mariners traded him in 2000. Seattle has all sorts of lovely welcome gifts arranged -- Friday night's series opener in particular should be pretty cool.

3. Jail: Paris Hilton still in the slammer? Now that's hot.

4. The desert: Uh, Randy Johnson will have lots of idle time to recuperate with another back problem. When the Big Unit underwent surgery to repair the herniated disk in his lower back last October, docs told him that there was only a five-percent chance of the problem recurring. Uh-oh. Lucky Unit.

5. Cedar Point: Why, the venerable Sandusky, Ohio, amusement park, home to some serious roller coasters, is the perfect stop while you're visiting Jacobs Field and Comerica Park with Cleveland and Detroit tied for first place in the AL Central.