Apr 09 2008
Welcome back Dusty
Maybe I’m just used to rivalries and hatred between people and teams in professional sports, but I’m sure a lot of Cubbies fans have been looking forward to the return of Dusty Baker since he was named skipper of the Reds this offseason.
He had such a great record while he was here (psh):
| Year | Wins | Losses | Win % | Finish |
| 2003 | 88 | 74 | 0.543 | 1 |
| 2004 | 89 | 73 | 0.549 | 3 |
| 2005 | 79 | 79 | 0.488 | 4 |
| 2006 | 66 | 96 | 0.407 | 6 |
*Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference
And he never caused any controversy, either. Let’s just hope he brings some thermals for his players to fend off the cold.
Despite saying that he wanted to come back for one more year, I think Jim Hendry canned him at the right time. In a single season, Lou Piniella brought the Cubs from last to first at the drop of a hat:
This year, with new talent in Fukodome, a redesigned rotation, and a role Kerry Wood might not see his arm fall off in, the Cubs are the favorite to win the division. We’ll see if Lou can show Dusty a thing or two next week when the Reds come to town.
