Jul 12, 2006 5:30 pm US/Central
Cubs GM Says Dusty Baker Will Stay
Denied Using All-Star Break To Make Decision
CHICAGO (AP) ―
Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry denied Wednesday he said he was using the All-Star break to determine the future of manager Dusty Baker, who will be back on the bench Friday when the team opens the second half against the New York Mets.
"My stance has never changed," Hendry said. "Jim Hendry is operating under the same situation all along. There was never any comment by me that there would be a decision over the All-Star break. ... Nothing has changed."
Speculation that Baker or some of his coaches would be removed over the break has been raging and that Hendry was using the four off days to determine if there should be a change. Not so, says Hendry.
"People can write and say what they want," he added.
The Cubs are 34-54 after sweeping Milwaukee in their final three games. Baker is in the fourth and final year of his contract.
The Cubs' run of bad luck with injuries continued at the All-Star game on Tuesday night when their lone representative, Carlos Zambrano, was accidentally hit in the elbow by the fungo bat of American League and Chicago White Sox coach Joey Cora.
Reports say Zambrano was near the batting cage at PNC Park in Pittsburgh to do an interview with Venezuelan reporters when Cora's backswing inadvertently struck him. X-rays were negative and Zambrano was diagnosed with a bruise. He had been scheduled to pitch two innings for the National League but was unable to go.
Hendry said Wednesday that Zambrano was OK. The ace right-hander's next scheduled start is Saturday against the Mets.
The Cubs have been hurt by first-half injuries to Kerry Wood, Mark Prior and Derrek Lee.
Wood has a partially torn rotator cuff and may miss the rest of the season. Prior, who started the season on the DL with a sore shoulder, is 0-4 and hurt his oblique muscle taking batting practice over the weekend. Lee, the 2005 NL batting champion, missed 59 games with a broken wrist.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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