When Cubs general manager Andy MacPhail met with Don Baylor on Friday, he offered something similar to a vote of confidence.
Call it a vote of competence.
MacPhail said he believes his embattled manager is “trying to do everything he can to get the ship turned around.”
And he informed Baylor that his job is secure for the time being.
“I’ll tell you what I told him: `I have no intention of making a change anytime in the near future,'” MacPhail said. “What I have every intention of doing is getting this team playing better. Let’s make the thing better, all of us.”
Short of promoting Mark Prior, which the Cubs still plan to do despite his uneven performance Friday for Triple-A Iowa in New Orleans, MacPhail knows there’s little he can do for this team.
And Baylor is almost as helpless.
“It’s difficult to see guys struggle,” he said. “You write them in the lineup every day and that’s about all you can do.”
MacPhail said he sympathizes with Baylor’s plight.
“I feel sorry for Don for what he has to go through,” he said. “It’s one of those unfortunate things that when you start poorly, there’s going to be a lot of focus on that. When you consider how many [managerial] changes have been made in baseball over the last couple of months, people naturally start to wonder what’s going to happen next.
“One thing that distinguishes Don from that group is that we were the most improved team in the National League last year. We had 88 wins with a team that, fairly evaluated, was about the most you could have hoped for. He did a good job.
“We haven’t been healthy and we haven’t played well to this point, but I have every confidence that we’re going to turn it around.”
MacPhail, in Milwaukee as part of his routine travels with the club, was clearly looking for every reason not to fire Baylor.
“We try to offer support and give him an idea of what we’ve got planned down the road to help him out,” he said. “To not acknowledge what’s going on around us, you’d be an ostrich burying you’re head in the sand.”
Another shot: The Cubs were hoping to avoid having to send 0-7 Juan Cruz to the mound again as a starter. But with a doubleheader Tuesday against Pittsburgh, their only other choices were bringing Matt Clement back on short rest or recalling a pitcher from the minors.
Cruz could become the first Cubs starter dating back to 1900 to lose his first eight decisions.
Lieber line: The Cubs expect to see a better performance Saturday from Jon Lieber, who has posted a 6.92 earned-run average in his past two starts.
While some have raised concerns about the condition of Lieber’s right elbow, the Cubs say Lieber’s condition is fine. But as a part of their effort not to overwork Lieber, he has cut back on his routine in between starts, possibly contributing to his struggles.
Lieber returned to his normal preparation for Saturday’s start.
Injury updates: The stress fracture in Kyle Farnsworth’s right foot still has not healed completely. He hopes to pitch off a mound in 7-10 days and return a week or so after that.
“They told me to drink milk every day,” Farnsworth said.
Todd Hundley is in Mesa, Ariz., for extended spring training and will try to be a designated hitter in a game Tuesday or Wednesday.
