They’ve posted some quotes under “What they’re saying”….
This one infuriates me…
Dusty Baker is a terrific manager. Cincinnati, one of America’s great baseball towns, hit a grand slam with his hire. Cincinnati at its core is a fine place yet it has been stained on the national stage by accusations that its police department has practiced racial profiling leading to race riots in 2001. Now Cincinnati is the only
U.S. city to employ an African-American as a head coach and a manager in our two major sports.
So to read Internet reports of harsh response from locals to Baker’s hiring, both on blogs and talk shows, is distressing. Cincinnati is better than that. Cincinnati is better than Marge Schott. Cincinnati is better than the extreme voices heard on the radio this weekend.
Ted Robinson, MSNBC.com
First, whether Dusty Baker is a “terrific manager” is open to debate. He has been a successful one, that’s not always the same thing.
Second, this has nothing to do with race. Nowhere that I’ve read has anyone insinuated that Baker shouldn’t have been given this job because he was black. (Anymore than anyone has insinuated that he was given the job because he was. I couldn’t believe the Reds were going to hire him, and said that it was possible the Reds floated his name to ensure that it was known they’d interviewed a minority candidate. I was wrong…big time.)
The negativity surrounding his hiring has to do with his handling of young pitchers and his preference for playing veterans over young players. The fact that many of us believe that he is the wrong manager for this team and the players they currrently have. Both concerns were basically blown off in yesterday’s press conference.
Dusty Baker’s return to the National League Central adds a layer of intrigue to a lackluster division and brings some added star power to a franchise in dire need of a makeover.
Will Baker try to bring in some of his former Cubs players, like free agents Michael Barrett, Joe Borowski, LaTroy Hawkins, Kenny Lofton and Moises Alou?
Will he try to persuade the Reds to sign Milton Bradley, as he’d hoped Cubs general manager Jim Hendry would do after the 2006 season?
Is he accepting collect calls from Neifi Perez, who twice was suspended for violating the league’s drug policy?
Would he set his sights on Mark Prior if the Cubs decide to non-tender their oft-injured right-hander this winter?
Anything is up for debate now that Baker and the Cubs are in the same neighborhood, with 15 Baker-vs.-Piniella matchups, including nine games at Wrigley Field.
Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune
With Krivsky’s past love for old guys and Baker’s history of the same, would this surprise anyone? Though I have to admit, getting Prior cheap might be worthwhile. But if Prior believes Baker hurt his career, why would he want to play for him again?
At this point, all we can do is prepare for the worst and hope for the best…at least until we see Arroyo throwing 130 pitches, Harang 140, and Bailey 120…ugh.