alternate universe

by amettrick on May 21, 2006 9:41 PM EDT

With our friends on the north side of Chicago limping through May and dealing with disappointing losses, a disappearing offense, and disorderly conduct, an interesting thought occured to me. What if Dusty Baker was managing the Cardinals rather than the Cubs?

A lot of Cub fans I know place a large portion of the blame for the Cubs poor performance squarely on Dusty's shoulders, and I don't disagree with them. It seems to me that, while TLR is doing a superb job in St. Louis with a roster that is probably over-achieving, Dusty is up in Chicago letting a team that should not be this bad, fall further and further in the standings. I think a big part of the reason for this is because the Cubs seem to give up on games once they are behind. They also seem to have convinced themselves that can't win without Derrek Lee. Meanwhile, TLR preaches the "play a hard 9" philosophy and the Cards' have obviously bought into the idea. I get the feeling that if Dusty were managing the Cardinals instead of TLR, thier record would not be nearly as good as it is now.

What do you guys think? Would the Cardinals be better, worse, or would it not make a difference?

Poll

What would the Cards' record be if Dusty Baker was the manager?

24-20

13 votes

19-25

10 votes

14-30

4 votes

34-10

0 votes

29-15

0 votes

27 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

I was at

first tempted to vote one of the sub-500 records (Baker is that bad), but the fact is that our organization, coaches, and team are far superior to theirs anyway. I think a manager like Baker would look much better with all of our guys above and below him than he does with whom he actually works for and what he has to put on the field. However, I don't think they're interchangable--TLR is a MUCH better strategist, and though he tends to overmanage at times, I'd still rather have him any day. Baker appears to have NO control of his club whatsoever, and when you have a bunch of average to sub-average players to begin with, that spells one doomed season after another. Their troubles are as much the fault of Andy McPhail and Jim Hendry as Baker and his coaching staff. Anyway, I voted 24-20. A winning record due to the better team, etc., but still in third place (as of today) instead of first. I don't think he'd be much help to The Birds, but I don't think he'd be quite the disaster he is up north.

by rockin redbird on May 21, 2006 11:51 PM EDT reply actions

i voted 19-25

i know wood, prior, and now derek lee have been hurt lots, but..

we lost carpenter in 2004 and then went to the world series without him..

in 2005 edmonds was playing hurt, rolen was out, and we won 100 games with half our lineup reserve players..

albert has played thru injuries for a total of about 2 whole seasons worth(elbow,foot)

we dont make excuses or cry...we lose someone, we plug another guy in there and he is expected to contribute..

its a whole culture...dusty baker and cubs management are terrible and should be canned. i wouldnt let any of em near a fantasy team none the less a major league team. fire em all and start fresh..

by 2ndprize on May 22, 2006 8:05 AM EDT reply actions

exactly

Living in Peoria, all I hear are excuses from Cubs fans about why they are losing. Injuries, bad luck, the curse of the goat, yadda yadda. TLR would have none of that. It would be "we lost. we played terrible baseball." If the Cubs ever want to get that elusive World Series, the first step they need to take is to adopt a no excuses attitude.

The St. Louis Cardinals: No Curses, No Excuses, Just Wins

by amettrick on May 22, 2006 2:34 PM EDT up reply actions

signature

gotta love your signature. that's exactly how we have played. Heck, we lost two of the most important pieces to our franchaise, DK and Jack Buck, in a week in 2002 and we made it all the way to the NLCS vs. Juiced-Giants.

Albert Pujols is god with a lowercase "g". Let's go Redbirds, World Series '06 here we come!

by stlsportsfan on May 22, 2006 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions