Padres not interested in Dusty Baker for manager

I learned two things from Fox Sports San Diego contributor Scott Miller today. First, Dusty Baker is thirsty. And second, A.J. Preller is not into that.

Dusty Baker says he contacted the #Padres about their open managerial job and was told thanks for your interest. But, no thanks.

— Scott Miller (@ScottMillerBbl) October 18, 2015

Harsh. But that's the only sane response when Dusty Baker calls you looking to coach your team. While he's had a fair amount of success across 20 seasons with the Giants, Cubs, and Reds, it came with a cost. Baker is notorious for working his pitchers to the breaking point and beyond. The most famous victim of Baker's overuse is 2003 Cy Young Award winner Mark Prior. But that would be his only great year, as he averaged 113 pitches per start and topped 129 pitches in each of his four September starts. He lasted only three more seasons in the majors after that, and all of them included significant time on the disabled list.

Now, there's no conclusive evidence that pitcher overuse leads to injury, but I'm glad Preller isn't taking any chances regardless. The Padres have lost far too many promising pitchers to Tommy John surgery in the last few years.