Our friends at Home Run Derby are hypothesizing that everyone’s favorite slugger, Barry Bonds, could be interested in coming to Cincinnati to reunite with Dusty Baker.

Just imagine: an outfield of Adam Dunn, Barry Bonds, and Ken Griffey, Jr.

I bet people would lay off Dunn’s defense.

You can find the press conference where the Reds management announced Dusty Baker at Reds.com.

The Crack Technical Staff is encouraged by some of the things he has to say. You might be too. Me? I’m moved by this particular quote from Dusty:

I’ll never let you win. I’ll let you get close.

So, it looks like Dusty Baker has signed on with the Reds for three years. Dusty Baker. He whose managing quirks we have seen first hand for so very long.

I was just saying earlier today that I thought I might need a break from the blogging scene. I didn’t expect it to be three years long, but Baker’s not likely to last three years anyway, so it might just work out after all.

I wonder if I can get “fireDustyBaker.com” from that Cubs guy. In the meantime, you can listen to the heartbreak in my voice in this episode of the Red Hot Broadcast. Whether there are further episodes will depend on whether my need to express my rage outweighs my need to demonstrate how severely the Reds have alienated me.

Episode 79: Dusty Baker as Reds Manager (12.8MB, 18:42)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Just got a text message from a sympathetic Cubs fan who says that he just heard Joe Morgan say on ESPN that the Reds have signed Dusty Baker to be their manager next season.

If anyone has a corroborating source, I’d love to hear about it. And to start crying.

UPDATE 11:09 pm
Thanks, Zeldink, for the link:

Dusty Baker has agreed to a three-year deal to manage the Cincinnati Reds, beginning with the upcoming season, ESPN has learned.Baker, a former Cubs and Giants manager and current ESPN analyst, will continue to work with ESPN through this season’s League Championship Series and World Series.

Baker is expected to be introduced at a news conference in Cincinnati on Monday.

With so many managers still in flux–Larussa, Torre, etc.–is there really any reason to make this decision before the postseason is even over? Even if your GM has a long history of jumping the gun?

My irritation over this issue is significant. Podcast soon to come.