Jim Cramer: 'Hopelessly Old,' but Is He Crazy for Being Bullish Best Buy?

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The other morning on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" Jim Cramer referred to himself as hopelessly old while making a bull case for Best Buy (BBY).

From a short-term perspective, there's no question I have been wrong about BBY. The stock has popped roughly 65% over the last three months.

That said, I take a bigger picture view of what Best Buy's up against; from that vantage point, the company is in as bad of shape as ever.

Cramer says he likes the "last man standing" in the space. Other than scattered local shops, Best Buy is the only ubiquitous pure-play consumer electronics chain.

For the self-labeled hopelessly old Cramer, Best Buy delivers.

Jim bought a new television for his Dad -- presumably so Pops can watch the Philadelphia Flyers in style -- and just couldn't make sense of the marriage between Smart TV, cable box, Netflix (NFLX) and other bells and whistles. I presume Best Buy's Geek Squad came out and made it rain. Very nice. There's no doubting Best Buy's ability to help customers in their homes -- for a fee -- or in-store. Value exists in that offering.

It's refreshing to see Cramer seek help in all sorts of ways. I should have him talk to my mother who still can't seem to set the VCR clock after the power goes out. Or maybe he could hook her up with TheStreet's sister/brother team of Ross and Nicole Urken who gave Jim a tutorial on using emoticons so he could be a cooler Dad:

As I have said before, I am allowed to disagree with Cramer. In fact, my contract with TheStreet states that I can be downright insubordinate. I can't tell you how many times I have hid the keys to Cramer's Rolls Royce when I'm in New York City.

In all seriousness, Jim knows I love him. And fear him. And really love him. And fear him.

However, with that in mind, I can't buy the bull case -- outside of anything but a relatively short-term trade -- for owning Best Buy on the basis that it's the de facto choice for tech retail and it operates what amounts to the consumer electronic version of Meals on Wheels.

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