Derrek Lee returned to the Cubs on Sunday in an 8-1 loss to Minnesota, leading to speculation that manager Dusty Baker has to win now or face the possibility of losing his job.
Before Sunday’s game, Baker was asked if he felt his job was at stake if he doesn’t win with Lee back in the lineup.
“I always feel like that,” Baker said. “I don’t always feel my job is at stake, but I always feel I’ve got to win. I knew that in every job I’ve had. And we’re going to win. It might take a while for D-Lee to get back to being D-Lee. Who knows?”
Baker said he isn’t worried about job security, pointing out that Joe Torre, Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa and others all were fired in their careers.
“I know what I can do,” he said. “My track record speaks for itself. It’s not like I just started yesterday. It’s a little disheartening how soon people forget, though, that I haven’t had my team. I’ve had 11 starters, and six or seven have been rookies.”
Baker said he’s doing the best job he can do, adding: “If my job is in jeopardy, hey, it’s in jeopardy. Understand? I’m not the first dude, and I probably won’t be the last. If people expect me to quit, to just roll over, then they don’t know me.”
Baker said he had a long talk with Jim Hendry after Saturday’s loss and believes he still has the support of his general manager, and Cubs President Andy MacPhail said that he’ll stand by Hendry’s decision. Hendry has said Baker deserves to have his whole team back before a judgment is made on him.
“I’ve been hearing ‘Dusty’s in trouble’ most of my whole life,” Baker said. “If people want to blame me for everything that’s happened this year, I’m a powerful man–more powerful than I know.
“It’s OK. I was in the same situation in San Francisco. I was in trouble there too. Give me horses, and if my horses stay healthy, I’ll win.”
