| Kyle Trompeter. 9th August, 2005 - 3:43 pm
 Six losses in a row. Eight losses in their last nine games. Four games under .500. A 54-58 record. Never has a manager done so little with so much talent. That man is Dusty Baker and his Chicago Cubs are looking worse and worse with every passing day.
Nearing the end of his third year in a four year deal, Dusty is starting to feel some major heat from the media and the fans to get his team to perform at a high level, or even adequate level for that matter, on the field. It seems like everyday anybody can wake up, open up the paper and hear a new rumor about where Dusty wants to coach next. One day it’s the Dodgers. Then it’s the Nationals. Whenever asked about these rumors, Dusty has said they are all completely false. Although it makes you wonder if they are actually false, because it looks like Dusty’s team, the Cubs, are playing like they just don’t care anymore. As the manager of the Durham Bulls’ from Bull Durham would put it, “They’re lollygagging on the field. They’re lollygagging on the base paths.” The team, in fact, is playing some of the sloppiest baseball in recent memory. Which raises the question, is Dusty trying to get fired?
The obvious answer is no. Why would anyone try to get fired? He’s making nearly four million dollars next year. That would be one reason to stay. However, if Dusty makes it clear that he wants to leave, the Cubs can exercise a one million dollar buyout clause in his contract, which would cut his salary by three million bucks next year. Ouch.
Well, there is an alternative. Try to get fired. If Dusty really wants out, then he still wants to go out with his money. If the Cubs fire him, they have to pay the remaining money in his contract. That’s three million more dollars than if the buyout clause were to be put into effect. Cha-ching!
Whether he is trying to get fired or not, no one knows except Dusty. What observers of the team do know is that this is an underachieving ball club that had lofty expectations for the second consecutive season and they’ve shown us absolutely nothing. With the talent of the starting pitchers (Greg Maddux, Mark Prior, Carlos Zambrano) and having the best hitter in baseball this season (Derrek Lee), you’d think that this team should be able to at least stay atop the wild card. But the reality is this team is 1 ½ games back of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers you say? Amazing.
As an avid watcher of this team, I’ve noticed a few things this season that I have found troubling. Lately, Dusty has been adamant about making sure career utility infielders (Jerry Hairston and Jose Macias) are always manning centerfield instead of a capable and productive veteran like Jeromy Burnitz or the hot hitting youngster like Matt Murton.
Another is Dusty’s love for continuing to start bench players like Todd Hollandsworth and Neifi Perez over more talented young players like Murton and shortstop Ronny Cedeno. Dusty has made it clear that he is not against using rookies in prominent roles. This is a complete joke. If Dusty had any sense, he would be playing Murton everyday, as a successful campaign by a young player might give the fans more hope for the future. Also, when Nomar Garciaparra goes down early in the season, maybe it would have been a good idea to let the shortstop from Triple A Iowa who was hitting .370 have a chance to start everyday.
Dusty supporters will point to injuries as the reason the Cubs are losing. A good manager would deal with the injuries and make due with what he has. Look no further than the Atlanta Braves. Their top three starting pitchers (Tim Hudson, Mike Hampton, and John Thompson) were on the injured list for nearly two months. They have played without arguably their best player, Chipper Jones, for half the season. The team has given prominent roles to rookies like 2B Pete Orr, OF Ryan Langerhans, SP Kyle Davies, OF Kelly Johnson, 3B Will Betemit, OF Jeff Francoeur, C Brian McCann, and RP Blaine Boyer. And with all of this, the Braves are leading the NL east with a 64-48 record. This Braves team has withstood injuries and thrived because of it. Let’s not forget, they play in the toughest division in baseball where the last place team is three games over .500. Frankly, the Cubs would get destroyed in this division.
And how have the Braves made it to this point with all of the misfortunes the team has endured? By playing fundamental baseball, making the plays that should be made, and beating the sub .500 ball clubs. The Cubs do none of this. They are the worst fundamentally sound team in baseball. They don’t bunt guys over, they don’t steal bases, and their manager doesn’t believe in the suicide squeeze! And we all know the importance of the suicide squeeze! Not Dusty. The Cubs have been suicide squeezed to death by opposing teams this year. Ask Tony La Russa if he thinks the suicide squeeze is important, his team was in the World Series last year. Also, when the Braves lose a starting position player to injury, they insert a rookie who has experience playing everyday, not a bench player who isn’t good enough to play everyday. If they were good enough, they wouldn’t be a bench player!
The Cubs are not a smart team, nor are they focused on the field. Keeping the team on its toes is the job of the manager. Motivating players is the name of the game. Getting your team to play hard is what got Brewers manager Ned Yost a contract extension. If this is Dusty’s best, then he won’t be seeing on of those extensions anytime soon, and the Cubs won’t be near the playoffs in the not so distant future either. |
