When It Comes To Alex Rios & Milton Bradley, Steve Stone Can't Handle The Truth

For whatever reason, former Cubs and current White Sox TV analyst Steve Stone (via @BaseballStone) has made Milton Bradley his primary target for tweets.

Without a doubt, Bradley has been a disappointment in 2009.  One season after leading the American League in OBP (.436) and OPS (.999), Bradley struggled in the first half, and if not for posting a .280/.380/429/.809 second half line, it would be a totally lost season. Part of the disappointment lies in the weight of expectations put on Bradley by GM Jim Hendry, who billed Bradley as the power-hitting left-handed bat the Cubs have been missing since the dawn of time. (Note to Hendry: billing someone who has never hit more than 22 homers or driven in more than 77 runs is a mistake.  That's like promising a Cadillac and bringing in an Oldsmobile.)

Bradley has gotten his game together, posting a .280/.380/.429/.809 line since the All-Star break.  Maybe that is why Stone hasn't tweeted about Bradley since Sept. 2.  But where is the equal opportunity "truth" teller's tweets about Alex Rios.

Rios is an adequate defender, but since debuting with the White Sox on Aug. 12, he has posted a .140/.156/.215/.371 line.  No, that is not a typo.  And yes, that is a .371 OPS.  And while Stoney spent a good chunk of this season ripping the three-year, $30 million deal signed by Bradley, not a peep has been said about the White Sox's acquisition of the remaining five years and $59.7 million guaranteed remaining on the deal.

To be fair, something Stone is clearly not doing as the "truth" teller he claims to be, the baseball sage has not peeped about Rios since Aug. 26.  He's tweeted about Bradley three times since then.  Even once mentioning how the great Casey McGehee and rookie Gordon Beckham are out performing Bradley this season.  Yet Rios seems to be getting a free pass from Stoney.

Stone earned his stripes at the end of his Cubs tenure for saying what everyone else wanted to say but didn't have the guts to.  It was easy because the 2004 Cubs were one of the most unlikeable 89-win teams in the history of Chicago baseball.  But since departing after that season, Bob Brenly has done a better job of doing what Steve Stone does than Steve Stone.

Now that's what I call "truth."