Lately, Cubs manager Dusty Baker has come under attack by the talk radio vultures as well as the likes of the often wrongheaded “Baseball Prospectus” website for allegedly preventing the team from winning the NL Central solely by preferring the services of Neifi Perez as starting shortstop.
Baker is not a guy who deserves another year as manager, but this stuff about him supposedly misplaying Neifi is absurd. For a good part of the season, Neifi was a key hitter and his glove really helped in the field. In other words, Neifi’s been one of the best players on the team this year. Now, if you want to criticize Baker for his mishandling of CF & LF as well as his failure to adequately play the youngsters (esp. Ronnie Cedeno who has been cheated out of contention for the NL Rookie of the Year award by Baker’s misanthropy), there’s more than ample ammunition for that. However, the fact that he had Neifi starting so often is not one of them.
As a Cubs fan myself, I can honestly say, besides Derrek and Carlos, Neifi has been one of our most consistent players. Despite so many disappointments this year has brought, Neifi was truly a blessing. He may not be a feared batter, but his glove is one of the most under rated in the NL-Central (if mot the entire NL).