Dugout dilemma

I’ve always said that managers and coaches get too much credit when a team does well and too much blame when a team fails. Did Phil Jackson cross over Byron Russell at the free throw line in ’98 or kick it out to John Paxon in ’93? Did he shoot only three shots in the second half last week against the Suns? No, Phil was on the sideline, right leg crossed over left, fingers in his mouth whistling for all three of those events.

So when I hear people yak about how the Cubs recent failures should cost Dusty Baker his job, it makes me sick. Now, it’s not like I’m Dusty’s #1 fan or anything, and yes, he has messed up more then a couple of times in his four seasons as Cubs skipper. And the Cubs are choking more then David Blaine right now. But is getting a new guy in there the answer? I, and history, say the answer is no.

While it is very difficult to compare statistics from different sports, I am going to attempt it. In 2003, the Pittsburgh Steelers went a mediocre 6-10, making it the fourth time in six years that the once dominant franchise missed the playoffs. Bill Cowher, the head man of the Black & Gold, had a 7-9 playoff record in his 12 year tenure despite having home field advantage in the AFC title game three times. Some in Western Pennsylvania were calling for a change, that maybe Cowher had taken the team as far as it could go, but they would never make it to back to the glory days of Terry Bradshaw, Chuck Noll, and the steel curtain defense. So what did Steelers owner Dan Rooney do? He didn’t give Cowher his walking papers, he gave him an extension. The next season, Pittsburgh went 15-1. The year after that the Steelers and Cowher gave Rooney and his family one for the thumb by winning the franchise’s fifth Super Bowl.

Loyalty is a big factor in sports. Most of the time, people associate loyalty with fans or players to a certain team. But sometimes, it can be the team must show loyalty to a player, or in this case, a coach or manager. The Cubs owe it to Baker and his staff to at least finish the season. His contract expires after this season anyways, and one question must be answered before making a change: Would the team be off with somebody else as manager? Would it help the development of young studs Ronny Cedeno, Sean Marshall and Matt Murton if the only Major League manager they’ve ever known was canned? Will it help the team sign Carlos Zambrano and Juan Pierre to extensions after this season if their guy is let go? Will it entice future free agents such as Barry Zito or Mark Mulder to come to Wrigley if a guy known as a player’s manager is tossed to the curb like a recycling bin?

Let us also not forget the above-average job that Dusty has done. In 2003, Baker’s first season on the North Side, the team was five outs away from their first World Series since the end of World War II. The next year, despite the fact that top pitchers Kerry Wood and Mark Prior missed a combined 23 starts and right fielder Sammy Sosa quit on the team, the team still had a two game Wild Card lead with a week left in the season before the bats and bullpen caved in. Still, that ’04 team won more regular season games then the playoff team of a year before had. Last season the team had more bad luck, as both Wood and Prior went down, along with shortstop Nomar Garciaparra. And this year, not to sound repetitive, but Wood and Prior are still hurt, as is last year’s batting champ Derek Lee.

The ‘In Dusty We Trusty’ shirts are no longer worn around Wrigleyville, but then again, the big blue W flag doesn’t fly to often either. Will making a change in the dugout provide a change in the standings? It may, but I don’t think it’s worth the chance. Let Dusty Baker do his job, and let’s all hope that things get turned around soon. Remember it’s only May 10, which means there’s a lot of time to do a 180 and turn things around. Wood will be back soon, Prior after that, and then Lee will return. Give Dusty the rest of the year, and then evaluate him.