Oct. 26

ANAHEIM -- One of the distractions from the World Series has been the game of managerial bumper cars that begins with the Giants' Dusty Baker.

The depth of the rift between Baker and team owner Peter Magowan may determine whether or not Dusty stays in San Francisco, perhaps as much as agent Jeff Moorad's desire to boost Baker into the $5 million range.

	Dusty Baker is a good manager, but there are other keys to the Giants' success.

The Cubs are waiting to see if they have a shot because they think he can deal with Sammy Sosa, the same way he has dealt with Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent. Dusty loves Seattle, but whether or not the Mariners ownership can afford that price range is an entirely different matter.

Baker does make a difference -- players play for him, and when it comes to recruiting free agents, opposing players want to play for him. He is clearly the ballast of the Giants. But there are greater organizational issues that apply to compensating a manager, as opposed to a player or a general manager. The Yankees' Joe Torre has earned what he makes, not only because of all of those rings, but also for the same reasons Baker has made a difference. Lou Piniella can bring credibility, judgment and energy to a hometown franchise whose history seems written as "The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner."

But for most organizations, the person who should be the single most important figure is the general manager -- if an owner wants someone who is the CEO in terms of talent, development and focus. Magowan has been trying to explain that Brian Sabean is all of that to the Giants. And while Baker is a great manager, if San Francisco fails to win the Series, these past 10 postseason games are meaningless. And if the Giants win, Magowan thinks Sabean is the CEO that made it possible with a lot of credit also going to baseball's best modern player, Bonds.

Oakland has been a remarkably successful franchise for nearly 20 years because it has had two very smart, very powerful baseball CEOs in Sandy Alderson and Billy Beane. Some owners figured out that if they have someone with the right vision and conviction, they will empower the GM to take the franchise in that desired direction.

This is what happened in Toronto, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee. And even though Terry Ryan has faced payroll restrictions, the Twins are unquestionably his product. Ryan has been smart enough to turn the clubhouse and field matters over to Tom Kelly's successor Ron Gardenhire and allow the manager clubhouse autonomy.

All of this makes the Red Sox search interesting. If team president Larry Lucchino and owner John Henry want someone who will sculpt and direct their $700 million investment with a broad vision, why are they wasting time interviewing some of the candidates on their wish list? If Art Howe can get $9.4 million with the Mets, what is a general manager worth in Boston? Someone who can make the necessary, overwhelming decisions in the next two years, build a farm system, acquire low-cost talent, all while doing nothing to deal with the impending storms on the 2004 horizon, storms that could make them the Orioles in a Jose Offerman minute? Of the interviewed candidates, Jim Duquette seems to be the only one with Henry's vision, although GM Bob Gebhardt certainly built the Rockies franchise.

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