As valued reader ML stated bluntly, "How much more do they have to do to tell this puss that his shoulder is fine? They should change his name in all the programs to Kerry Wont."
That remark came based on the news that Wood's shoulder looks perfect upon re-examination.
"RHP Kerry Wood visited Dr. Tim Kremchek in Cincinnati on Monday. Kremchek operated on Wood's shoulder last August. Wood threw a side session while hooked up to equipment for biomechanical analysis. "The MRI in Dr. Kremchek's terms, stated it was pristine, that the labia repair looked as if it was completely intact, looked like it had healed nicely and perfectly. He said his rotator cuff looks pristine, the joint looks good. So there is no significant concerns of any kind of significant issue or injury or anything like that," trainer Mark O'Neal said. Wood is back on the disabled list after making just four starts. ..."
Then buddy Tim Ellsworth passed along this nugget from Rotoworld, indicative of how Dusty rolls:
"With Phil Nevin starting in left field, Matt Murton is on the bench Monday, even through the Cubs are facing left-hander Chris Capuano.
Juan Pierre has a 502 OPS against lefties. Jacque Jones is at 631. Still, it's Murton, who is at 916 in 68 at-bats, getting sent to the bench to make room for Nevin. Dusty Baker has done a lot more harm than good all season long."
If you're going to give Murton a chance to roll, it's against lefties. But Dusty would rather play the vets. In his defense Jones and Nevin had been providing some power, so he would have heard it if he sat them too.
I don't think Dusty will last past the All-Star Break.
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2 comments:
I keep thinking last night's latest how-could-they-have-lost-it-in-that-way game might work against the case for firing Dusty--it's very easy to say that it wasn't Dusty's fault Dempster threw it away and Cedeno let it go through his legs.
But in the case of Dempster's play, I think it's related to the state of the team, for which Dusty IS responsible. If this is a team going well, or at least confident enough in how it does things, I don't think Dempster tries so hard to make a play there. He takes the out, attackes the next guy, and tries to get out of it. But you could see it in his body language from the first batter he faced--who lined it off his leg--that he wanted very badly not to blow this game, so few are his chances to save games. And then you could for sure see it in how he played that bunt, right down to the hitch in his throw that led to the error, a hitch that came from hesitation; you could almost see him considering the smart play to go to first, then overriding his instinct.
This might be an intangible type of argument, and seem like I'm stretching to fault Dusty, but it's something I felt palpably while watching the game.
Oh--and can there be a worst collection of OF arms? Murton has a squirt gun out there, Jones has deteriorated to a slow release and often throwing it into the ground, and Pierre has never been strong. You can just take extra bases all day on those fools.
Alright then.
Chet Coppock on CLTV Sports Page 2 weeks ago: "If there is a worse arm in the outfield in baseball than Jacque Jones, I want a recount." "It's almost as if the heavens have opened up when Juan Pierre hits the cutoff man".
One of the questions I was asked yesterday was what the National fans don't know about the Cubs that local fans or I do. I mentioned that from a distance, you could make the case for Dusty not having his guns. Many national commentators have said they don't think he should be fired because of that. But that makes it obvious they don't watch them every day. Because if you do watch this team regularly it's blatant that he's ineffective, bad or both.
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