In the strongest indication yet that he’s ready to sever ties with the Giants and make himself available to the Cubs, Dusty Baker said he has no plans to speak with Giants owner Peter Magowan or general manager Brian Sabean before his contract expires Wednesday.
Baker, reached Tuesday at his home in San Bruno, Calif., said if the Giants still want to make him an offer, they’ll have to contact his agent, Jeff Moorad.
“It’s out of my hands now,” Baker said. “I’ve talked to them. They can talk to Jeff from now on.”
Baker was perturbed to read reports that Giants officials are waiting for Baker or Moorad to get in touch with them.
“It shouldn’t be my place to contact them,” Baker said. “I work for them?I’m the employee. Do they want me back? They have a funny way of saying. It seems to me like they’re just trying to figure out how not to look bad.”
So what will it take for the Cubs to sign him?
Baker is looking for a financial commitment, but not for his own contract. He apparently wants to hear that the Cubs will commit the necessary resources to compete at the highest level.
“With Dusty, it’s not a question of money or years,” said WGN-TV analyst Steve Stone, a friend of Baker’s who spoke with him recently. “He has to believe that where he goes, the priority is to win the World Series.”
Some say Baker also will seek assurances that he will have full authority over the clubhouse.
In spring training before the 2000 season, then-manager Don Baylor called it “a big deal” that Sammy Sosa planned to arrive one day after the mandatory reporting date. A few hours later, after huddling with Baylor, then-general manager Ed Lynch said Sosa’s tardiness was “not a big thing” and that the organization had given Sosa a few extra days to recuperate from the flu.
Baker continues to insist that his decision will not be fueled by money. He took exception to reports that he’s looking for at least $4 million per season.
“I don’t know where that came from,” he said. “Somebody asked me about Joe Torre’s contract [$16 million for three years] during the playoffs and I said I didn’t deserve what Joe makes, but if you got near Joe you’d be in the White House.
“Somebody must have interpreted that to mean I wanted $4 million. I never said what I was looking for because I don’t know. You don’t price yourself out of a job before you’ve had a chance to talk to people and find out more about it. You go in, you discuss the possibilities and then decide whether it will work for you.”
All signs point to a relationship between Baker and the Giants that no longer is working.
While Baker has been frustrated with the Giants’ attempts to re-sign him, a team official alleged Tuesday that Moorad had declined to return several messages that had been left for him over the past six days.
Moorad could not be reached for comment.
Baker’s contract expires Wednesday. He said he wouldn’t be surprised if Sabean, the Giants’ GM, attempted a last-ditch effort to keep him.
“Brian and I are cool,” he said. “We’ve worked well together.”
Does Baker view Wednesday as a deadline for re-signing with the Giants?
“No,” he said. “I view it as Wednesday.”
Meanwhile, Cubs President Andy MacPhail and general manager Jim Hendry had dinner Tuesday with Diamondbacks bench coach Bob Melvin, who remains a candidate if a deal cannot be struck with Baker.
Melvin and former Cubs manager Jim Riggleman are among four finalists to manage the Seattle Mariners.
