Nothing Personal, Ford Just Isn't Working

"What do you have against Ford (F - commentary - Cramer's Take)?" one angry emailer asks. "Why do you want Ford to go down? Why are you picking on it?"

After all these years -- and for me it is seven years -- I still get people who think that I have a grudge against the stocks I knock.

That's incredible to me. Here's why: I write these negative words not to hurt Ford, but to save you money. It is the reason I do the "Danger Zone" segment on Tuesdays on my radio show. It is the reason I am willing to say "sell" on Fridays when we do the "Lightning Round." I know that if I can get you out of a stock that could hurt you, eventually the gains can take care of themselves.

Don't believe me? I decided to go back a year ago, to see what I was writing, just to random-test the darned thing. Sure enough, I called up a piece about Macrovision (MVSN - commentary - Cramer's Take). I had been on "Squawk Box," back when I used to appear on that show, and I said the stock was a "roach motel," saying that even though the financials look good -- and they were good -- you couldn't get out of that stock to save your life.

I took endless grief for saying that, endless. The producers were none too happy with me. The CEO was furious at me. The viewers were angry at me.

The stock was at $25.

Now it is at $12. Isn't that what defines a roach?

To me, a stock cut in half defines that. Does that mean I haven't picked stocks that were immune from such a decline? No. Does that mean that I picked a piece and just randomly made myself look good? No. In fact, within the roach motel piece was a note that Flextronics (FLEX - commentary - Cramer's Take), which had just dropped 10 points and was going lower still. It was at $15.

---

James J. Cramer is a director and co-founder of TheStreet.com. He contributes daily market commentary for TheStreet.com's sites and serves as an adviser to the company's CEO. Outside contributing columnists for TheStreet.com and RealMoney.com, including Cramer, may, from time to time, write about stocks in which they have a position. In such cases, appropriate disclosure is made. To see his personal portfolio and find out what trades Cramer will make before he makes them, sign up for Action Alerts PLUS by clicking here. While he cannot provide personalized investment advice or recommendations, he invites you to send comments on his column to [e-mail]. Listen to Cramer's RealMoney Radio show on your computer; just click here. Click here to buy Cramer's latest book, "You Got Screwed!" Click here to order Cramer's autobiography, "Confessions of a Street Addict."