CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said Thursday that he will stick with Dusty Baker as his manager for the rest of the season.
"As far as the rest of the season goes, I let Dusty know today that he would be staying the rest of the year," said Hendry. "There won't be any discussions or questions to be asked about extensions now or anything like that. But I let him know that the next couple months, I felt it was best for the club that he complete the season and not worry about that."
Baker is in the fourth and final year of his contract for the Cubs, who are 39-61 this season.
The Cubs have been hurt by injuries to Kerry Wood, Mark Prior and Derrek Lee. Lee was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday with inflammation in his right wrist. The 2005 NL batting champ had already missed 59 games earlier in the season with a broken wrist.
Wood has a partially torn rotator cuff and could miss the rest of the season. Prior, who started the season on the DL with a sore shoulder, is 0-4.
"I didn't even know there was uncertainty about things. I thought after the All-Star break that was pretty much all that needed to be said about his job status. This is just another vote of confidence," Cubs catcher Michael Barrett said.
UTLEY EXTENDS HIT STREAK: Philadelphia's Chase Utley singled in the fifth inning against Arizona on Thursday to extend his hitting streak to 27 games, the longest in the major leagues this season.
REDMOND GETS EXTENSION: The Minnesota Twins agreed to terms with backup catcher Mike Redmond on a two-year extension Thursday, with a club option for 2009. The 35-year-old Redmond has been backing up All-Star Joe Mauer this season.