END OF THE STONE AGE: F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, "There are no second acts in American lives." Fitzgerald's logic has not held up over time. Steve Stone being a good example. In 2003 Steve Stone came back for his second act as the Cubs television analyst after being away for two years. Chip Caray and Stone picked up where they left off with Stone correctly predicting what would happen. All seemed perfect again in the Cubs television world. Unfortunately this past season the Cubs had a handful of whiny complainers on the team. Chip Caray more or less admitted on Jay Mariotti's radio program today that Steve Stone felt physically threatened on more than one occasion and while Andy MacPhail and Jim Hendry did tell the whiny players to cut it out, Dusty Baker did not do much to stop it. With Cubs management and the manager not disciplining those players in terms of suspensions and fines, it sent a signal such behavior would be tolerated. Not shockingly Steve Stone decided he did not need to put up with this boorish behavior and shabby treatment any longer and resigned yesterday. It is a shame this had to happen, but happen it did because Cubs management let it happen. Memo to MacPhail, Hendry, and Baker: winning ballplayers do not whine and worry about the broadcasters, losers do. Dusty Baker complained at the end of the season about the situation with the broadcasters that "he didn't have time for mess." Well Dusty the person who allowed this situation to become the mess it did was you. You are the one who did not step in and stop this behavior from your whiny, losing players in the beginning when you should have. You let it fester and we see the result. A talented Cubs team let personal vendettas take precedence over winning and the Cubs not shockingly choked and lost in the end. The Cubs and WGN-TV reportedly believe the Cubs television jobs are the premier baseball broadcasting jobs in the country and everyone should want them. With the way the Cubs organization allowed Chip Caray and Steve Stone to be treated, one wonders why anyone would want one of the broadcasting jobs in the first place?
posted by Thomas at 1:23 PM
