Mauer's MVP Reminds Cubs Fans Dusty Screwed Prior

Joe Mauer's near-unanimous American League MVP selection reminds Cubs fans that he was one executive decision away from being a Chicago Cub.

But this is blog is not about that.

The Cubs "settled" for Mark Prior in that draft like a rapper would settle for 26-inch rims on his Cadillac instead of 28.  There was no belly-aching out of Chicago when the team selected the stud Southern California pitcher.

In 2009, it is easy to point out that a decision that was made by a franchise accused of pinching pennies on the local kid rather than meeting Prior's demands was a wise one by Terry Ryan.  But really, it should have never came down to that.

Baseball fans should have been treated to careers that featured big hits, big whiffs and a few big games down the line.  Mauer held up his end, Prior could not.

Thanks Dusty Baker.

Yep, that's right, kids.  Another blame Dusty Baker blog.  Can you blame me?  Of course not.  Dusty's pitchers are known for big bursts of greatness followed by bigger flameouts.  Prior is just one of the many examples.  The one-time face of the Cubs franchise broke out with a big 18-6 season in 2003, a season that might go down as the biggest double-edged sword in Cubs history.

Prior saw his mechanics break down and his arm fall apart as time went on with the Cubs, and a lot of it has to do with the wear-and-tear put on his arm by none other than that toothpick-chewing S.O.B.  Prior averaged 126 pitches per start in a September.  Note that Prior had thrown at least 120 pitches only three times before the Cubs' September run.  The first came in an 11-5 win against Milwaukee on May 12.  The second occurred on June 3 in a 3-2 win against the Rays, 22 days later.  The third and final time came June 26 in a 5-3 loss against the Brewers, 23 days later.

So what does Dusty do to his best pitcher?  The guy the Cubs were supposed to build a new winning tradition with?  He throws Prior to the wolves to throw at least 124 pitches in five of his six September starts.  The only start in which he didn't throw more than 124 pitches was his Sept. 11 start against the Expos, which ended in a 3-2 defeat.

• Sept. 1 vs. St. Louis: 131 pitches, Cubs win 7-0
• Sept. 6 @ Milwaukee: 129 pitches, Cubs win 8-4
  
• Sept. 16 vs. NY Mets: 124 pitches, Cubs win 3-2
• Sept. 21 @ Pittsburgh 131 pitches, Cubs win 4-1
  
• Sept. 27 vs. Pittsburgh: 127 pitches, Cubs win 4-2
  

That's 642 pitches in five starts.  Yikes.  Other than the Sept. 11 start, they all came consecutively.  Prior would go on to throw another 133 pitches in a 3-1 complete game victory in Game 3 of the NLDS against the Braves.  The straw that might have broken the camels back was the 116 pitches he threw in the Cubs' 12-3 win in Game 2 of the NLCS.  Chicago held an 11-0 lead through five innings, and at the time I though to myself, "The Cubs should probably let Prior rest seeing that this game looks to be in hand."  Instead, Dusty Baker trotted him out to make sure he hit at least triple digits in pitches thrown.

Did those extra throws cost Prior in the infamous Game 6?  The world may never know.  What the world does know is that Prior's arm troubles began in 2004, a season in which Joe Mauer went on to post a .308/.369/.570/.939 slash line in 122 plate appearances.

Prior's last win came on Aug. 5, 2006, a 7-5 decision against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  He struck out five batters in 5.2 innings and only 103 pitches.  Baker must have been feeling cautious that day after chowing down on a few infamous Devonshire Sandwiches or something.

On that date, Mauer went 1-for-3 with a double, two RBIs, a run and three walks in a Minnesota Twins 14-3 win against the Kansas City Royals.  Mauer would go on to post a .347/.429/.507/.936 slash line to go along with 13 home runs and 84 runs batted in en route to a playoff berth in the Twin Cities.

Since 2007, Mauer has posted a .328/.413/.488/.901 line and won an AL Most Valuable Player award.  Prior has thrown countless towels en route to a Simulated Cy Young award.

Thanks a lot, Dustbag.

Cubs manager Dusty Baker watches another one of his pitchers go to the emergency room after another case of abuse.

Reunited, and it won't feel good for Wood

Dusty Baker congratulates Kerry Wood on a job well done after throwing 159 pitches in six innings

It looks as if Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker wants to finish what he started five years ago.

Baker managed the 2003 Chicago Cubs to a National League Central Division championship and within five outs of the pennant as starting pitchers Kerry Wood and Mark Prior were abused like a rented mule or white powder in the Bobby Brown household.

Either way, one could argue that Baker's abuse of a pair of aces damaged the Cubs' chance of winning during his time at the helm. Yet, that's not stopping him from wanting to reunite with his former wounded ace.

"We have a closer already in [Francisco] Cordero, who we have under contract for a few more years," Baker said Monday. "But somebody can use Kerry Wood. I am going to call him. I like Kerry Wood as a person, not just as a ballplayer, but as a person. I will give him a call and see what's up."

I don't believe it. Dusty, if you liked Wood as a person then why did you use him so much to the point his arm turned into spaghetti towards the end of your tenure in Chicago. I hope Kerry has caller ID and turned away as soon as he saw 'Baker, Dusty' pop up.

Could you imagine the voicemail?

"Hey dude, it's Dusty. Remember, we used to be cool in the Chi? Anyway I was wondering if you wanted to play in Cincinnati. You know, white people love Cincinnati because it's really in Kentucky. Call me back, dude."

And to be honest, I'm not sure how Baker could work up the nerve to say he liked Woody as a ball player. It's tough to make a judgement like that when said player pitched only one healthy season under your watch.

Thankfully, Wood has a guardian angel. A shocking one at that in Reds GM Walt Jocketty, who once held the same position with the rival St. Louis Cardinals.

Jocketty squashed Baker's dreams of putting an end to Wood's career once and for all.

"It would be pretty tough with (Francisco) Cordero as our closer," Jocketty said. "I love (Wood's) talent. But I imagine there are going to be offers out there for him to close."

I never thought I'd see the day a former Cardinal looked out for the well-being of a soon-to-be former Cub. But it came. I guess the apocalypse is closer than I thought.

Photo Credit: Tribune.com Sports

Dusty Baker Is At It Again

Pitchers of Cincinnati, protect your arms. Dusty Baker is on the loose.

Lost in the Rich Harden buzz was the fact that Reds manager Dusty Baker is making his second trip to Wrigley Field this season. Thankfully (for Harden) Dusty is managing the Reds, not the Cubs.

And I know that there are a lot of people that love Dusty, and I think those people are idiots. Yeah, sounds blunt, but they are.

Sure, Dusty won 840 games in San Francisco, but so could I if my team was lead by the HGH-assisted numbers posted by one Barry Lamar Bonds from 1993 to 2002.

So that brings us to the present, where Dusty Baker is 43-49 and must be living through a nightmare. He has asked Adam Dunn and Edwin Encarnacion to sacrifice just to see them hit game-winning homers. After blocking top prospects Joey Votto and Jay Bruce, he's jerking them around the order. He oversaw his team bat out of order (thanks to Corey Patterson) on May 12th. Think that's not a common occurrence? Not for Dusty, because it happened when he was in San Francisco and in Chicago.

And as much of a nightmare as it is for him to manage them, the feeling must be mutual for that Cincy pitching staff.

Let's take Aaron Harang for example. Coming into this season, he was making a name for himself as a certified ace and strikeout machine. He won 16 games in 2006 and 2007 on some cruddy Reds teams while striking out 484 batters and compiling a respectable 3.74 ERA in that time. Those are some pretty impressive numbers if you take into consideration half of those starts had to come in the hitter friendly Great American Ballpark.

And this year, Harang looked to be back on his grind. Even though his record was 2-6 after 10 starts his ERA was still respectable (3.50) and was still racking up the punchouts (63 in 74.2 innings).

Everything changed May 25. In a game the Reds eventually lost 12-9 in 18 innings to the San Diego Padres, Baker used Harang (who volunteered himself) for FOUR innings on three days rest where he struck out nine batters in the process to preserve the tie.

Since that game, Harang is 1-5 in the eight starts since that date. He's pitched seven innings only twice and has allowed 36 earned runs in that span of games. His ERA (which stood at 3.32 after the extra inning appearance) has ballooned to 4.76.

Oh and don't think that kind of treatment hasn't rubbed off on the youngsters too.

Since that game young stud pitcher Edinson Volquez has seen his ERA go from 1.31 to 2.36. By the way, he took the loss in that game pitching 1.2 innings.

Dusty Baker seems hell bent on turning Harang and Edinson Volquez into Kerry Wood and Mark Prior. Want proof? Reds fans, unless you love pain, I suggest you scroll down past the italicized section.

“Almost all foreign pitchers throw more than American pitchers,” he added. “Rarely do you hear anybody say some American pitcher has a rubber arm.” Bronson Arroyo was mentioned and Baker said with a sly grin, “He’s Cuban.” Actually, he was born in Key West. “Close enough. Key West is as close as you can get to Cuba,” he said.

Wow! That's almost as silly as rationalizing starting Lenny Harris because black players were bred to work in the heat because "that's why they brought us here."

I didn't know Dusty was a great historian.

I did know Dusty wasn't a great manager.

If you're a Reds fan, you've gotta hope Walt Jocketty realizes the same thing.