Evaluation of Baker will remain in play

Jim Hendry says he won't be forced into a decision before he's ready.
By PAUL SULLIVAN
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
CHICAGO -- Jim Hendry's All-Star break evaluation period for manager Dusty Baker won't end when play resumes Friday.
The Cubs general manager reiterated Wednesday he will continue to evaluate Baker, his staff and the players into the second half of the season and said he won't be forced into making a decision before he's ready.
"I have never changed at all in anything I've said covering Dusty's situation, from Day 1," Hendry said. "In the end I'll make all the decisions. Despite what people write about or speculate about, there never has been a deadline on when I'll decide on Dusty's situation.
"I'll operate on the same pace, my own pace."
Speculation over the Cubs manager's uncertain future has run rampant since Hendry's 4th of July pronouncement in Houston that he would be "evaluating everything" during the Cubs' four-day All-Star break.
He did not say a decision would be made after the break, but he also didn't say Baker was safe for the rest of the season.
"When you're having this kind of year ... I'm evaluating all situations," Hendry told Cubs beat writers. "When you're 20-plus games under .500 ... we certainly want to give us a chance to see if we can make a run here before the break, see if we can do well the rest of the week. I'll spend a lot of time over the break [evaluating]."
The Cubs wound up winning four of five games before the break but are 34-54 overall, the third-worst record in the major leagues.
Baker's status clearly has become a distraction. After Sunday's victory in Milwaukee, reliever Scott Eyre berated reporters for making more of Baker's status than the games themselves, saying it's difficult for Cubs players to "relax."