CHICAGO -- Dusty Baker's agent began preliminary contract talks Tuesday with the Chicago Cubs, hoping to reach a deal and bring the three-time NL Manager of the Year to Chicago.

The Chicago Cubs and agent Jeff Moorad are batting around salary figures on a four-year deal for Baker, who could become the team's new manager by week's end.

"I'm sure we'll have discussions today and tonight and hopefully work our way to a conclusion shortly,'' Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said Wednesday from Tucson, Ariz.

		Wed., Nov. 13 People who think that Dusty Baker is the cure for what ails the Cubs may wind up terribly disappointed. See, there's still this notion floating around, like a thick layer of smog trapped between two mountain ranges, that if a manager is successful in one situation, then by golly he'll be successful in any other situation. One manager fits all. But you know, there's not a lot of evidence that Dusty Baker can manage a team that's trying to succeed on the strength of its young players. In all his years in San Francisco, how many young players have developed into quality major leaguers? Well, there's Rich Aurilia (though it took him a while). And there's Bill Mueller (though he's never been much better than adequate). And there's ... well, there's probably somebody else, but no name is leaping into my mind. Does this mean that Baker's not the man to shepherd Mark Prior and Corey Patterson and Bobby Hill to the Promised Land? I don't know. But if I were a Cubs fan, I'd be concerned that Andy MacPhail and Jim Hendry don't know, either.

Baker and most of the other parties involved in the negotations (other than Hendry) left for home on Tuesday afternoon. According to ESPN's Peter Gammons, negotiations have been positive, productive and will continue over the phone for the next few days.

"We really talked in general terms. We're beginning to frame up each other's priorities,'' agent Jeff Moorad said after a Tuesday breakfast meeting with Cubs president Andy MacPhail and general manager Jim Hendry in Phoenix.

Moorad said he might talk again with MacPhail later Tuesday.

"We need to get a little more specific,'' Moorad said. "I think everyone would like to see something by the end of the week.''

Baker met for 3½ hours Monday with MacPhail and Hendry before Moorad joined them for dinner. Most of the day was spent talking baseball, and Baker impressed his potential bosses with his knowledge and his questions about the team.

"It's safe to say it was a very positive meeting with Jim and Andy yesterday and Dusty looks forward to the possibility of managing the Cubs,'' Moorad said.

Hendry also sounded optimistic as he returned from Phoenix to Tucson, Ariz., for the annual general managers' meetings.

"We'll try to proceed. We'll talk with Jeff in the next couple of days. We'll keep working at it,'' he said Tuesday.

Earlier, Baker said a four-year contract would probably be the ideal length should he be offered the job of turning around one of baseball's longtime losers.

Does Moorad see any potential financial stumbling blocks?

"Not at this point,'' he said.

Baker became available when the Giants announced last week he wouldn't return after a decade as manager. The decision came less than two weeks after San Francisco lost to Anaheim in Game 7 of the World Series.

The Giants replaced Baker with Felipe Alou on Wednesday. Now, Baker has a chance to manage Alou's son, Moises, who battled injuries last season in his first year with the Cubs.

"The only thing I know is he's been a good manager for 10 years. He just took a team to the World Series and was probably nine outs away from being world champions,'' Moises Alou said Wednesday.

"I hear from other players who play for him how great it is to play for Dusty. ... He's the kind of guy we need. He played the game and he managed for a long time. I think he would be a good fit for the Cubs.''

Information from the Associated Press is included in this report