Jim Hendry’s All-Star break evaluation period for manager Dusty Baker won’t end when play resumes Friday.
The Cubs general manager reiterated Wednesday he will continue to evaluate Baker, his staff and the players into the second half of the season and said he won’t be forced into making a decision before he’s ready.
“I have never changed at all in anything I’ve said covering Dusty’s situation, from Day 1,” Hendry said. “In the end I’ll make all the decisions. Despite what people write about or speculate about, there never has been a deadline on when I’ll decide on Dusty’s situation.
“I’ll operate on the same pace, my own pace.”
Speculation over the Cubs manager’s uncertain future has run rampant since Hendry’s 4th of July pronouncement in Houston that he would be “evaluating everything” during the four-day All-Star break. He did not say a decision would be made after the break, but he also didn’t say Baker was safe for the rest of the season.
“When you’re having this kind of year … I’m evaluating all situations,” Hendry told Cubs beat writers. “When you’re 20-plus games under .500 … we certainly want to give us a chance to see if we can make a run here before the break, see if we can do well the rest of the week. I’ll spend a lot of time over the break (evaluating).”
The Cubs wound up winning four of five games before the break but are 34-54 overall, the third-worst record in the major leagues. Baker’s status clearly has become a distraction. After Sunday’s victory in Milwaukee, reliever Scott Eyre berated reporters for making more ofBaker’s status than the games themselves, saying it’s difficult for Cubs players to “relax.”
Hendry declined to address Eyre’s comment but suggested speculation regarding Baker and his coaches has been inflamed since the evaluation period first was discussed.
“I never said there was a deadline,” Hendry said, adding the constant questioning of Baker and the players on the topic is “not appropriate daily banter.”
Asked when he had last spoken with Baker, Hendry said he told his manager after last Thursday’s game in Milwaukee that he would see him after the break.
After missing the last three games in Milwaukee, Hendry was on his way Wednesday to Class A Peoria to look at some Cubs prospects. He said anyone expecting him to make an announcement this weekend at Wrigley Field will be disappointed.
“I’ve never wavered from what I’ve always said,” Hendry said. “I will do what I feel is in the best interests of the Cubs. That [speculation about Baker] never came from me.
“My stance has not changed. I’m on my own time frame, and it’s not up to anyone else but me.”
Zambrano hit but OK
Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry said Wednesday that Carlos Zambrano is OK after being hit above the right elbow with a fungo bat Tuesday night before the All-Star Game Tuesday night and is scheduled to make Saturday’s start against the New York Mets.
Zambrano was unable to pitch in the game because White Sox coach Joey Cora hit him on a backswing during infield practice. Zambrano was being interviewed by a Venezuelan journalist at the time.
