Cubs fans have been quite disheartened this year. Not only is the team underachieving, but the fans also lost beloved color man Steve Stone. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Steve Stone is the best color man in baseball.

What pains me about that sentence is some of my most baseball literate friends don't know who I'm talking about. "Uh, who's that again?" they ask, searching their memory for a glimmer of recognition. "He was the Cubs' color guy since 1983."

For many years Stone's presence was overshadowed by Hall of Fame broadcaster and Budman Harry Caray, but those of us lucky enough to grow up in Chicago or watch the Cubs on WGN heard Stone's voice for 22 seasons.

Sadly, tensions between Stone and the Cubs, especially manager Dusty Baker, erupted last year during the final stretch of the season. As the Cubs threw away their wild-card chances, the players complained about Stone's "hypercritical" commentary. In the offseason Stone and partner Chip Caray left WGN for ESPN and the Braves, respectively.

It's definitely been tough on Cubs fans, who now have to settle for former D'backs manager Bob Brenly as an analyst. Earlier this season after the Cubs' Jerry Hairston Jr. hit a double, Brenly said, "Shy of a home run or a triple, that's the best you can ask for." Thanks, Bob!

Stone's brilliance is that he not only knows every nuance of the game (he was a pitcher for 11 years, winning the Cy Young in 1980 with the Baltimore Orioles) but he often correctly predicts what happens on the field, leaving viewers wondering if the man is, in fact, psychic. I had the luck to chat with "Stoney" and find out exactly how he knows what's going to happen on the baseball field before it happens.

How has the transition been from being the Cubs broadcaster to ESPN?

Stone: The only time I got to see American League baseball was during interleague play. Now, I get to see all of the top-of-the-line National and American league stars. If you love baseball and you appreciate some of the great players in the game, it's a good way to get familiar with these guys and sit down with the managers, which I didn't really have the chance to do in the past.

Is it fun to go back and call Cubs games?

Stone: I obviously know the team backwards and forwards, so it really cuts down on the prep work. It's a different philosophy. When you are a team broadcaster, you have a tendency to root for that team. You'd like to see the fans rewarded for all their faithful following, especially if you are a Cubs fan and haven't been rewarded in 97 years. When you take a national perspective there are a lot of things you can say that maybe some of the local broadcasters wouldn't say. Although I never felt constrained by that, obviously. If you watched last year you'll know there was a problem or two, but for the most part I feel you always make it a straightforward, honest call.

What impact did Harry Caray have on your career?

Stone: I took to heart what Harry Caray told me because he molded me as a broadcaster. He said I should make sure, when I'm looking into that camera, that I'm telling the truth. You can't cover up for anybody; you can't soft peddle too many things. On radio you can make a bad route to a fly ball not exist, it's just a double. On television you see a guy cut across and not round off a charge into the alley. It's a completely different scenario.

You have an astounding ability to call pitches and predict things that will happen in a game. I must ask ... are you clairvoyant?

Stone: [laughs]. Anybody can react to a situation. It is very easy for a baseball analyst to react to what happened. When I am at home, watching the game I am either sitting there trying to manage with the manager, thinking with the hitter or trying to understand what the pitcher is going to do. It's one of the things I try to introduce into the game, giving the fan a couple different ideas of what is going through the pitcher's mind or what he should do at this point. From a pitching standpoint I am always looking at the weaknesses of the hitter. How would I work him? So I have a pretty good idea of what works to get [the hitter] out. Now, there are some guys you just can't do that with.

Like who?

Stone: Albert Pujols. You can't work him in the same spot one way and expect to get him out four times. You might get him out once or twice but if you try to go back there with the game on the line he is going to beat you. He is able to adjust at-bat to at-bat. Up until this year Derrek Lee was a .266 lifetime hitter. You could throw the ball in on his hands and he wouldn't be quick enough to get the head of the bat out. If pitchers had to go get him they would pound him inside. Well, he understood this, being the smart fellow that he is, and he made adjustments over the winter. Lee came to spring training with a couple ideas in mind about how to close up that whole inside. Well, the first couple of times pitchers went inside on him this year he either hit the ball out of the park or doubled down the line and all the sudden it was a brand new Derrek Lee. He could always cover the outside of the plate, but as he started to cover that hole he turned into a bona fide Triple Crown threat.