This HAD to be a player right?

[Tonker]

"At the very end, somebody took a dump right where I stood in the dugout every day. That was the low point."

This is a truly amazing quote.

This makes me way happier than can be considered sane.

This makes me disappointed that I didn't get in on it.

THI.  I went to Chicago twice during the D*sty B*ker era.  How did I not shit in his dugout spot?

[Chuck to Chuck]

"At the very end, somebody took a dump right where I stood in the dugout every day. That was the low point."

This is a truly amazing quote.

This makes me way happier than can be considered sane.

This makes me disappointed that I didn't get in on it.

THI.  I went to Chicago twice during the D*sty B*ker era.  How did I not shit in his dugout spot?

[Brownie]

I'm shocked that anyone gave a shit about the Cubs or Dusty late in 2006. Especially any of the players.

[Bort]

I'm shocked that anyone gave a shit about the Cubs or Dusty late in 2006. Especially any of the players.

I honestly don't remember much of that time.

[Chuck to Chuck]

[Bort]

Well, I remember 2010.

[Gilgamesh]

Well, I remember 2010.

...now

[Kermit IV]

"Wait!  You forgot your fake doggie poo poo!"

"What fake doggie poo poo?"

One month later, I'm going to acknowledge and applaud this Top Secret! quote.

[Tonker]

Didn't know where to put this - so I figured that if I was going to resurrect a Dusty Baker thread, it might as well be one that made me happy.

So, I saw the title of this article and my first thought was "well, that explains a lot".  Anyhoo, it turns out that they didn't mean "in 2003" - but rather, last week.

Karma's a bitch, huh, Dusty?

[J. Walter Weatherman]

Karma's a bitch, huh, Dusty?

Wow.

[Brownie]

Karma's a bitch, huh, Dusty?

Wow.

Yeah, Dusty was probably a little bit of a fraud, but I look back on those years and wonder who's most culpable for the missed opportunity:

1) Andy MacPhail?
2) The Chandler-McCormick-FitzSimons TribCo. brain trust?
3) Jim Hendry?
4) The crack player development staff?
5) The revolving door of trainers?
6) Dusty?
7) Sam Zell?

In San Francisco, he had a roid monster (as he had in Chicago), and he burned out a shit-ton of pitchers, but he got them to a Game 7 of the World Series.

Here, he had plenty of faults, but he had the Cubs up 3-0 in the eighth inning with one out and a guy on base when the bottom fell out. He poorly managed the pitching staff those final 10 innings (and really all four years he was there, but it was always known he couldn't handle a pitching staff very well.)

In 2004, his top two pitchers from the year before spent considerable time on the DL and the team had three other pitching spots locked up with Maddux, Zambrano and Clement. Clement regressed in '04 and Dusty had to trot out the likes of Meat Tray and Glendon Rusch often. Even so, if Ryan Dempster and LaTroy Hawkins make just a handful of better pitches, they make the playoff again.

In 2005, the Cubs were again saddled by injuries. Only Zambrano and Maddux managed to pitch >200 innings. Nomar got hurt early, greasing the skids for more Neifi! And honestly, who on the Cubs roster in '05 was a better option than Neifi? Can we really blame Corey Patterson on Dusty?

Baker kept with the assumption, whether he falsely built it up or if it was from bad information, that Prior and Wood would return and it would be like making a late-season trade.

2006 was a clown college, but the best hitter was hurt 2 weeks into the season and what kind of help did Dusty get? John Mabry? Phil Nevin?

In Cincy, he's burned out a couple pitchers, he's managed the second playoff team in history to be no-hit, but he's won 2 division titles, and the Reds might not be a bad bet to make the World Series. He's also second winningest Cubs manager in terms of post-season victories (Chance 11, Baker 6, Grimm 5, Anson 5*, Mitchell 2, Frey 2, McCarthy 1, Zimmer 1, Piniella 0, Hartnett 0).

So, godspeed Dusty. It's amazing what three consecutive brutal seasons can do to you.

[Tonker]

Karma's a bitch, huh, Dusty?

Wow.

Oh, please.  It was a "mini-stroke" and he's fine.  Besides, it's fucking Dusty - and you, like every other cunt here, hated him like Yetti hates puberty.

[CT III]

Karma's a bitch, huh, Dusty?

Wow.

Oh, please.  It was a "mini-stroke" and he's fine.  Besides, it's fucking Dusty - and you, like every other cunt here, hated him like Yetti hates puberty.

Speaking of depressing stories related to members of the Cubs coaching staff during that time:

http://infinitebaseball.blogspot.com/2011/12/wendell-kim-rounding-third-and-headed.html

[Brownie]

Karma's a bitch, huh, Dusty?

Wow.

Oh, please.  It was a "mini-stroke" and he's fine.  Besides, it's fucking Dusty - and you, like every other cunt here, hated him like Yetti hates puberty.

Speaking of depressing stories related to members of the Cubs coaching staff during that time:

http://infinitebaseball.blogspot.com/2011/12/wendell-kim-rounding-third-and-headed.html

So maybe baseball wouldn't have been the cure-all for Jim McMahon. As for Wendell, think of all the memories of 2003 and 2004 he's permanently blocked out, so there's that.

But Christ: Dusty's two third-base coaches were a guy in early stages of Alzheimer's and a guy who had a bit of a drinking problem. You gotta be kidding me.

[Eli]

Karma's a bitch, huh, Dusty?

Wow.

Yeah, Dusty was probably a little bit of a fraud, but I look back on those years and wonder who's most culpable for the missed opportunity:

1) Andy MacPhail?
2) The Chandler-McCormick-FitzSimons TribCo. brain trust?
3) Jim Hendry?
4) The crack player development staff?
5) The revolving door of trainers?
6) Dusty?
7) Sam Zell?

In San Francisco, he had a roid monster (as he had in Chicago), and he burned out a shit-ton of pitchers, but he got them to a Game 7 of the World Series.

Here, he had plenty of faults, but he had the Cubs up 3-0 in the eighth inning with one out and a guy on base when the bottom fell out. He poorly managed the pitching staff those final 10 innings (and really all four years he was there, but it was always known he couldn't handle a pitching staff very well.)

In 2004, his top two pitchers from the year before spent considerable time on the DL and the team had three other pitching spots locked up with Maddux, Zambrano and Clement. Clement regressed in '04 and Dusty had to trot out the likes of Meat Tray and Glendon Rusch often. Even so, if Ryan Dempster and LaTroy Hawkins make just a handful of better pitches, they make the playoff again.

In 2005, the Cubs were again saddled by injuries. Only Zambrano and Maddux managed to pitch >200 innings. Nomar got hurt early, greasing the skids for more Neifi! And honestly, who on the Cubs roster in '05 was a better option than Neifi? Can we really blame Corey Patterson on Dusty?

Baker kept with the assumption, whether he falsely built it up or if it was from bad information, that Prior and Wood would return and it would be like making a late-season trade.

2006 was a clown college, but the best hitter was hurt 2 weeks into the season and what kind of help did Dusty get? John Mabry? Phil Nevin?

In Cincy, he's burned out a couple pitchers, he's managed the second playoff team in history to be no-hit, but he's won 2 division titles, and the Reds might not be a bad bet to make the World Series. He's also second winningest Cubs manager in terms of post-season victories (Chance 11, Baker 6, Grimm 5, Anson 5*, Mitchell 2, Frey 2, McCarthy 1, Zimmer 1, Piniella 0, Hartnett 0).

So, godspeed Dusty. It's amazing what three consecutive brutal seasons can do to you.

No. Stop it. Dusty ravaged Mark Prior's arm in spectacular, historical fashion. It's mind-boggling how stupid he was. He doesn't get a pass because for those injuries, because he was responsible for them.