Steve Stone Could Be Involved with New Ownership

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

As I liked to in my blog, the Sun-Times mentions that some of the people forming groups to buy the Cubs have been in contact with Stone.

 

Link.

 

The article states that Stone doesn't see himself as part of any ownership group,

 

''I don't have to be involved in the ownership group because the amount of money is going to be astonishing. I would like to think that whoever gets the team, if he did his homework around the Chicago area, he would find that I would have something to lend to that group.''

 

but instead sees himself as a possible advisor or front office man.

 

The article goes on to state that if Stone found himself in such a position that Piniella likely would be retained but not GM Jim Hendry.

 

If Stone were placed in a prominent role by the new owners next season, he seems to be a huge fan of manager Lou Piniella. But it's doubtful general manager Jim Hendry -- who rightfully backed manager Dusty Baker during an ill-advised showdown with Stone in 2004 -- would survive the transition.

 

Stone also thinks Wrigley would have to be part of the sale.

 

''From strictly a business standpoint, because of the pursuits I have had with other teams, the stadium was a big part of a financial stream that could assure that you could eventually pay the bills of your ballclub,'' he said. ''And this is going to go for so much that the idea that someone would come in and purchase the Chicago Cubs and not include Wrigley Field in the financial stream, it just doesn't make a great deal of business sense. And the people who are going to be in the middle of the bidding for this team are going to be exceptional business people.''

 

And since he's never short of opinions, Stone offers his on Cuban as owner.

 

'I've talked with Mark, and I happen to like him,'' Stone said. ''No. 1, he's a Pittsburgh fan. They play in the same division as the Cubs. I don't know about you, but I don't want a Pittsburgh fan running the Cubs. I just don't think that he's right for this deal. Doesn't mean he's not right for another deal, but this is a special deal. This is different. I just think the majority of the people that wind up with the Chicago Cubs are going to be from Chicago.''

[soapy]

I still like Steve Stone on a personal level. Having said that, based purely on some of the things he's said on the radio, I wouldn't want him in a front office position that had him involved in personel choices.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I agree. Personally, I hope whoever buys the Cubs has the sense to stay clear of Steve Stone.

[Magnetic Curses]

I still like Steve Stone on a personal level. Having said that, based purely on some of the things he's said on the radio, I wouldn't want him in a front office position that had him involved in personel choices.

 

QFT.

 

if hendry is fired, i want a GM who embraces statistical analysis a bit more.

 

depo, to be specific.

[Butterscup1679666578]

I don't want Stone near this organization again, unless he's in the booth. I also don't think Cuban being a fan of the Pirates would hinder his ability to try and make the Cubs a winner. I'm going to go out on quite a limb and say that many owners, GMs, and coaches in sports weren't a fan of the teams they are with growing up.

[Tracer Bullet]

depo, to be specific.

 

ditto

[YearofDaCubs]

I agree. Personally, I hope whoever buys the Cubs has the sense to stay clear of Steve Stone.

Agreed. Truth is, I'm sick of hearing his name.

[Tracer Bullet]

I don't want Stone near this organization again, unless he's in the booth. I also don't think Cuban being a fan of the Pirates would hinder his ability to try and make the Cubs a winner. I'm going to go out on quite a limb and say that many owners, GMs, and coaches in sports weren't a fan of the teams they are with growing up.

 

I'd love to have Stone in the booth, though I've been happy with Bob. Maybe he can do the radio with Pat when Ron is ready to hang it up.

 

And I agree - the fact that Cuban is a Pitt fan is irrelevant to me. In addition to your list, most players probably did not grow up fans of the team they end up playing for. Do they not try as hard when they play against their childhood team? Highly doubtful. That's a non-issue.

[BDWeav71]

I'm still holding out hope that Colangelo finds a way to purchase the team. One question though, does he still own partial ownernship in the Diamondbacks, and if he does why can he go after another team and Zell can not?

[ConstableRabbit]

I agree. Personally, I hope whoever buys the Cubs has the sense to stay clear of Steve Stone.

Agreed. Truth is, I'm sick of hearing his name.

 

Funny, I'm sick of hearing his voice

[Bruno7481]

I agree. Personally, I hope whoever buys the Cubs has the sense to stay clear of Steve Stone.

Agreed. Truth is, I'm sick of hearing his name.

 

Funny, I'm sick of hearing his voice

 

I still don't understand all the Stone criticism...

[ConstableRabbit]

I agree. Personally, I hope whoever buys the Cubs has the sense to stay clear of Steve Stone.

Agreed. Truth is, I'm sick of hearing his name.

 

Funny, I'm sick of hearing his voice

 

I still don't understand all the Stone criticism...

 

First off, his voice is annoying. It's nasal. And I personally don't like the way he comments on the game -- I feel like he's got a know-it-all attitude. "He's going to throw a slider here..." It just gets annoying.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

depo, to be specific.

 

ditto

 

more small words that nobody can read

[Banedon]

I still like Steve Stone on a personal level. Having said that, based purely on some of the things he's said on the radio, I wouldn't want him in a front office position that had him involved in personel choices.

 

Even beyond that, I think part of the problem is that a lot of Steve's opinions are based on personal relationships. He seems to be very sensitive to criticism.

[Magnetic Curses]

depo, to be specific.

 

ditto

 

more small words that nobody can read

 

i can read them. but anyway, don't want to start a big thing with the small-ballers who see depodesta's firing in LA as a chink in the sabr-armor.

[Magnetic Curses]

I agree. Personally, I hope whoever buys the Cubs has the sense to stay clear of Steve Stone.

Agreed. Truth is, I'm sick of hearing his name.

 

Funny, I'm sick of hearing his voice

 

I still don't understand all the Stone criticism...

 

stone is your typical know-it-all baseball insider who likes to grind his axes publicly--a noteable axe is dedictaed to billy beane.

 

i've never heard stone give him anything but backhanded compliments. i realize that beane got the job that stone coveted, but still, jeez, give it up, steve. beane's done a better job than you could do in a million years.

[KingCubsFan]

depo, to be specific.

 

ditto

 

more small words that nobody can read

 

i can read them. but anyway, don't want to start a big thing with the small-ballers who see depodesta's firing in LA as a chink in the sabr-armor.

Oh I'm sure Depodesta's VORGM was quite high. Unfortunately, in the real world, we also judge by results, which DePodesta lacked. Way to categorize anyone who thought DePodesta was bad, too. "Small-ballers." Good one. (For the record, I think Colletti is even worse than DePodesta, and is quickly cementing himself as one of the worst GM's in baseball)

[Magnetic Curses]

depo, to be specific.

 

ditto

 

more small words that nobody can read

 

i can read them. but anyway, don't want to start a big thing with the small-ballers who see depodesta's firing in LA as a chink in the sabr-armor.

Oh I'm sure Depodesta's VORGM was quite high. Unfortunately, in the real world, we also judge by results, which DePodesta lacked. Way to categorize anyone who thought DePodesta was bad, too. "Small-ballers." Good one. (For the record, I think Colletti is even worse than DePodesta, and is quickly cementing himself as one of the worst GM's in baseball)

 

i don't know how you can assess a GM in 2 years. but yep, pretty much what i was expecting. thanks for living up to the stereotype.

[KingCubsFan]

depo, to be specific.

 

ditto

 

more small words that nobody can read

 

i can read them. but anyway, don't want to start a big thing with the small-ballers who see depodesta's firing in LA as a chink in the sabr-armor.

Oh I'm sure Depodesta's VORGM was quite high. Unfortunately, in the real world, we also judge by results, which DePodesta lacked. Way to categorize anyone who thought DePodesta was bad, too. "Small-ballers." Good one. (For the record, I think Colletti is even worse than DePodesta, and is quickly cementing himself as one of the worst GM's in baseball)

 

i don't know how you can assess a GM in 2 years. but yep, pretty much what i was expecting. thanks for living up to the stereotype.

What stereotype is this, exactly? The stereotype of objectively judging someone by their performance in a job? He inherited a division winner, turned them into a last place team, and then was unable to hire a manager, which led to his firing. He might be OK if given another chance, but I'm not sure why he should be anyone's top choice.

I'm sorry I don't verbally fellate Billy Beane and his associates like you. It's ridiculous to imply that anyone who doesn't wholeheartedly worship and embrance every stat-minded GM candidate is clearly backwards-thinking and ignorant. Billy Beane is one of (along with Schuerholz) the best GM's in the game, and I'd have no problem making him the highest-paid GM in baseball if he wanted to come to the Cubs. But that doesn't mean everyone he's ever worked with is good at their job too. Next time, at least bring up someone who has had success somewhere, like Forst or Fuson

[erik316wttn]

I don't want Stone here again. After all, it was his fault we lost in 2004, because he was too critical of the players.

[Rob]

depo, to be specific.

 

ditto

 

more small words that nobody can read

 

i can read them. but anyway, don't want to start a big thing with the small-ballers who see depodesta's firing in LA as a chink in the sabr-armor.

Oh I'm sure Depodesta's VORGM was quite high. Unfortunately, in the real world, we also judge by results, which DePodesta lacked. Way to categorize anyone who thought DePodesta was bad, too. "Small-ballers." Good one. (For the record, I think Colletti is even worse than DePodesta, and is quickly cementing himself as one of the worst GM's in baseball)

 

Ok, let's look at results.

 

He got Brad Penny and Hee Seop Choi for Guilermo Mota, Juan Encarnacion, and Paul LoDuca.

 

Brad Penny has been great when healthy, and Choi provided plenty of value when he was in. None of the others provided that much value while they were in Florida. Advantage: DePodesta

 

He picked up Steve Finley in 2004 for what's turned out to be nothing. Finley homered on the last day of the year to win the division title for the Dodgers. Huge Advantage: DePodesta

 

He signed JD Drew, Jeff Kent, and Derrek Lowe... he got very good production from all of them. All three contracts turned out to be reasonable.

 

He didn't sign Adrian Beltre after his monster year... avoiding his subpar production with a massive contract.

 

I think it's fairly obvious that the Dodgers main pieces were heading in the right direction.

[abuck1220]

steve stone likes to talk.

[Sammy Sofa]

Not thanks to Steve Stone having anything to do with the Cubs again, and good luck to him in his future endeavors.

[texascub]

I would love to have either Mark Shapiro or J.P. Ricciardi, but both have pretty long contracts.

[Flames24Rulz]

I don't want Stone here again. After all, it was his fault we lost in 2004, because he was too critical of the players.

 

And that's why I can't bring myself to liking Kent.

 

I like Stone a lot. I didn't realize that I would miss him as much as I did when he was pretty much forced out of the booth. Nothing against Brenly, but Kasper and Stone would've been a great pair.