<<...I bet Baker is a great fit for the Cubs. He brings a winning tradition and an ability to get the most out of his talent to an organization that would love to have both...>>
jpg: I think you're right on target...we'll see if the Cubs step up to the plate in the next few days...Here are 2 articles that showed up in the Chicago Tribune today -- this paper is owned by the same media giant that might become Dusty's new employer...;-)
-Scott
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Cubs set to make pitch
By Teddy Greenstein
Chicago Tribune staff reporter
November 6, 2002, 10:58 PM CST
Jim Hendry has never been viewed as a patient man. Manic is more like it.
But when you're the rookie general manager of a franchise that hasn't won a World Series since 1908, you might be willing to do something out of the ordinary.
Rather than hire the first strong managerial candidate he interviewed, Hendry decided to wait. And wait.
And now it looks as if that patience is going to pay off in a way few could have imagined a month ago.
Dusty Baker, the man of a million friends and three manager-of-the-year trophies, became a free agent Wednesday night after 10 seasons in San Francisco.
Baker's agent, Jeff Moorad, had expected the Giants to offer a new contract Wednesday morning. But the Giants decided against it, citing hurt feelings and a fractured relationship that could not be repaired.
"It's been an emotional day, a day of mixed feelings," Moorad said. "But at this point, the door's wide open."
The Cubs, who have had no direct contact with Baker, will actively pursue him. Sources say Hendry plans to contact him Thursday morning.
But first Hendry will have to get his home number. As of late Wednesday, he didn't have it.
The Mariners might also enter the mix. After naming his four finalists Tuesday, Mariners general manager Pat Gillick said he "probably" would not contact Baker. But team officials were uncharacteristically silent Wednesday after learning that Baker had become a free man.
While Moorad said it was possible Baker would take time off rather than return to the dugout next season, "his preferred option is to continue managing."
What about managing the Cubs?
"I've seen the press reports like anyone else," he said. "To the extent that they have serious interest, we're ready to listen."
So what will it take to lure Baker to Wrigley Field, historically a burial ground for managerial careers?
Baker obviously is in store for a substantial raise over his 2002 salary, which was about $2.65 million. Sources say the Cubs might be willing to go as high as $4 million per season to sign him.
But Baker's friends say he's motivated by winning, not money.
The Giants made a habit of winning under Baker. They averaged 91 wins over the last six seasons, made three postseason appearances and fell one victory shy of a World Series title in October.
But months of verbal sparring between Baker and team owner Peter Magowan finally took its toll. Recent negotiations between Moorad and Giants GM Brian Sabean amounted to little more than trading phone calls and insults.
Moorad said Baker still thought he might return to the Giants after his weekend trip to the Midwest.
"Dusty came back and said: 'Look, my dad and I agreed. I want to listen to what the Giants have in mind,'" Moorad recalled. "I relayed to Brian that he was open-minded, but it wasn't in the cards."
Sabean bristled at a suggestion that he had essentially fired Baker by not offering him a contract.
"We're not firing anybody," he shot back. "Within the exclusive negotiating window, we could not come to an agreement. Did I have to pull the plug at some point? Yes.
"I could argue that he might have fired himself by not agreeing to certain things. But I'm not going there. I'm taking the high road, that we couldn't get on the same page. Nobody fired anybody."
Sabean didn't specify what he meant by "certain things."
But he acknowledged being disappointed that Baker had spoken openly about his attraction to other organizations, namely the Cubs.
"We felt slighted that for whatever reason Dusty was more comfortable talking up other situations," Sabean said. "I couldn't understand that. We were never sent the message that we were still the right organization for him.
"I couldn't differentiate if they wanted an offer to use as a springboard elsewhere or as a fallback in case elsewhere didn't work out."
Sabean implied that Baker's camp might not have played by the rules, which dictated that neither Baker nor Moorad could be in contact with any other clubs before his contract expired Wednesday.
"I don't know what went on behind the scenes ... or how far they put their foot in the water elsewhere," Sabean said.
Moorad, for his part, said: "We've not talked to a single organization outside San Francisco. The last thing that has occurred is tampering."
Hendry, speaking from the Cubs' organizational meetings in Mesa, Ariz., said his plan for Thursday is to review the 2002 season with various scouts and coaches and plan their next moves. The meetings will begin at 8 a.m.
But Hendry will take a break to call Baker. That's when Hendry will turn into a recruiter, a role he's familiar with after having assembled the Creighton University team that reached the 1991 College World Series.
Cubs right-hander Alan Benes, a member of that Creighton team, has known Hendry since he was a junior at Lake Forest High School.
"If it comes down to whether Dusty likes Jim or not," Benes said, "I think we have a pretty good chance."
Copyright © 2002, The Chicago Tribune
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All roads should lead to Dusty
By Dan McGrath
Chicago Tribune staff reporter
November 6, 2002, 10:40 PM CST
Dusty Baker to the Cubs? A no-brainer.
A harder question is: How could the Giants let him go? He has been their most successful manager since Leo Durocher and their most popular manager ever, the "star" of a team that has remained competitive and appealing despite its best player's eagerness to function as the town churl.
Do the Giants know something Dusty's legions of media boosters don't know? Something the Cubs should know before committing big money for the long term?
Nope. This is a 10-year relationship that's ending in divorce, with each side feeling like the aggrieved party. It happens. Didn't have to, but it did.
Besides, 10 years is forever in baseball. And aren't the Cubs due for a break?
Baseball sage Joe Morgan calls Baker the best manager in the game. Those who would dispute him had their argument fueled by some of Baker's World Series decisions—I liked Russ Ortiz for another hitter or two in Game 6—but Morgan is looking at the bigger picture.
The most highly regarded "tactical" managers—Earl Weaver, Tony La Russa—probably influence maybe five or six games a year with their moves. The best "motivators"—Whitey Herzog, Sparky Anderson—create a positive, comfortable work environment. They know baseball is a tough, demanding, occasionally heartbreaking endeavor—Herzog often said baseball "was very good to me once I quit trying to play it."
And they know that how a team sustains itself over 162 games is more important than the one or two wins that might be stolen with a well-timed squeeze play or hit-and-run.
Among the current crop of managers, Baker might be the very best at sustaining a team over 162 games for one simple reason: Players like to play for him. He's honest and forthright. He values character. Considering he came of age in the turbulent 1960s, he's remarkably color-blind.
In the clubhouse, he inspires tacit all-for-one feelings that are almost corny in today's individualist climate, and he reinforces them by using his entire roster—everyone feels a part of things. His friendly, engaging personality is an odd juxtaposition to his fiery, competitive nature, but his players feel he's one of them. He's almost like that favorite teacher or coach from your youth who made you try a little harder because you didn't want to let him down.
And he's all about winning, has been since his days as the unquestioned leader of a fractious band of Dodgers. His "clubhouse presence" has relocated to the manager's office.
Can he light a fire under the soggy wreckage of the Cubs? If he can't, it probably can't be done.
Can he get through to the right fielder and coexist in Sammy Sosa's self-absorbed world? Baker is coming off 10 years with Barry Bonds. Sosa and his music are going to seem as tame as Mr. Rogers and his sweater.
Can he tolerate increased media scrutiny? Yep. He comes across as thin-skinned at times, but he's a proud guy. There's an ego there, along with more than enough charm and smarts to enjoy the give-and-take.
Full disclosure: I've known Dusty Baker for 25 years, since he was a star outfielder for the Dodgers and I was an aspiring baseball writer new to California. My sister reminds me that I once told her he was as good a guy as I knew in sports. That was at least 20 years ago, and nothing has changed that perception. If he lands here, I hope he succeeds, and I suspect he will.
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Dan McGrath is the Tribune's associate managing editor for sports.
Copyright © 2002, The Chicago Tribune |
