Could someone explain this to me?

[Larry Horse]

http://www.dailysouthtown.com/southtown/dssports/pro/291sd7.htm

 

"When Baker was asked if Chicago was a tough town for managers, he talked about the intensifying pressure to win in many baseball cities across the country.

 

"A lot of places are becoming tough, places that haven't been tough before," Baker said. "There is the need to win now. The cost of tickets, fantasy baseball, gambling.

 

"People say, 'Aw, man. I wish you guys hadn't given up those last two runs — the over and under is messed up.' It's true. Gambling is big now.

 

"When we were kids, we had to hide in the basement at one of my buddy's house and used match sticks to play poker," Baker added. "Now it's on TV like it's no big deal. Am I right? I think gambling has come more to the forefront and more accepted than anything in our country, whether it's the lottery or poker."

 

When asked if it's right that baseball teams allow casinos to advertise in ballparks, Baker said, "Hey, man, don't ask me."

 

The Cubs use casino advertising on their scoreboard."

 

Why would gambling or fantasy baseball have any effect on the Cubs being able to win?

 

And why would Baker be talking to people who are worried about the over/under of a Cub game?

 

Could someone please explain this?

[CuseCubFan69]

I agree that gambling has become too accepted and I'm assuming Bakers point is that not only does losing makes fans upset but it's the use of players and the stats of the games that also are making them lose it.

[wastra]

Yes, Dusty. The reason we're fed up with your management is because of gambling. :roll:

[Exile on Waveland]

Yeah, gambling. That's the ticket.

[Derwood]

Man oh man. I could publish a 3 volume coffee table book set of 2005 Dusty Quotes.

[daske17]

What's the over-under on Dusty's next idiot quote? :D

[series65cubsfan]

36 hours and I'm saying under.

[JC]

36 hours and I'm saying under.

 

Unless he is sleeping for 35 hours and 59 minutes, I say under.

[goonys evil twin]

36 hours and I'm saying under.

 

Unless he is sleeping for 35 hours and 59 minutes, I say under.

 

It's a road game, so he should be able to get proper rest finally, you never know.

[JC]

36 hours and I'm saying under.

 

Unless he is sleeping for 35 hours and 59 minutes, I say under.

 

It's a road game, so he should be able to get proper rest finally, you never know.

 

Sweet Houston clean livin'!

[UK1679666180]

The first part of that article concerns me more. The Cubs don't need more high character players unless the productivity comes with it.

 

I'd rather have a hung-over productive player than a sober overpaid one.

[Derwood]

Clean living? Four words: George Herman "Babe" Ruth

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

The first part of that article concerns me more. The Cubs don't need more high character players unless the productivity comes with it.

 

I'd rather have a hung-over productive player than a sober overpaid one.

 

i think he was referring to Farnsworth. note that Furcal has had problems with the nightlife in Atlanta. :wink: not exactly the high character guy Baker seems to want (and JH seems to favor).

[mhuber92211]

I agree that gambling has become too accepted

 

Not to take this out of context, but I was hoping that this part of your comment could be explained. Is it that gambling is no longer considered a "sin" type of activity like smoking or just that the lack of enforcement of gaming contols makes gambling too easy?

[UK1679666180]

The first part of that article concerns me more. The Cubs don't need more high character players unless the productivity comes with it.

 

I'd rather have a hung-over productive player than a sober overpaid one.

 

i think he was referring to Farnsworth. note that Furcal has had problems with the nightlife in Atlanta. :wink: not exactly the high character guy Baker seems to want (and JH seems to favor).

 

I'm sure there was more than one player who abused the nightlife more than they should've. It just depends which player, if Hundley was one of those players, it might have had a serious impact on his production as well as a bad back and injuring his thumb on every sinker/splitter thrown to him.

 

The Cubs should be working on ways to discover advantages of the early start times instead of complaining about them or looking for players with a perpectual BAC of .00.

[CubsWin]

Why would gambling or fantasy baseball have any effect on the Cubs being able to win?

It doesn't. I don't know why you think that it would or that Dusty was saying that it did.

 

He was asked about whether Chicago was a "tough town" for managers. That has nothing to do with the team being able to win. It has everything to do with people expressing their displeasure with a manager right to his face, sometimes even dishonorably and inaccurately. That would make a town "tough" to manage in, IMO.

 

The reason why gambling and fantasy baseball affect how people respond to a manager (or whether or not they choose to go up and speak to him at all) is because that manager's decisions are now affecting people on a more personal level. Either they lost a fantasy game that they take a lot of pride in or they lost money gambling because of a decision Baker made. This makes baseball towns that may have been more laid back in the past, less so now.

 

And why would Baker be talking to people who are worried about the over/under of a Cub game?

When you are as recognizable as Baker, people come up to you at dinner or on the street. I don't know why you would assume that he would be stopping to talk to these people about gambling. These comments are likely being said to him without much of a response from Dusty.

 

Could someone please explain this?

I hope that helped.

[Soul]

You know the most disappointing thing about Dusty Baker?

 

We never got to see all those interviews Joe Carter would have done if he had just hung on as color man for a year or two longer.