12 -The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, October 3, 2006 Cubs done Baker CHICAGO (AP) - Dusty Baker is out as the Chicago Cubs' manager following a last- place finish and a failure to take the team to the World Series in his four years. The Cubs made the announce- ment yesterday, a day after team president Andy MacPhail resigned and the club finished with a 66-96 record. "I wish we could have gotten it done but we didn't," Baker said. "You see four years come to pass very quickly." Baker was in the last season of his $14 million-to-$15 mil- lion deal and had hoped to res- urrect the franchise that hadn't been in the World Series since 1945 and hadn't won one since 1908. The Cubs got within five outs of the Series in 2003, but never came close after that. He compiled a 322-326 record during his time in Chicago. Baker said he talked to the players on Sunday. "I just urged them yesterday just to learn from some of the things that they might have understood, and some of the things that they didn't under- stand," he said. "Just retain it and perhaps some day they can use it on being better ballplay- ers, and being, you know, better Group buys NBA's Grizzlies Baseball legend Dusty Baker was fired after a 66-win season with the Chicago Cubs. family men and just being bet- ter people, period." Known for his toothpicks and wristbands while manag- ing from the dugout, Baker was popular with his players and in his 14th season as manager. Baker left the San Francisco Giants after leading them to the 2002 World Series, and almost guided the Cubs there in 2003. With Mark Prior on the mound in Game 6 of the NL championship series, the Cubs blew a three-run lead in the eighth inning against Florida. The Marlins scored eight times, helped when Cubs fan Steve Bartman touched a foul fly ball before Chicago left fielder Moises Alou had a chance to catch it. It will easily be the most-remembered inning in Baker's tenure in Chicago. The next night, the Cubs lost Game 7 with Kerry Wood pitching. They came back the next sea- son, led the NL wild card by 1 1/2 games, only to stumble again on a final homestand and not make the postseason. The 2004 season also marked the end of Sammy Sosa in Chi- cago. Sosa left the clubhouse before the end of the season finale, and the fading slugger later accused Baker of blaming him for the club's failures. Sosa was subsequently traded to Baltimore. Injuries to Prior and Wood dogged the Cubs the last three seasons. Nomar Garciaparra tore a groin muscle and missed much of the 2005 season as the Cubs fell to 79-83, Baker's first los- ing season since 1996. The swoon continued this year as Prior and Wood started the season on the disabled list again. NL batting champion Derrek Lee later broke his wrist and from there, the collapse was staggering. Baker was the latest victim in the Cub's history of losing. MacPhail offered no excuses on Sunday, but acknowledged the Cubs hadn't developed posi- tion players as well as pitch- ers and pointed to the team's uncanny stretch of injuries and poor health. Baker has said he does not regret coming to the Cubs but wished he'd been the one to turn the longtime losers around. That's what he expected upon his arrival following 10 seasons as skipper of the Giants, where he was a three-time manager of the year. Baker previously coached in San Francisco from 1993 through the 2002 season. He compiled a 840-715 record while coaching the Giants. MEMPHIS,Tenn.(AP) - An investment group that includes Christian Laettner and his for- mer Duke teammate Brian Davis has reached an agreement to buy 70 percent of the Mem- phis Grizzlies. Laettner is also interested in returning to the NBA to play for the Grizzlies, according to Davis. "We'll try to make that happen as soon as possible," Davis said at a news conference Monday. Laettner, who was with the league for 13 years, left the NBA after the 2004-05 season with Miami. Memphis coach Mike Fratello said he had heard nothing about Laettner wanting to return to the NBA. "I guess if you own the team, you can put yourself on the ros- ter," Fratello said. Davis said an agreement was reached with billionaire Michael Heisley to buy his majority 70 per- cent interest in the team for about $360 million. Davis and Laettner are putting a total of $40 mil- lion of their own money into the project. The remainder will come from investors he did not identify, but Davis said he has lined up the money for the purchase. Members of the group will be made public, he said, after the team's minority owners decide if they will make an offer for the franchise. Davis, who played in four Final Fours while at Duke from 1989- 92, said he wants president Jerry West and Fratello to stay with the Grizzlies. He added that he would like to sign West to a lifetime contract, though West said it was too early for him to decide on his long- range plans, "so we'll see what happens." The sale will take several months to complete because the minority owners have the right of first refusal for 60 days from the date they are notified. The sale also must be approved by the NBA, and Heisley said he expects to remain with the team for sev- eral months. AutoZone founder J.R. "Pitt" Hyde, a minority owner and busi- ness leader who helped bring the Grizzlies to town, said a decision on trying to match Davis' offer will take several weeks. "In evaluating this whole prop- osition, our No. 1 concern will be what's in the best interest for the city of Memphis," Hyde said. Heisley bought the franchise in Vancouver in 2000 for $160 mil- lion and moved it to Memphis the following year. The Memphis Commercial Appeal, citing team insiders, reported Sunday that the Grizzlies lost more than $40 million follow- ing the 2005-06 season, spurring Heisley to try to sell his majority share. The newspaper first report- ed the sale Sunday. But Heisley said his motiva- tions for selling were not purely financial. "I put a lot of time and a lot of money in this franchise. But I look at it and say, 'Am I the person who can best take this team to the next level?' And I don't think I am the person who can do as good a job as Brian can do," Heisley said. "I'm almost 70 years of age, and I'm not going to suddenly be out there high-fiving with players. He will." gillW ~gli v { tta 0red 91110 WO 40 b .411 $ 00.00 credi $12 cah2 $ 00 .-- 00 purha G are0-tt ont , tE gtaceG d $ 5.0 e$1e5I nc009 7 22 Dae9105/0A N ~wTsCtTn n$111n 21-1452193V OP1N~p 'Ct s~l~e' 4 4 U 6 F4