Steve Stone wants place in Cubs Organization but not GM.

Great Article of the Tribune-

Steve Stone has confirmed his interest in becoming a significant voice in a new Cubs ownership group but said he would not want the duties or title of general manager."Probably from about a year ago, I have said to everyone who has asked me: I don't want to be a general manager," Stone said Thursday. "I have no desire to be a general manager of a baseball team. Not the Chicago Cubs, not any of them. If any team asked me to be the general manager, I would definitively turn them down. It's a job for a very energetic fellow."

Stone, 60, was described in a Thursday Tribune story as the Cubs' probable next general manager if Chicago financier Lou Weisbach and his group land the team.They are one of at least four groups known to have an interest. Stone and Weisbach are longtime friends, and while Stone said he would be happy to serve the group in an advisory role, running the team is more than he cares to do."It's a 12-months-a-year job where you have to spend that in the same city," Stone said. "My wife is an attorney; she lives in Arizona. We live six months in Arizona and six months in Chicago. And our home is in Arizona. So for me, that ship [to be a general manager] has sailed.

"Stone believes he could have significant input in a team's decision-making process without the title of a top executive."The role would be determined later, but I'll tell you what it won't be: The role will not be like a president, a chief executive officer, a chief operating officer or a general manager or an assistant to the general manager."

Although Stone and Weisbach are friends of long standing, Stone said he was listening to overtures from other parties seeking the Cubs as well."I have made sure to be absolutely … probably fanatical to not be aligned with any one group, which I am not," he said. "I have talked to a lot of different people, but that's as far as it has gone. The message I have tried to impart to them is that I have something to offer. And if your group were to get [the Cubs], I would love to be a part of it. I am not in Lou's group." Stone apparently wants to be a "free agent" adviser for whichever group lands the Cubs.

"If you're looking at a free agent of the magnitude of Alex Rodriguez … a guy to turn around your team … I'm one of the guys who can help in a number of ways," Stone said. "But I am not the Alex Rodriguez of free agents."