There were 2 reports on Thursday that mentioned Dusty Baker and the vacant manager’s job for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers new GM Ned Colletti was a member of the San Francisco Giants organization while Dusty was the manager there.
The first report I heard was on XM Radio. Ronnie ‘Night Train’ Lane was interviewing Steve Sax and the Dodgers’ manager position came up and he mentioned he has ‘heard Dusty Baker’s name mentioned for the position’. I then ran across an article in the Riverside Free Press. The article from the Riverside Free Press states, “Riverside native Dusty Baker might also have piqued Colletti’s interest, but it could be difficult to pry him away from the Chicago Cubs. Baker, who has one year left on his contract with the Cubs, managed the Giants for eight of the 11 seasons Colletti was with the organization. Three times he was voted Manager of the Year. Sharon Pannozzo, Cubs director of media relations, said the Dodgers had not contacted Chicago to request permission to interview Baker.”If they call us, we will not grant them permission,” Pannozzo said. “Dusty Baker is the manager of the Cubs.”
There was also an interview today with Andy MacPhail from the owners meeting and MacPhail said he was very happy with Dusty Baker and Jim Hendry. Who knows? I knew Baker’s name was going to come up with all the connections he has (especially now) with the Dodgers.
I found this very interesting since they just signed Scott Eyre. I like Dusty (unlike a lot of you out there), he has done well in Chicago and I am curious to see what he can do with a healthy team. I’ll keep you posted on this one.