One of the great guys in the business, or any business, Paul Sullivan, is leaving the Cubs beat at the Chicago Tribune. His long tenure eclipsed the definition of cruel and unusual punishment when it came to being subjected to bad baseball on almost a daily basis.

The good news for Sullivan fans is that he will be doing enterprise reporting on the Cubs and White Sox for his new assignment.

In a twist, Cubs second-baseman Darwin Barney performed the exit interview with Sullivan prior to his last game Sunday:

DB: Are you still at the Sun-Times after this? What’s the title of your new job?

PS: I’m at the Tribune. My title is Chicago baseball writer.

DB: So you’re going to the dark side? The Tribune side? Hey, what’s up, Hanley?

Hanley Ramirez: “Barneeeeey …”

DB: Sorry. So this is almost like getting traded from the Cubs to the White Sox?

PS: Yeah, it’s going to be a big adjustment, but I’m very excited about it.

And there was this:

DB: That’s your fondest memory?

PS: No. actually my favorite moment was during the playoffs in ’84 when I climbed a tree out there (on Waveland Avenue) to interview someone watching the game in the tree. My press pass fell down and a guy picked it up and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll keep it here for you when I get down. Can you get me in with you?” I said, “I’ll be down in a minute.” I get down and he was gone with my press pass and got into the park.

DB: So you’re saying you climbed a tree in the ’80s to do an interview?

PS: Yes. People were in the trees watching the game. This was before all the rooftops got big.

Good luck, Paulie.