ANAHEIM, Calif. - Once Dusty Baker had made the rounds to hug his players and dozens of the friends he'd collected over the past 10 years, his heart breaking because the Anaheim Angels had won the deciding game in the World Series, he finally took off his San Francisco Giants uniform.

The next time Baker pulls a No. 12 jersey over his head, it probably will be white with blue trim.

There were strong indications on Sunday night that Cubs general manager Jim Hendry is going to be able to connect the dots. The Cubs are poised to steal the universally well-regarded Baker away from the team that was on the wrong end of one of baseball's greatest comebacks.

The all-wild card World Series is over, with the Giants kicking themselves for failing to end it when they led 5-0 with eight outs to go in Game 6. But the surprises just keep coming.

As recently as a week ago, the Cubs' interest in Baker looked like so much pie in the sky. But the longer this marathon Series extended, and the closer one listened to what was and was not being said, the more realistic that scenario has seemed. While there are many ways it could fall apart, Baker-to-the-Cubs has become a probability.

Baker, hurt by a series of perceived slights over the last three seasons, not only has prepared himself to leave San Francisco, he appears to be assembling the coaching staff that will work for him at his next destination.

According to one highly placed major-league executive who spent time with Giants owner Peter Magowan and with Baker's inner circle during the Series, there is almost no chance the sides will resolve their differences.

"He's not coming back to San Francisco," the executive insisted.

An official with a National League West club also expressed those sentiments. He added that he expected the three-time Manager of the Year to wind up with the Cubs, who have privately vowed to do whatever it takes to bring him to Wrigley Field.

Baker hardly quieted speculation during a trip to the interview room before Game 7. He was asked what he would like Magowan to say to indicate he wanted him back.

"That's not the most important thing right now," Baker replied, then tried to answer the question anyway. "If somebody wanted me back, then they would ... well, you wouldn't wait till the last minute to tell them."

With Art Howe in New York and the Oakland Athletics lacking resources, there are only two job openings that could tempt Baker. Many close to him believe he prefers Seattle to Chicago, but the Mariners are an organization that has won after losing Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez. They sell the overall product, not the biggest names.

Mariners GM Pat Gillick will begin his job search on Monday. He plans to talk to Jim Riggleman and Lee Elia, both former Cubs managers, but has shown only limited interest in hiring anyone with as high a profile as Baker's to fill the vacancy left by Lou Piniella.

Unless Gillick is playing possum, the Cubs will have a clear path once Baker parts ways with the Giants, which is expected to happen within the week. He could stick it to Magowan by saying he'll take a year off, which he has said is a possibility. But why has he begun the preliminary steps toward putting together a coaching staff?

Dick Pole, who was Baker's first pitching coach going back to when he served a managerial apprenticeship in the Arizona Fall League, has told the Montreal Expos he won't return in 2003.

A major-league source said Pole quit the Expos because he plans to go back to work for Baker, which won't happen in San Francisco. General manager Brian Sabean fired Pole and replaced him with popular Dave Righetti after the Giants missed the playoffs in 1999.

Baker's contract expires on Nov. 6 and San Francisco has an exclusive negotiating window until then. He claims not to know whether he'll return to the Giants, saying he will put the decision in the hands of God.

"I'm going to wait until this year is over with take some time off, a few days or so and do like I always do," Baker told the San Francisco Chronicle's Henry Schulman last week. "I'll just go to a mountaintop someplace and ask for a sign. I'll come down and do whatever I was told to do."

Egos being what they are, relationships between successful coaches and the owners who pay them sometimes reach a breaking point. It happened with Jerry Reinsdorf and Phil Jackson. It happened with Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson. And it's likely to happen with Magowan and Baker.

Magowan could have fired Baker after 1996, when a 94-loss season left him 41 games under .500 in the three seasons that followed his 103-win managerial debut. But the Safeway magnate stayed the course and the Giants won a division title in `97.

Magowan forgave Baker when Florida swept San Francisco in the first round that year but was more than a little miffed when the Mets won a first-round series in four games in 2000. He flew home from New York without even thanking Baker for his efforts, which may have been the beginning of the end for their relationship.

While Magowan seeks validation for funding Pacific Bell Park and providing the resources that have allowed the Giants to have six consecutive winning seasons, it is Baker_a former player and a man of the people_whom Bay Area media and fans have placed on a pedestal.

When the Giants were being presented with the National League championship trophy two weeks ago, Magowan did not acknowledge Baker by name. In a televised interview on a clubhouse platform, he thanked "the manager."

Hearing that, and unable to hide his irritation, Baker walked away.

Baker was asked on Sunday how he would like to be remembered if it turned out to be his last game with the Giants. He did not call such an assessment premature.

"Probably a man who was firm but fair, and was prepared, because I pride myself on being prepared daily," Baker said. "Above all, a person who's a winner."

And a risk-taker? It looks as if Baker is that, too.