Baker Wanted One Last Shot With Cubs

Dusty Baker begged the Cubs to let him try bringing the team back from its slumping 2006 season, but general manager Jim Hendry didn't give him the chance. After a year working for ESPN, the eternally optimistic manager is gratetful to be back on the bench, this time in Cincinnati with the Reds. And he won't mind hearing boos when he returns to Chicago, writes the Tribune.

"I don't like leaving a job undone or leaving on the bottom," Baker said of his desire for one more season with the Cubs. "There were some circumstances that were way out of my control at the end." And while Baker isn't bitter, others note the harsh treatment sports personalities get from Chicagoans, "especially the North Side fans and the media." (More baseball stories.)