Baker's in charge in Cincinnati

CINCINNATI — Dusty Baker had a whole new look.

The 58-year-old manager put on a bright red Cincinnati cap and a red-and-white jersey Monday during his introduction as the next Reds manager. The color just didn't fit.

"This is my first red uniform in my whole life," Baker said.

As an outfielder, he won a World Series ring while wearing Dodger blue in 1981. As a manager, he has won 1,162 games in San Francisco's orange and black and Cubs blue.

He led the Giants to the 2002 World Series and got the Cubs within five outs of the 2003 Series, two near-misses that still gnaw at him. After one year of working in television, he's back in baseball and back on his quest.

"I'm inspired," said Baker, the first black manager in the history of baseball's first professional team. "I feel that I was brought here for a number of reasons, not just to manage a baseball team.

"Hopefully we can all come together for the same goal of winning, and we can have that championship ticker-tape parade, which is what I really, really need. I need that badly. You just don't know how bad I do need that.'

STONEMAN OUT IN L.A: Bill Stoneman, who built the Angels' only World Series championship team, is expected to step down after seven years as general manager.

The Angels called a news conference for this morning for what they described as a major announcement.

"It's going to be a baseball operations-related press conference," Angels spokesman Tim Mead said.

Multiple media reports said Stoneman will remain with the organization as a consultant.

The Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site that Tony Reagins, the Angels' director of player development, is expected to become the new GM.

The city went zany when Ken Griffey Jr. returned to his hometown before the 2000 season, but it was little more than an overnight sensation. The Reds are coming off their seventh straight losing season, their longest such stretch since 1945-55.

They've been through two owners and three general managers since 2003. Baker is their fifth manager over that span, following Bob Boone, Dave Miley, Jerry Narron and Pete Mackanin, who took over on an interim basis last July.