Just North of Wrigley Field

posted by James - 1:30 PM

It looks like Dusty Baker will have someone to share his fell-five-outs-short-of-the-World-Series blues with next season.

Former Red Sox Coach Grady Little will join the Cubs as a scouting consultant and assistant to the General Manager, according to a press release from the Cubs website.

The press release also said Little will assist with coaching duties at Spring Training and spend time evaluating the Cubs' minor-league system.

The Red Sox fired Little after he had them knocking on the door of the World Series with ace pitcher Pedro Martinez on the mound. He left the three-time Cy Young award winner in the game and he surrendered the lead to the Yankees as they went on to the World Series, halting the Red Sox' run to their first MLB crown since 1918.

Little got a really raw deal in Boston, but that's Boston for you. Not that I think firing him was the wrong thing, because they never would have let him live that down. But he would probably be a better fit for the situation (post-AROD fiasco) than Terry Francona.

And was what Little did so much worse than what Dusty did in NLCS game 5 (and all through the playoffs for that matter)? They both left their ace pitcher in there with the World Series on the line.

It's a call most managers would make.