Oh that caller who asked Annie if she was worried about Mike being fired during this Steve Stone session is gold. It took Annie about 10 minutes to answer, of which 9:59 was awkward silence.

She said she needs a list of what words cannot be used . OK Annie, I'll start the list for you. Nappy headed ho's is out

Also, I'm surprised Steve Stone is defending Sosa so much. They're talking about whether or not he'll be booed tonight against the Sox. He says a lot of people have corked bats, he's just the one that got caught. Also, he says that leaving early on the last day of the season, if that's the worst thing he did we should accept that. Thing is, it's far from the worst transgression. Thank god there was another caller to remind him of the congressional hearings, his poor performance on the field, and all the other bullshit he's done.

The more I listen to Stone, the less I like him. He's got that Bernstein "goofy yet condescending" attitude act down well.

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Steve Stone hears people sucking up to him on almost every call. He is starting to believe it now. He is becoming bad radio.

"Hey Stoney, It's a pleasure to talk to you, you were the best, I hope that you buy the cubs, now here is my question, Who is going to buy the Cubs?, I'll hang up and wait for your answer, and it was a pleasure to talk to you"

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I've never enjoyed him. He's Captain Obvious.

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I'm bringin Sellars back..

That would be Ed Farmer.

Stone is just falling in line with most score employees, just collecting a check by not working to hard.

I thought North was only going to be out one day? What happened? Suspended?

If by "becoming bad radio" you mean that he's absolutely sucked from the moment he debuted at the Score, you're correct. And as far as his status as one of the leading baseball thinkers goes, I can only pose this question: How's that transition to centerfield, the easiest outfield position to play according to Sone, working out for Alfonso Soriano?

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I agree doomed. Seems a bit odd. I dont listen but doesnt most of the show's on air people take off when Mike's off?


Maybe he is done? Nostradamus got any rumors to make up?

I agree. Another "last minute" vacation is starting to smell. All his blasting of management and CBS along with his "fabulous" ratings, even though they are "flawed". He wanted 18 months to prove his great programming idea would work, well, it's almost 3 years and it still isn't successful. Gosh, give him a raise and more programming authority.

With all the ripping he does daily of management, I wouldn't be shocked if this unpaid vacation.

He has a captain obvious quality, but he also gets asked dumb questions with people with high expectations. Gets asked to predict the future too much. Probably not the best role for him either.


Kind of funny because I remember when North used to rip on how people were amazed by Stone's knowledge, saying 'no shit he predicted the next pitch, he just watched the catcher set up'

of the outfield positions, and depending on the park you play in, center field is the easiest of the three. it still requires an athletic player to be out there (i'm not arguing that you could throw jim thome or todd helton or whatever mis-shapen potato you'd like to name out there), but it's easiest for the following reasons:

- the ball rarely slices or hooks out to center as it does to lf/rf
- the sightline to the batter is the clearest from centerfield. that's why teams put their in-house video (the ones used for team analysis, not for broadcasts) in center field, though obviously the center fielder isn't always aligned to it.
- the average throw from a center fielder to a relay man near second base on the infield is generally shorter than it is from the corner outfield positions

for those reasons, center field is the easiest outfield position to play. that said, there are special cases -- left field @ fenway or minute maid could have been designed with manny ramirez and carlos lee in mind. but this is chicago, and more specifically, wrigley field, which has a relatively standard center field layout and distance, while the corners are "pocketed" which causes problems with the wind and fielding hits down the line.

there is no need for the "gazelle" type center fielder in either chicago park. if anything, letting jacque jones (a poor defender with a rag arm) play wrigley's right field for the entirety of 2006 should be viewed as one of the more fireable offenses perpetrated by dusty baker, but it hasn't really been discussed until recently.