Baker will manage for rest of season
Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said Thursday that he will stick with Dusty Baker as his manager for the rest of the season.
“As far as the rest of the season goes, I let Dusty know today that he would be staying the rest of the year,” said Hendry. “There won’t be any discussions or questions to be asked about extensions now or anything like that. But I let him know that the next couple months, I felt it was best for the club that he complete the season and not worry about that.”
Baker is in the fourth and final year of his contract for the Cubs, who are 39-61 this season.
The Cubs have been hurt by injuries to Kerry Wood, Mark Prior and Derrek Lee. Lee was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday with inflammation in his right wrist.
Utley extends hitting streak
Philadelphia’s Chase Utley singled in the fifth inning against Arizona on Thursday to extend his hitting streak to 27 games, the longest in the major leagues this season.
Utley hit a soft liner to center leading off the fifth inning against Arizona starter Claudio Vargas, tying him for the third-longest streak in team history.
Shortstop Jimmy Rollins has the longest streak at 38 games – the final 36 of last season and the first two this year.
M’s place Snelling on DL
The Seattle Mariners placed oft-injured outfielder Chris Snelling on the 15-day disabled list with an injured left shoulder.
Snelling was called up from Triple-A Tacoma before Wednesday’s game against Toronto, but did not play. After the game, team officials said Snelling was being optioned back to Tacoma.
Instead, Snelling was placed on the DL after Mariners’ trainers examined his shoulder.
Snelling was hitting .247 with four homers and 34 RBIs in 52 games at Tacoma.
Tavares sued by ex-employee
Former Washington Nationals president Tony Tavares is being sued by the team’s former director of ticket sales, who says Tavares slapped him in the face.
The complaint, filed last week in D.C. Superior Court, alleges that Tavares entered the office of Joseph Deoudes on May 8 and said, “Do you have something to say to me? If you have something to say to me, you should say it. Do you want to fight me?”
“I can’t say much, other than to say it’s false, preposterous and completely baseless,” Tavares said in a telephone interview.
Clearing the bases
Barry Bonds didn’t play in San Francisco’s loss to Washington and he’s not sure whether a mildly strained right hamstring will keep him out of the lineup today. … Jose Vizcaino, who started in place of injured shortstop Omar Vizquel, left in the eighth inning after hurting his left shoulder while diving for a ball. … Esteban Yan, who has pitched 11 years in the major leagues, signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals, and was assigned to Triple-A Omaha in the Pacific Coast League.