Dusty Baker hired as manager in Cincinnati

By From Wire Services

Last update: October 14, 2007 - 12:26 AM

Dusty Baker was hired as manager of the Cincinnati Reds, agreeing to a three-year deal Saturday with a team coming off its seventh consecutive losing season and looking for stability at the top.

The 58-year-old Baker worked in television for a year after the Chicago Cubs fired him after the 2006 season. The Reds decided to go for someone who knows the NL Central and has been to the World Series as a manager.

The team didn't make an announcement Saturday, but a person within the organization with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed the Reds had reached the agreement with Baker. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the move hadn't been announced.

The deal was first reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Baker becomes the first black manager of baseball's first professional franchise. He'll replace Pete Mackanin, who got the job on an interim basis after Jerry Narron was fired in July.

Baker managed the Giants for 10 years, leading them to the World Series in 2002. He left San Francisco after a falling-out with ownership and went to the Cubs, leading them to the NL Championship Series in his first season.

Clash in philosophy led to ouster

Walt Jocketty's ouster as general manager in St. Louis was the result of a difference of philosophy rather than a power struggle.

In 13 years under Jocketty, who grew up in Minneapolis, the Cardinals reached the playoffs seven times and won the World Series once. That Series conquest made his departure all the more curious because it came only a year later.

Jocketty, 56, said he was caught in a difference in strategic approach to building the team. Bill DeWitt Jr., the managing partner, sided with the vice president for player development and amateur scouting, Jeff Luhnow.

"It was probably more philosophical differences over the direction they wanted to take the club that I wasn't necessarily comfortable with," Jocketty said. "He wanted to do things that were different from my philosophy. We felt the best way to resolve it was to go our separate ways."

The schism between Jocketty and DeWitt epitomizes the debate in baseball that has raged with increasing passion and disagreement: the traditional method of building a club (scouting) vs. the newer method of relying heavily on statistical analysis, the player procurement method popularized in the book "Moneyball."

Denver could be rocking

It could be a busy evening in Denver on Oct. 29. The Broncos are scheduled to play host to Green Bay on "Monday Night Football" at 6:30 p.m. at Invesco Field. At around the same time, the Rockies could be playing host to Boston or Cleveland in Game 5 of the World Series.

"We will not be changing the time of our game," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said. "There is no facility or parking conflict."

The NFL did not schedule a Sunday night game opposite Game 4 of the World Series on Oct. 28. Monday night had been a travel day for the World Series, but the schedule was altered this year for the first time since 1985.

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