Don Baylor, Manager of the Chicago Cubs

The BBQ Pit
1

This is not a thread about Mr. Baylor’s ability to manage the Boys of Bummer, or about the Cubs themselves and their impotent bats and their slump of the past couple of weeks.

No, it’s about the pure torture that is Don Baylor’s interviews with Ron Santo on the WGN radio pre-game show. Every time I listen to a Cubs broadcast, I have to listen to Mr. Baylor try to stammer out a coherent series of thoughts in response to Ron Santo’s questions during the pre-game show.

It’s like having your tongue scraped.

Imagine, if you will, that a period (.) represents a period of silence equal to two seconds. Here, now, is a sample of a recent interview with Mr. Baylor.

RON SANTO: So, when do you expect Bill Mueller to be back and what will that mean to this team?

DON BAYLOR: Well… Bill… as you know… has been on the… disabled… list… since May… 13th… But I… have… a lot of confidence… in our lineup… right now… with Matt… Stairs… picking up… some of the… slack… I know… that our bats… aren’t really working… right now… but fortunately… our pitching… has kept us… in the hunt… Bill has been rehabbing… for quite some time… and we expect… that he may be back… after the… All-Star… Break.
AAAARRRRGGGHHHHH!!! :mad: :mad: :mad:

Ron Santo is a very patient man.

2

You should read Don Baylors book! :eek:

3

Don Baylor has a book?!? :eek:

I read Ryne Sandberg’s book many years ago. :eek: Although he’s one of the greatest second basemen ever, he’ll never make it as a writer. :eek: After I read that book, I wanted to go sandpaper my brain.

4

Regardless of the man’s management ability, he should have hit for Buckner in 1986.

5

When I was interviewing players on the field in 1986, Baylor blew me off. Maybe that was a good thing.

6

Indeed!

It is called Don Baylor by Don Baylor [sub] with Claire Smith[/sub]

Subtitled ‘Nothing but the Truth: A Baseball Life’.
1989, St. Martins Press.
It is written in the same manner of his interviews.

7

How do you sit through the rest of the broadcast. Pat Hughes sounds like Ted Baxter, and I’ve never heard Ron Santo say anything that ever made me learn anything about baseball.

Ron, “oh no, aw jeez” is NOT COMMENTARY!

God I miss Steve Stone.