Dusty Baker's rather unceremonial dismissal from the Giants certainly demonstrates one thing. It shows that owners are always the boss. The Giants were upset that Baker trumped up his free agency in the press, and they let him have it, but good.

The only question left is this: How does this lineup sound?

Bobby Hill 2b
Jeff Kent 3b
Sammy Sosa RF
Moises Alou (and a damn good sub) LF
Hee Sop Choi 1b
Corey Patterson CF
Alex Gonzalez SS
A Catcher Who can handle young pitchers
Mark Prior P

Forget the manager. I wanna catcher. A real catcher.

Here's my choice.

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Baker to sign with the Cubs

Well, there can be no doubt about it now. Dusty Baker is coming to the Cubs. And who better to take over the helm than someone who can't quite manage a pitching staff? Russ Ortiz was pitching well, and Baker took him out. And who did he bring in? Not Tim Worrell, who has pitched superbly, nor Chad what's his name, the guy who came out of the Independent League to mow people down in the playoffs. No, he brought in a guy who routinely gives up big home runs.

Baker has Cub written all over him. Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry is likely to make an offer any day. And Baker will accept, foolishly thinking he can end the hex.

The hex was nearly ended, too, by none other than Shawn Dunston, who belted a two run homer to give the Giants the lead in Game six. But Baker, with visions of Wrigley field ivy dancing in his head, gave Ortiz the hook when he got into some trouble, and the Giants perished.

This, of course, was not the blatant ex-Cub hexing that usually takes place. Dunston very nearly ended the hex. Baker, or perhaps, Hendry, maybe can end the hex by, in Baker's case, declining the Cubs' offer, or in Hendry's case, not making one. What's more important, after all? Getting a manager of Baker's caliber? Or ending the hex?

Baker, Magowan trade barbs.

I especially like the opening line in the linked story: "On the brink of claiming his first World Series title as a manager..."

Um. Maybe the article writer needs to learn a bit more about Cubs lore? See below...

Can the Giants Stop the Ex-Cubs Factor?

Can the Giants stop the Ex-Cubs factor? History says no. The rule of thumb is that any team with three or more ex-Cubs in the playoffs is doomed.

The Giants are cursed, however, with a special problem. His name is Dusty Baker. Only Dusty knows the truth in this weird, pagan-like ritual.

For you non-Cub fans out there, the ex-Cub factor determines the winners and, most importantly, the losers in any World Series. It is, in a sport rich in superstition, probably related to The Billy Goat Hex, which, although supposedly lifted, seems to still haunt the air of Wrigley, and everyone associated with it.

So where does Dusty Baker fit in? He has no attachment to the Cubs, has never played for them, never been a part of that fine organization.

Well, magik being what it is, we really don't know about this yet. Magik has no sense of time, despite its obvious grasp of history. History, in the world of superstition and magik, is not bound to time as much as it is to truth. And only Dusty Baker knows what the that truth is. He, and whatever forces of the universe control destiny.

Let me explain. The rumor mill says the Cubs want Dusty Baker. So the question is, does Dusty want the Cubs? If he does, and if he is managing with that thought buried deep in the recesses of his brain, he is doomed to make a critical managing error during the World Series that will cost the Giants the series.

The setting is absolutely perfect for The Cubs. Dusty, because he's a professional and an excellent manager, will certainly be focused on the game. But he is human. Somewhere, deep in the black matter of his brain that really isn't accessible during the heat of battle, when the game is on the line, is a little Cub thought. With the pressure on, no matter how good a manager he is, if he is thinking he wants to manage the Cubs, he is doomed to make a critical error in judgement. This will be no reflection on his ability as a manager, just as Billy Buckner's famous gaffe was no reflection on his talents as a baseball player. Rather, it is a reflection on the utter power of the Billy Goat Hex, which is such a force that not even its originators have been able to lift it.

If Baker comes away home free and avoids making critical errors, then you can, if you're a Cub fan, assume he doesn't want to manage the Cubs, and they'll hire someone else. But if he does, then that is why the setting is perfect. He'll mess up, be remembered for it, and the Cubs will hire him. He'll then manage himself into oblivion, remembered only for his classic World Series managing foibles. If he's lucky, like Gene Michael, he'll somehow escape and go on to continue a stellar career. But that is a rare outcome. Usually, Cubness results in pain, anguish, and ridicule.

As this World Series winds down, prognosticators wondering if Dusty will sign with the Cubs would do well to simply watch his fortunes during the World Series. If he does okay, he won't sign. If he slips and falls, chances are high he'll sign with the Cubs. Not because the Cubs want losers. But because they create them. It's all part of the Hex.

It's raining in my head again. Why? Because I'm a Cubs fan and it's the World Series.

I'm still waiting for the ex-Cubs factor to take effect and destroy the Giants. They have one game to go. Will they make it? Normally, you'd think, well, they'll be fine if they just don't play any ex-Cubs. But Benito Santiago plays every day, so they're doomed, right?

Nope. Santiago is not a true ex-Cub. Santiago has had a very decent career, and came to the Cubs, stunk, left, and got good again. His visit to the Cubs was an unnatural one. He came to the Cubs and suffered for it, and, now that he's free, he's thriving in the biggest show of all.

Tim Worrell is a tougher call. He probably qualifies as an ex-Cub, if only because he made his mark there as a good enough pitcher to be trade bait for Bill Mueller. He's pitched well in the postseason, too. But there's still one, maybe two games left. He could easily come into tomorrow's game and throw a pitch to third base meant as a throw designed to check the runner at first. Or he could walk the first eight batters he faces in the seventh inning of a 2-2 game.

But the real challenge to Dusty Baker is going to come in the form of Shawon Dunston. Not only was he a Cub, but he was a beloved Cub. He's still a Cub. He even says so. Dunston is a dirty uniform type player. He plays hard. Always has. Fans at Wrigley, when he was in his early years, used to hold signs up in the air showing his climbing batting average. The "Shawn-O-Meter" was meant as encouragement. The fans loved him, and wanted him to succeed. He never became the superstar he was hyped up to be, but the fans didn't care because he was a player. A hard-nosed, diving, leap in the air and break-my-ankle-if-I-have to player.

It won't matter in Game 7 of the World Series. If the game is on the line, Shawon will mess up. Consider the most classic direct interdiction of an ex-Cubs on the fortunes of a team in the World Series, that of the Boston Red Sox.

We'll let someone else tell the story:

The Red Sox moved on to face the Mets in the World Series. Buckner's had been hobbled by leg injuries entering the series. Five games into the series, the Red Sox held a 3-2 advantage and were on the verge of a World Championship.

Then came Game 6. The Red Sox and Mets were tied after nine at 3-3 and the game went in to extra innings. Red Sox starter Roger Clemens had allowed just 2 runs over 7 innings. However, he developed a blister on his finger and he was replaced by reliever Calvin Schiraldi. Schiraldi allowed a run in the eighth inning to allow the Mets to tie the game.

The Red Sox went up 5-3 in the top of the 10th off a home run by Dave Henderson and an additional run. In the bottom of the 10th, Schiraldi gave up singles to Gary Carter, Kevin Mitchell and Ray Knight. Carter scored to bring the game to 5-4. Schiraldi was replaced with Bob Stanley. Stanley threw a wild pitch, allowing the tying run to score.

Mookie Wilson then hit a rolling single down the first base line that went underneath the glove and through the legs of Buckner. It allowed the Mets to score the winning run.

"I thought, what is going on," Buckner recalls. "I turned around to go after the ball and I realized the game was over."

The Mets went on to win Game 7 and the series and Buckner became a part of the lore of the game.

~ www.historicbaseball.com

Buckner, though, had a nearly spectacular career otherwise. I remember when he played with the Cubs he hobbled around with a painful gash in his ankle for almost an entire season. He was one of my favorite players. But, like all Cubs and Cub teams, he broke my heart in the series. Mostly, I just felt bad for the guy. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair. But being a Cub isn't fair, either, is it?

Can the Giants survive the ex-Cubs factor? Yes. If Dunston doesn't play, they've got a shot. And that isn't fair, either.