Baker's Gone, More's the Pity. The San Francisco Giants, proving that owners' egos can be and usually are, bigger than those of players and managers who actually are the product, fired Dusty Baker yesterday. The move was not unexepcted. And contrary to the stupid spin put on the move by majority owner Peter Magowan, it was a firing, not a "failure to renew an agreement."
Dusty has an ego. Big deal. You expect anyone to be a successful major league manager -- let alone of the five most successful of the past decade -- without an ego? Most owners (notably excepting George Steinbrenner) swallow their pride and work for the good fo the team. Not Magowan. He was pissed off at Baker and he wasn't going to hire him back no matter what. The only guy to win NL Manager of the Year three times. Manager of the team with the best cumulative record in baseball over the last 10 years, a team that finished first or second in eight of those 10 years. Nice move, Pete!
Some of my friends are happy Dusty is gone. They didn't agree with some of his on-field decisions. I guess winning is less important to that crowd than that their manager make decisions they agree with. And on the flip side, San Jose Mercury-News columnist Skip Bayless in his column this morning said letting Baker go was good for the team and all Dusty deserved. What a jerk Bayless is.
A team takes a guy like Baker, who's been the heart and soul (if not the arms) of the team for the past 10 years, a guy who's been with the club 15 years, and tosses one of the finest managers in the history of baseball on the scrap heap because he finally demands what he's been worth for some time. Forgetting that he agreed two years ago to a much smaller deal than he almost certainly could have gotten elsewhere, the Giants demonstrate their loyalty. And we wonder why players jump ship for millions of dollars. Exhibit A.
I think I'm done with the Giants. Great ballpark. Great superhero. Great GM, in fact. Shitty ownership. I'm not sure I'm not done with baseball altogether. That would be hard for me to do. I guess I'll look around for another team I can support. Maybe the A's (though I have serious reservations). I started out this piece prepared to comment on who I thought Baker's successor should be. Changed my mind. I don't give a crap. The mystique of the Giants is gone for me. It may not be recoverable.
Bastards.
12:50:08 PM 
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