Milton Bradley out for season

[Chip R]

Get this, his manager was trying to prevent him from going after the ump on a disputed call and ends up tearing Bradley's ACL.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_yl...v=ap&type=lgns

[flyer85]

that is the most bizarre injury I can remember.

[NJReds]

Originally Posted by flyer85

that is the most bizarre injury I can remember.

And yet fitting when you consider who got hurt.

[Roy Tucker]

I saw this on ESPN last night. Something is really fishy here. Bradley claims the ump instigated his attack. The Padre 1B coach Bobby Meacham backs up Bradley on his story.

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn...c.php?t=276968

Bradley tears ACL, is done; Padres livid

Posted: September 24, 2007

SAN DIEGO -- Milton Bradley's latest dustup might cost the Padres dearly in their run for the playoffs.

Bradley injured his right knee during Sunday's bizarre run-in with umpire Mike Winters, apparently while being tackled by his manager. A published report Monday says Bradley likely will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL.

The diagnosis came from an MRI exam, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, who spoke Monday on condition of anonymity.

This comes as the Padres are clinging to a half-game lead in the wild-card race. Sunday's 7-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies leaves them just ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Rockies, who swept their three-games series against the Padres, are 1 1/2 games back.

Adding to the incident are charges from the Padres that Bradley, known for his volatile on-field temper, was baited into the rhubarb by Winters.

Bradley called it "the most unprofessional and most ridiculous thing I've ever seen."

"It's terrible. And now, because of him, my knee's hurt," said Bradley, a second-half catalyst for the Padres who was in his third game back from an injury that sidelined him for nearly two weeks. "If this costs me my season because of that, he needs to be reprimanded. I'm taking some action. I'm not going to stand pat and accept this because I didn't do nothing wrong."

The incident is more bizarre because Bradley was injured while tangling with Padres manager Bud Black.

An inning before Bradley was injured, the Padres lost center fielder Mike Cameron after Bradley stepped on his right hand while the two pursued Garrett Atkins' inside-the-park home run.

As Bradley walked to the plate in the eighth, umpire Brian Runge asked Bradley if he had flipped his bat in Runge's direction after taking a called third strike to end the fifth.

"I said, 'Are you kidding me? That's ridiculous,' " Bradley said. "He said, 'Well, it was reported to me by the other umpires that you threw your bat at me.' And I said, 'That's completely ridiculous. I've done a lot of things. I'm trying to turn it around. I would never harm anybody.' "

Bradley singled, and after arriving at first base asked Winters if he told Runge he threw his bat. "He goes, 'Yeah, you did.' I go, 'Are you kidding me? That's completely ridiculous. If I strike out and the inning's over, why are you looking at me? Everything's always about me.' "

Then, a fan heckled Winters.

"I pointed to the guy in the crowd, affirming it," Bradley said.

Bradley said Winters responded with a string of expletives.

"That's when I went at him and he kicked me out," Bradley said.

First base coach Bobby Meacham began to restrain Bradley, and Black came running out. Bradley got away from Meacham, but Black grabbed him by the jersey.

Bradley was attempting to get free and, after a few seconds, Black spun Bradley around and the player collapsed. Bradley immediately grabbed his right knee and eventually had to be helped off the field.

"I was trying to pull Milton away from the argument," said Black, later ejected for arguing a checked-swing call against Adrian Gonzalez.

Crew chief Bruce Froemming wouldn't allow a reporter to speak with Winters.

Froemming said Bradley "got grumpy with Mike Winters. Winters told him to knock it off and he continued it. There is no covering up what he did. He had to be physically restrained."

Meacham defended Bradley.

"In 26 years of baseball, I can honestly say that's the most disconcerting conversation I have ever heard from an umpire to a player," Meacham said. "It was almost like he wanted to agitate the whole thing. He wanted to get Milton boiling for some reason. Milton, he held his cool. I was just appalled."

Padres CEO Sandy Alderson, a former general manager and president of the Oakland Athletics, said he'd never seen a player injured like that. "But as far as I'm concerned, it was necessary," he said.

Alderson used to work in the commissioner's office, where one of his duties was overseeing umpires.

"We're not going to sit by and see an umpire bait a player," Alderson said. He added that if the commissioner's office concludes the situation was handled appropriately, "I'll be shocked."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[flyer85]

the far more interesting part of the story would be to find out what Winters actually said that set off both the mild-mannered Meacham and the volatile Bradley.

[redsmetz]

Originally Posted by flyer85

the far more interesting part of the story would be to find out what Winters actually said that set off both the mild-mannered Meacham and the volatile Bradley.

You're correct to characterize Bradley as volatile, but I hope MLB investigates this because there are some umpires who just seem to relish this type of confrontation. We've all seen it from time to time. Whatever happened to the day when an umpire walked away from a confrontation with a player and didn't take them head on.

[flyer85]

Originally Posted by redsmetz

You're correct to characterize Bradley as volatile, but I hope MLB investigates this because there are some umpires who just seem to relish this type of confrontation. We've all seen it from time to time. Whatever happened to the day when an umpire walked away from a confrontation with a player and didn't take them head on.

Umpires should never be instigators, and clearly Winters said something that even got Meachem all fired up.

It will be interesting to see if MLB actually addresses the problem or sweeps it under the rug and throws the entire episode on Bradley.

[TOBTTReds]

How was CB Buckner not involved?

[Blimpie]

"It's terrible. And now, because of him, my knee's hurt," said Bradley, a second-half catalyst for the Padres who was in his third game back from an injury that sidelined him for nearly two weeks. "If this costs me my season because of that, he needs to be reprimanded. I'm taking some action. I'm not going to stand pat and accept this because I didn't do nothing wrong."

All double-negatives aside, it sounds like Bradley cannot take responsibility for his own actions.

This is still a guy who had to be physically restrained because of something that someone MIGHT have muttered under their breath. Sticks and stones, my man.

[Team Clark]

Originally Posted by Blimpie

All double-negatives aside, it sounds like Bradley cannot take responsibility for his own actions.

This is still a guy who had to be physically restrained because of something that someone MIGHT have muttered under their breath. Sticks and stones, my man.

There was NOTHING muttered. Make no mistake about it. This was a very clear conversation. I have never been a big Bradley fan but from every report I have seen/read and having watched the full replay at least a dozen times it's clear he was "sucked in". I hope Bradley takes whatever "action" he said he was going to take. At some point umpires have to be accountable too.

[Team Clark]

Originally Posted by AvesIce51

How was CB Buckner not involved?

Yeah really.... CB is a lightning rod.

Of all the umpires I would suspect something like this would happen, I would have put money on Angel Hernandez as the prime suspect. He's as classless as they come.

[RedsManRick]

What did he say? Was it racial? A manhood check?

[RedsBaron]

Originally Posted by redsmetz

You're correct to characterize Bradley as volatile, but I hope MLB investigates this because there are some umpires who just seem to relish this type of confrontation. We've all seen it from time to time. Whatever happened to the day when an umpire walked away from a confrontation with a player and didn't take them head on.

I agree. If Winters in fact instigated the confrontation, he should be severely punished.

[OnBaseMachine]

This was all Winters. This sucks for the Padres, Bradley has been their best offensive player since coming over. This injury clearly hurts their chances at reaching the playoffs.

Bradley to miss remainder of season
Outfielder tears knee ligament after ejection on Sunday
By Corey Brock / MLB.com

SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Diego Padres will be without left fielder Milton Bradley for the final week of the regular season.

According to a source, Bradley tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee after being restrained by manager Bud Black following his ejection from the Padres' 7-3 loss Sunday to Colorado.

The Padres are expected to officially announce Bradley's injury before Monday's game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.

Bradley will not only miss the final seven games of the regular season but the postseason should the Padres advance that far.

The Padres enter play on Monday 2 1/2 games behind first-place Arizona in the National League West and a half-game ahead of Philadelphia in the Wild Card standings.

And now they'll have to try to advance to the playoffs without one of their top offensive players.

After being obtained by the Padres from the A's on June 29, Bradley hit .313 and led the Padres in on-base percentage (.414) and slugging percentage (.590) in 42 games. He hit 11 home runs and had 30 RBIs after the trade.

Bradley also missed significant time with a hamstring and oblique injury.

Bradley was ejected from Sunday's game after an eighth-inning conversation with first-base umpire Mike Winters that had its origins to a fifth-inning at-bat.

Bradley was called out on strikes to end the fifth inning. Plate umpire Brian Runge told the Associated Press that Bradley "... flipped the bat right in front of me, about five to 10 feet in front of me."

Runge asked Bradley before his eighth-inning at-bat if Bradley had flipped his bat in the direction of Runge intentionally.

"He said, 'No,'" Runge said. "He said, 'Did he [Winters] tell you that I threw at you? He started to point at Mike. I said, 'No, no.' I even threw my hands up and told him to calm down."

Once Bradley arrived at first base, he engaged in what essentially appeared to be a tame conversation with Winters, who was standing behind him while play continued. That's when things got strange.

"I get a hit and I go to first base, and I asked him [Winters], 'Did you tell him I threw my bat at him?'," Bradley said. "He said, 'Yeah, you did.' I said, 'Are you kidding me? That's completely ridiculous. Why would you do that? Why were you even watching me? If I strike out, the inning's over, why are you even looking at me?'"

San Diego first base coach Bobby Meacham, who witnessed the entire incident, said that a fan in the seats down the first-base line yelled something from the stands directed toward Winters.

"Someone from the stands booed the umpire and Milton pointed to the guys in the stands. He didn't say anything, [he] didn't look at him. Then the umpire went off on Milton and called him a name," Meacham said. "If he had said that to me, I would have charged him."

The incident on Sunday was witnessed by Padres CEO Sandy Alderson, who told the Associated Press that "umpires are not supposed to react as emotionally as the players. They are there to control and manage the game. They are not the game.

"The only thing we can do is make sure the league takes a look at this and makes sure it was handled appropriately."

The Padres will likely use Scott Hairston primarily in Bradley's absence, though Terrmel Sledge and Brady Clark could also see time in left field.

http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/news/...t=.jsp&c_id=sd

[MrCinatit]

Bradley had been mumbling about the umpiring during the entire game, so it is not like he is completely absolved. He, in turn, could have mumbled a few personal comments about the umpires. (EDIT: looking at OBM's article, it seems Bradley was provoked big time. Sounds to me like Winters should be serving a suspension himself.)
However, the thing which gets me most about this is that how, more and more, it seems umpires are becoming more and more a part of the spotlight. Are they jealous of the attention the players are getting? I thought the men in blue were supposed to be professionals and peace keepers - not drama queens and attention magnets.