Glad and Sad

The hiring of Ned Colletti as the Dodgers GM looks to be a good thing. I used to work with Ned's brother (Doug is the Bears' radio stats guru), and "knew" Ned by association. What's sad was this report from the California Press-Enterprise:

Riverside native Dusty Baker might also have piqued Colletti's interest, but it could be difficult to pry him away from the Chicago Cubs.

See, Ned was with the Giants for 8 of the 11 years that Dusty Baker was the manager there. Some in the front office hated Dusty, others liked him. No one seems to know which camp Ned was in, but this article suggests that Ned might be a "pro-Dusty" guy.

That could lead to an early exit for Dusty, who basically has until February to find a new gig before the Cubs "offer" him an "extension" of his contract.

What's sad about that?

Alas, cold water is thrown on the scenario in the next paragraph.

Sharon Pannozzo, Cubs director of media relations, said the Dodgers had not contacted Chicago to request permission to interview Baker.

"If they call us, we will not grant them permission," Pannozzo said. "Dusty Baker is the manager of the Cubs."

One can hope this is just posturing. But the statement seems pretty lock tight.

Then again, Scott McClellan had lock tight denials about the CIA-leak investigation and look how that turned out.

Could the Cubs be hanging Pannozzo out to dry like a big wet shoe?