Dusty Baker's Value

I've heard analysts speaking out that the Chicago Cubs should fire their manager Dusty Baker for the past couple seasons. Baker almost took the Cubs to the World Series not long ago. The last time the Cubs won the series was 1908, so it's not like a common event for the Cubs to win or even make the World Series. Where have Baker's biggest problems resided? The health of his ballclub.

Starters Mark Prior and Kerry Wood have been on and off the shelf in the past few years. All-star slugger and gold glove first baseman Derek Lee got injured this year. When a team's top two starters and their most valuable player are all out with injuries simultaneously, how can anyone expect the team to contend? How is the team's freak injuries the manager's fault?

Dusty Baker has been a successful manager wherever he's been. He took a San Francisco Giants team with average talent and made them contenders every single year he was manager there. He nearly won a title there. If the Cubs are healthy, Baker will make them a contender. When they aren't healthy, he'll do all he can to make them respectable. Most any team in the league would be grateful to have a manager like Dusty Baker. I would think that a team who hasn't won a World Series for nearly 100 years would be just as grateful.