... for way longer than I should have been, as many longtime readers here know.

I won't boo. But I won't cheer, either. He's managing the opposing team. Indifference is a better reaction.

What will be much more interesting to see next Tuesday will be the reaction to Corey Patterson.

The good things Baker did outweigh the bad things Baker did, so we ought to cheer for him.

If I disagree with your premise, am I then allowed to boo?

But a good person. I also put some amount of blame on him for Mark Prior's career.

that whether I boo or cheer is second only to lineup scenarios around here.

Why is it necessary for some here to suggest to others what to do?

First, Dusty is now an opposing manager. Second, he didn't win any titles here.

Maybe if he did something special here - after he retires - he would be cheered when he came back. But neither of those have happened yet.

He made too many lame excuses for things that happened and did nothing to control his team. I now know why some players want to play for him. It's Club-Dusty, no resposibility, no circumstances.

He utterly sucked in the handling of a pitching staff.

The first game of the season, so I doubt there is much hope. Especially this early in the season when tickets are very cheap and/or free, and idiots fill the ballpark. The other day I heard a group of people wondering who the new Cubs player 'Desoto' was.

That said, I will be booing Baker, Patterson, and Prior if I see them.

Dusty is the guy who can't take criticsim and who makes excuses as long as the day--he begs to be booed because he can't take it.

Everyone please deliver Maximum Boos for Dusty.

though I wish we could often.

Here is why you ought not boo Dusty or Patterson. They are NOT bad people. It, along with this post, is an attempt to have fans in Chicago, not be assholes.

I didn't last long as a Dusty supporter but the guy never did anything to me personally, neither did CPat. I will boo the opposing team as they do well, or I will boo the likes of Barry Bonds. SHort of that, I see no reason to embarrass people publically.

Great example...

I am not scared to say (and I am not going deep here Al, simply touching on it for the point) that I despise our current President for almost all he stands for.

I did however, feel absolutely terrible for him when he threw out the first pitch at the Nats opener and got booed by many. It was unnecessary, and bush league (no pun intended). It is embarrassing for people and I would not like it if people did it to me. Unfortunately this is what our society is and has become.

What ever happened to do un to others...?

Baker should be respected. I didn't like his tenure in Chicago either, but fact is he one of the most respected and successful managers in the game. He also had a solid 19 year playing career.

The Reds are a team on the definite rise. A lot of nice young talent too. I'm not going to diss that team.

any chance they get are willing to welcome back Dusty with open arms or seeming indifference. It doesn't seem to match with who's more responsible for the disappointing fall from 2003.

I was against the Dusty signing from the beginning. While 2003 was fun and exciting, the years that followed were greatly frustrating. While much of that is Jim Hendry's fault and the misfortune of injuries to Prior and Wood, Dusty deserves a great deal of blame as well.

I wouldn't boo Baker, he did do a lot of good for this team as frustrating as he was to watch when we were bad, I think he did enough to offset that. And according to the article in the Tribune today, he is expecting us to boo him and I think we need to show him that we are a classier fan base than he thought.

Fact is Dusty operated with seriously flawed rosters in 2004-2006. He also operated under the organizational philosophy that Kerry Wood and Mark Prior would be the horses to ride to glory.

It's odd how many can't let the Dusty thing go. It's like a jilted lover who can't move on after a bad breakup.

is that fact that no writer can figure out that he wasnt fired but his contract ended, seriously know whats going on.

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-080408-dusty-baker-cincinnati-reds-chicago-cubs,1,7236259.story

changed the corporate mentality of the suits at the Trib, and the expectation of the fans. For that I give him credit.

He also made some incredibly stupid decisions on the field. That showed the emperor had no clothes.

I don't boo players or managers. I think it's chicken shit to do that to somebody from the stands when you wouldn't dare to face to face.

That said, I'd boo Bush in a heartbeat. The secret service wouldn't shoot me for that, would they?

indifferent with the man. He did bring fire to this dead franchise when needed, however his managing in 2003/04 was less than stellar. Yes you can blame the roster and Jimbo, however I am sure some of these players, Nefi, Womack, were players Dusty wanted.
I will not be at the game, I wouldn't boo, a golf clap probably if I was, and move on. Beat the Reds, thats all I want.
And Corey Patterson, what a frustrating player he is and was, hope he goes 1 for 12 in town, and he leaves town hope he does well.

LSA.......isn't there a game or something to talk about today???

Been needing my Cubbie fix......cant get enough.....

but what more important, is that if their rotation stays on track, we won't be facing that Cueto kid, he's got some nasty stuff, like Marmol nasty.

I catcall.

:D

he is a ruiner of pitching staffs, and quite possibly the worst strategist in the history of the game. he would not be managing today if the Giants hadn't signed Bonds in 93'. Barry made his career and that history allowed his aloofness to flourish unquestioned for far too long.

boo that man like he stole something from your mother

boo that man like HE is the reason your team didn't go to the world series in 03', and not because of bartman or the fact that sure handed A Gon couldn't field his position.

Boo him because you can.

Yes, he turned out to be a terrible manager but that's all in the past. I'm a lifelong Cubs fan which means I like to dwell on the failures of the past as much as anybody but we also have to keep things in perspective. All I know is that the darkness of the Baker years was worth it if that's what it took to ultimately get us Lou Pinella.

People tend to blame Baker for ruining Wood and Prior by pushing them too hard in 2003. Let's remember though, folks, that we were in serious pennant push that year. We didn't clinch until the final Saturday and then it was playoff time. We had to use those two as much as possible, because outside of the Farnz and JoeBo, there wasn't much in the bullpen.
Blaming Baker is actually far worse than blaming Riggs for ruining Kerry in 1998 (nobody seems to do this).
Now, I thought Baker was a joke and still do. He's a terrible game manager. Just terrible. His teams tend to win, and for that I have no answer. But the man's not a good manager. Still, I won't boo him. I'll just laugh at all the dumb moves he makes. He's not our problem now.

for being a bad manager-I've been a Cubs fan since 1971 which means I've seen more terrible managers then I'd like to remember.
The thing that got me the most was though was when he basically lost control of the team at the end of '04 and tried to make Steve Stone the scapegoat. The way his players whined and complained as they were folding up like a house of cards was truly disgusting to me and the closest I hope I'll ever come to not wanting to root for the Cubs.