Dusty baker may need generous dose of good luck to end cubs' losing ways. (Warm Up Tosses).(Dusty Baker takes on the Cubs)

WHEN DUSTY BAKER WAS ANOINTED AS THE CUBS NEW MANAGER LAST November, he was quick to squelch expectations that he single-handedly would turn the club into a season-long contender. "I'm no miracle man," he told members of the Chicago media, many of whom hailed his arrival as the answer to numerous problems that have plagued the franchise for years.

"We want to get away from the stigma that the Cubs can't win playing day baseball," Baker said. "I want to cream a positive attitude for the team and get everybody focused on winning."

And, in an effort to shift attention from himself as the savior for a club that hasn't won a pennant since 1945, he added, "My name is Dusty, not Messiah."

Baker came into Chicago fully aware of the daunting challenge he faced in reinvigorating a club that he, himself, once considered a joke when he was managing the Giants. "We all--even myself--kind of laughed at the Cubs," he admitted.

While Dusty has inherited a team that finished with a disappointing 67-95 record last year, 30 games behind the front-running Cardinals in the National League Central Division, he won't be going into the 2003 season completely bereft of hope.

In Kerry Wood, Matt Clement and Mark Prior, he has in hand three, outstanding young starters who could turn into big winners with nominal support from the bullpen.

And, his regular lineup card will include one of the majors' leading power hitters in Sammy Sosa.