Like many of you, I grew up watching the Cubs on WGN with Harry Caray and Steve Stone, and I liked it. I figured fans of other teams didn’t know what they were missing. Harry was passionate and funny and sometimes downright mean, and Steve seemed to know exactly what was happening, what was going to happen and what should be happening.
But then again, I was a kid. What the hell did I know?
I cringed as Steve suffered through the Chip Caray years, making hilarious jokes about who was going to pick up the dinner tab and acting more and more like if he were running things all of this losing wouldn’t be going on.
Then he left for good, we got Len Kasper and Bob Brenly and we haven’t really missed him.
And apparently, more than anything that pisses him off.
He’s got a good job. He’s the color analyst for a big league team, on the other side of town. But he certainly seems to have developed an obsession with his old team, and nowhere is it more apparent than on his creepy Twitter page.
Oh, sure, he’s “protected” it so that even if you go to http://twitter.com/baseballstone you have to click to “follow” him to see his posts.
His constant tweeting about the Cubs has drawn attention already, like at Hire Jim Essian where Kermit counted the ways.
But things really got ridiculous yesterday, when he posted this:
Rumor is that tigers are interested in trading for milton bradley. Cubs should fly him in a private jet.12:36 PM Jul 25th from txt
Which he then followed with:
That got the Manolantern all fired up and he ran with it on his blog, with the subtle headline: Can it Be? Are the Tigers after Milton Bradley?
And he claimed to have all kinds of insight into the rumor.
Two very solid baseball sources confirmed for me just moments ago that the Detroit Tigers are interested in Cubs RF Milton Bradley. They believe that Bradley would be a much better fit as a DH than as a right fielder and that he would mesh well with Tigers manager Jim Leyland.
The Interwebs got all fired up, and started pushing the rumor. I heard it and thought it was interesting, until I found out that the only “sources” were Kaplan and Stone.
Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald chimed in with his take on the rumor. Of course he actually bothered to ask Cubs officials about it. (Something Kaplan couldn’t be troubled to do, even though he was sitting in the same press box as Miles on Saturday.) Over at the four-letter messageboard, Bruce wrote this:
“Total hogwash. Two Cubs people said it’s the first they’ve heard of it and that Jim hasn’t talked with anybody about this. Let’s remember Stone has a, um, a, shall we call it, a thing for the Cubs. And Kap is his buddy.
This is total fabrication.”
Then, on his Twitter feed, Stone started backpeddling.
Well, Steve. It certainly seems like somebody made it up. And you were the first one anybody heard it from. So either you did make it up, or somebody fed you a bogus rumor knowing that because you have a hard-on for the Cubs, and especially Jim Hendry and (for whatever reason) Milton Bradley, they knew you’d run with it.
Hey, I got burned this spring repeating a rumor I’d heard from somebody in the Padres organization that the Cubs and Padres had settled on players for Jake Peavy. Of course, the worst I got out of it is that the NSBB’ers hurt my feelings by calling me a “fading star in the Cubs blog world.” And they’re wrong. You have to actually be a star to fade.
Kaplan then skipped to his little blog machine and hammered out one of the most laughable posts he’s posted yet (and frankly that bar is set pretty high).
It included insight like:
So this afternoon Steve Stone sends out a Tweet on his baseballstone@twitter account saying that the Tigers are interested in Cubs RF Milton Bradley. I hear from a baseball agent who says the same thing and then after Stone’s post hits the internet and I put the rumor on my blog all hell breaks loose.
So let’s review what I posted this afternoon. The headline of the post says “Can it be? Are the Tigers after Milton Bradley? The post talks about the rumor and ends this way:Â I will be working my baseball sources for more on this rumor but if it is indeed true the Cubs need to make that deal ASAP!
…So how did a rumor which happens all of the time take off so quickly? Perhaps because people are so desperate to see Bradley in another uniform they ran with a rumor that it turned out had no substance to it.
That last part is the best part. Let’s look at it again.
“Perhaps because people are so desperate to see Bradley in another uniform they ran with a rumor that it turned out had no substance to it.”
Uh…in this case aren’t the desperate people named Steve Stone and Dave Kaplan?
I still don’t understand where Stone’s hatred for Bradley comes from (I assume it’s more his desire to have Hendry tar and feathered for signing him), but I’m not the only one who noticed.
Wrigleyville23.com has a great breakdown on Stone’s Bradley obsession from his July Twitter feed alone.
Much obliged, Andy.
Stone and the Manolantern … clearly the best and birghtest.
The man o lantern reference alone is hysterical.
Thanks for the link, Andy. I can’t help but think it may be best for Steve to put down the Twitter for a while. Like meth, it must be used responsibly.
I blame bloggers for starting the rumor. Leave poor Stevie alone.
Of course, how do you characterize sad grumps like me who were hoping that it WAS true?
#5 is unaware of how we spell my name around here.
I can be used responsibly?
Al was claiming “Deep Goat” also comfirmed the rumors, but then again Al likes to hear himself talk. I knew it was B.S. once I read it on MLBTRADERUMORS.COM and they thought it was suspect.
He seriously doesn’t know who Bruce Miles is? That’s amazing.
No, I can’t be used responsibly. Example: Cardinal fans.
My favorite part of this is reading the comments section on Orange-Man’s blog, he’s getting ripped to shreds. Wonder if he’s also e-mailing each of those commenters and/or asking for their phone numbers to have a “civil discussion.”
I have to admit tho, I’m kinda starting to feel bad for him. I doubt he was prepared for people on the internets actually calling him on his shit. He probably thought he’d quickly be a prominent, respected blogger. Poor guy… he is still just a human being looking for acceptance. (ugh, stupid empathy)
Whaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!
“I hear from a baseball agent who says the same thing and then after Stone’s post hits the internet and I put the rumor on my blog all hell breaks loose.”
So a beat reporter saying you’re full of shit = all hell breaking loose… okay kraplan, no matter how much you keep pumping that linen scented air up your ass, it’s not helping the bullshit falling out of your mouth smell any better.
Bruce Miles is one of the few members of the media that gets referred to by name from Lou… LOU, for crying out loud. Who is Bruce Miles…pfft, what a smug bastard.
Your mom’s preoccupied with Dave Kaplan.
I seem to be going around these days. I guess I’m fun for a little while, but then I just seem silly.
stone saying he doesn’t know who bruce, is like when soriano said he thought brenly was still managing arizona last year. well, except sori really didn’t know brenly was in chicago. so i guess it’s not similar at all.
I didn’t realize Kaplan deletes comments on his blog. Its not a blog then if you delete comments. Him, Stone and Al were made for each other.
I could not agree more.
I used to love Stone and his sarcastic color commentary with Harry and Chip.
I cursed the Cubs and Dusty Baker for making him leave.
I too believed at the time that if Stone were running things all of this losing wouldn’t be going on. But sadly Steve has turned bitter. He wants Jim Hendry’s job so bad that every move Hendry makes is wrong.
“I assume it’s more his desire to have Hendry tar and feathered for signing him.”
Stone is going after everything and everyone associated with Hendry.
All of this is about Jim Hendry.
I may not agree with every move Hendry has made, but no one can doubt his devotion and desire to see the Cubs win.
Sad Steve, very sad.
I can honestly say that I don’t ever want to see you working for the Cubs again.
Cease and desist, Dolan. Cease and desist! You’re making Chip’s fake wife and kids cry.
Stone, for all his faults, was never one to badmouth players who didn’t deserve it, nor did he start facetious rumors which held no basis in reality. Is he capable of making a mistake? Of course. Would he purposefully make up false stories regarding Cubs players even if he held some sort of grudge against the team? I sincerely doubt it.
My opinion: take it all with a grain of salt. Steve Stone may no longer be regarded as near and dear to Cubs fans due to his untimely and sudden dismissal for criticizing the team, but as a broadcaster he hasn’t been the type of person to unnecessarily stir trouble concerning any team or players. I’d guess that he as privvy to some inside information regarding interest in Bradley, but mistakenly published it.
As for Bradley, let’s all face the facts and realize the man is just NOT a good fit on this team. For all that was expected of him (a left-handed bat who would add balance to the lineup), he’s failed miserably because of his injury problems and his subpar acclimation to performing on the stage of a big-market team — not to mention his horrendous left-handed plate discipline compared to the times he hits right-handed. At this early juncture in his multi-year deal, were I the Cubs’ GM, I’d be looking to trade Bradley for a $100 Crate & Barrel gift card.
Der Klempner, Stone never badmouthed players or Dusty Baker early on; he was as much a house man as anyone — until they crossed him. Only then did he come out “telling it like it is” and begin selectively ripping.
Moises Alou was just fine until he openly sided with teammates against Stone; that’s when we began to hear things like “Nice piece of baserunning, Moises” after a gaffe. Dusty was his man until the manager didn’t back Stone — and THAT’S when the rips began.
Same with Hendry.
My guess is Stone was at least casually chummy with Bruce Miles — they shared space for years — until this. Now it’s “Who’s Bruce Miles?”
The man has . . . let’s just say the man has issues.
As for the rumors: You’re right — this is new ground. Why Stone sprang this one is anyone’s guess; why Kaplan spread it without calling one of his confidants on the team for confirmation is the greater mystery.
Maybe that’s the hazard with blogs/Twitter/etc.: Stuff gets thrown out there with less restraint than it would be by a well-paid print reporter whose bosses (some, not all) value and insist upon credibility. But that’s another column.
A poster calls himself “truth time’ but fails to call out Der Klempner on this steaming pile of rancid falseness:
not to mention his horrendous left-handed plate discipline compared to the times he hits right-handed.
Good god man, do you not bother to look any of this up before flinging your poo on the apehouse wall? Wait–don’t answer that–you obviously didn’t, because had you looked up Bradley’s numbers you’d see that he does, in fact, have pretty good discipline from the left-hand side. In fact, his OBP of .379 as a left-handed batter–while not as good as his .403 OBP from the right side–would rank only behind only Ramirez in that department for everyday players.
Regardless, it’s certainly not relatively horrendous.
Milton Bradley has been largely disappointing, yes. But he’s also contributed to the team, particularly of late. He hasn’t driven the ball with as much authority as we would have liked but A) there are still 10 weeks left in the season and B) after watching players on this team flail away mindlessly with no understanding of the strike zone, it’s at least refreshing to see a guy with an iota of plate discipline up there.
LEAVE STEVE ALONE!!!! YOU LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!
What did I do to deserve this exile?
Jim Hendry is still involved…and still a stinking bum. Stone is history…who cares? blah blah blah