Doctor’s Orders

The last two weeks have been great for our old friend Dr. Phil. The only thing that is easier to write about than good news is bad news, and the Doctor has had plenty to write about with the Cubs.

One motif Dr. Phil has hit time and time again over the last fortnight is the Cubs taking an outfielder (Murton, Jones, or Pie – take your pick) and sticking him at first for some OJT until Derrek Lee comes back. Dr. Phil has gone out of his way to praise Mike Scioscia and Jim Tracy for their outside-the-box thinking (they’ve used a second baseman and a catcher (respectively) at first base for a game or two this year), in contrast to Baker’s “pulse-less” managing. I guess in Dr. Phil’s world, having nine games of experience over two years at first base (as Todd Walker has) qualifies him as an old hand.

Given the incessant carping, I was astonished to see this on my newsprint this morning:

While the Cubs enter the Washington series having lost 14 of 16 games, the right move to make is to seek a multiyear commitment from Baker. You’ve got to find out how passionate he is about digging out from under the rubble that has fallen around him.

And if Baker doesn’t want to discuss an extension until after the season, or wants accountants to work overtime massaging the numbers, then it’s time to find another manager and coaching staff….

I believe Baker – if anyone – still has the best chance to salvage this season…

The more I consider this morass of a season, it seems to me that the Cubs probably still need Baker more than he needs them…He’s still the best guy for the job, provided he wants to be here.

I couldn’t believe this was an actual Dr. Phil column – he hasn’t had this many nice things to say about Baker since, oh, I don’t know…Game Four of the 2004 NLCS, I guess.

Regardless, it is a puzzling piece. Perhaps most puzzling is Dr. Phil’s insistence that Baker get signed to an extension. If Baker is really the last, best hope to “salvage” the season, if he’s really the “best guy” to turn things around this year, why make him prove his loyalty?

Dr. Phil has this to say about Baker’s integrity:

Baker has a tremendous dignity, which he wears on his sleeve. He has credibility from his playing and managing days. He gets respect from umpires and opposing managers.

Does this sound like a guy who would tank the season if he weren’t on the hook for a few more years?

After a few weeks of using Baker as a punching bag, why the sudden about-face? Beats the hell out of me. Perhaps he wanted to change things up a little, keep us all on our toes. As we all learned on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, “Everyone once in a while, declare peace. It confuses the hell out of your enemies.”

Or maybe Dr. Phil figures the time is right to throw a little love Baker’s way, so as to stay on the skipper’s good side and not lose the all-important access. Or perhaps he figures Baker truly is doomed, and this show of support would lend credibility for the inevitable “they never should have fired Dusty” column waiting on the Doctor’s hard drive.

Dr. Phil might even sincerely believe this. Stranger things have happened.