Why does Stone Still Believe?

Three times a week, Steve Stone goes on the radio to spout his wisdom about baseball to various hosts on WSCR. Yesterday, he refused to agree with Dan Bernstein and Terry Boers when they said to Steve that he had to be changing his thinking on the Cubs still being a good team.

Steve said that the Cubs are not as bad as they've looked and that Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and even Houston (once they unload in July) are truly awful. The Cubs will garner a lot of wins when they play these teams.

While there is some logic to this (those four teams are, indeed, bad), it fails to look at the Cubs themselves. With only three decent starters and no bullpen, no leadoff hitter, a weak middle infield, and an outfield that should be humanely destroyed, this Cubs team is going to be lucky to even get back to .500.

Stone knows this. He's not stupid. So, why does Stone keep saying that the Cubs can turn it around? It's almost like he's lobbying for something.

It's no secret that Stone's wanted a front office job for years. He was also active in a group that tried to buy the Expos and move them to Las Vegas. Could he be trying to make a move on Jim Hendry or Andy McPhail's job?

Stone might be using his pulpit to make a 50,000 watt case that this season is salvageable. If he keeps saying that and the team continues to tank, then it's almost as if he's accusing Hendry and Baker of negligence. And that Stone knows how to fix it.

The Tribune is a media company. They are concerned with public perception above and beyond everything. They saw the standing ovation that the fans gave Steve at the final game last year. They just might be willing to turn to Steve to save them from seeing the club's profits fall.

But the Cubs will never eat Dusty Baker's salary, right? Don't kid yourself. Baker's $4 million is chump change if TV ratings fall, especially considering that the Trib is a part owner of Comcast Sports Net and lends the Tribune name to a daily show on the network. A bad team means lower ratings for all the shows. Lower ratings equals lower revenue. If the Trib thinks they can make more money by firing Baker, Hendry or anyone else, they'll do it.

Could this be why Stone is so blind to the 2005 Cubs?