The Milton Bradley Thread

[CTA513]

Lou also came out and said hes still looking for a left handed bat.

[edabbs44]

Does anyone still think that Walt should have went after this guy?

Buzzkill Milton Bradley

If there was any inclination to write happily about the Cubs’ moving into first place for the first time since April, Milton Bradley killed it.

The guy who has been stealing money all season is now doing what he can to steal enthusiasm and whatever little satisfaction might exist, taking shots at the media and the fans. Firing on the media is fine. Go ahead. We’re big boys.

But taking shots at the fans and treating them dismissively is just plain stupid.

Or standard Bradley stuff, apparently.

See, it’s always someone else’s fault with Bradley, in case you haven’t noticed in the short time that he has been here to do what he can to ruin a seemingly indestructible Cubbie buzz.

As usual with the guy whose motto must be “Surly to bed, surly to rise," Bradley offered some comments on sweeping Dusty Baker’s typically bad team and jumping over the dreaded Cardinals:

"It's nice, but I don't think we're going to get any nicer articles written about us," Bradley said. "But we're in first place, so you can't find a negative in that."

Here’s a tip, pal: Nice articles are easier to come by when you don’t sound like a self-pitying brat. Just saying.

And I’d say that wondering facetiously about whether there would be nicer articles written would be finding a negative. Just saying.

But wait. There’s more from Milton The Miserable, talking about how little being in first place means even after the inadequacies and injuries the Chicago Cubs have suffered while getting surprising and clutch contributions from Iowa Cubs:



"Am I going to get more cheers now?" Bradley asked, and I’m wondering, do you want cheers for each of your two RBIs since the All-Star break or a big standing O for both of them bunched together?

But wait. There’s still more from Badmouthing Bradley:

"Are we going to stop getting bashed by everybody, articles about our lineup and how it was better last year and all that garbage. Last year's team is sitting at home, just like everyone else. There's just one champion."

First, the Cubs’ lineup Sunday included seven players from last year's team, a lineup that tacked on runs the way the manager wants.

Second, Bradley was cheered after making a nice headfirst slide into home in the third and a running catch of a foul ball in the fifth.

"I don't notice it," he said.

The guy takes shots at fans for not cheering arguably the biggest free-agent failure in baseball this season, and then says he doesn’t hear the cheers. ‘Course, the guy has trouble counting to three, so perhaps noticing cheers is asking way too much.

And third, that stuff about “how our lineup was better last year and all that garbage," it’s hard to imagine the articles being as much garbage as what the Cubs are getting for their $30 million on Bradley, but here’s the thing:

It’s not the articles, pal. It’s the manager. Lou Piniella. ‘Member him, Milton? Your batting coach. The guy who called you a “piece of [naughty word]." Yes, well, anyway, recently he told WGN-AM 720 that it’s “baffling, it really is. Look, we've been patient with this, really patient, and we've tried every combination that we have. I've run out of explanations. The problem is, we don't have the same pieces on the offensive side of things. My first year here (2007), we had to make some changes. But we had some pieces in place. Now, you know, we've run out of those pieces."

Oh, and it was the manager who said the team still needs a left-handed bat -- you know, Milton, the kind of left-handed bat that you haven’t provided. So, there you go, pal. Direct your comments about “garbage" to your manager.

Then again, perhaps we shouldn’t expect Bradley to pay attention to who’s saying what. After all, the guy has had enough trouble just counting to three.

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotr...l-bradley.html

[Always Red]

Originally Posted by edabbs44

Does anyone still think that Walt should have went after this guy?



http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotr...l-bradley.html

haha- I think Rosenbloom doth protest too much...

[KoryMac5]

Milton and the Cubbies continue their Wrigley Field Love Fest:

The Cubs' inevitable plans to rework their underachieving roster under new ownership should probably start with an effort to move Milton Bradley and whatever they can of the $21 million left on the final two years of his contract.

And by the sounds of it, Bradley would welcome it.

In response to a mundane postgame question about feeling more comfortable - presumably at the plate - following his four-hit night, Bradley revealed that he's never comfortable here and talked about dealing with ``hatred'' daily.

``It's never comfortable,'' he said after going 4 for 4 with a homer in Tuesday's 15-6 loss. ``It's hard to be comfortable when you don't get a hit and get booed every time. When I go home and look in the mirror, I like what I see. My family's there. I have people I can talk to who are very supportive in spite of everything and all the adversity and hatred you face on a daily basis. But I'll be all right. I always have.''

Hatred? It would seem he's referring to that booing and possibly criticism in the media.

Hatred? Come on.

Building an off-season around a $30 million acquisition at the expense of some key depth players only to watch the new guy fail to deliver and the lack of depth become costly deserves criticism - whether aimed at the player or the organization. And maybe it deserves a fair share of those boos.

But that's about the player, not the person.

Unless there's something more than Bradley's telling us about the source of this ``hatred,'' then he has only himself to blame for making it that personal.

[redsfandan]

"All I'm saying is I pray the game is nine innings, so I can go out there the least amount of time possible and go home," Bradley said.

What a gamer.

[reds44]

Would be the Reds 2nd best hitter this year, 3rd if you include Rolen. I'd take him and his .391 OBP in LF next year.

[redsfandan]

You want him? You can have him. But I hope the Reds are smarter than that.

[edabbs44]

Originally Posted by reds44

Would be the Reds 2nd best hitter this year, 3rd if you include Rolen. I'd take him and his .391 OBP in LF next year.

Yeah, because he is worth $10MM per year.

Come on, there is more to this game than just looking at the OBP column.

[KoryMac5]

Miserable Milton is absolutely the perfect present for obnoxious Cubs fans. May they grow old together over the next 2 years.

[OnBaseMachine]

Bradley suspended for rest of season
By Paul Sullivan

ST. LOUIS -- For this season, it's game over for Milton Bradley.

The outspoken outfielder, who took shots at the Cubs in a Saturday interview with the Daily Herald, has been suspended for the rest of the season, according to general manager Jim Hendry.

"The last few days became too much for me to tolerate," Hendry said.

"I'm certainly not going to let our great fans become excuses," Hendry said. "I'm not going to tolerate [Bradley] not being able to answer questions from the media respectably."

This came after Bradley's encounter Thursday when reporters asked Bradley about taking himself out of the game without a pinch runner ready following a hit. The scene played out like this:

Reporters: What happened with the injury?

Bradley: "I'm not talking about that. What else you got?"

Reporters: Why did you come out?

Bradley: "I got knee inflammation. I got two knee surgeries. That happens when you got knee surgery, in case you don't know. What else you got?"

Reporters: How long will you be out?

Bradley: "What else you got? Anything significant?"

This went on and on until Bradley turned his back, ending the interview.

Bradley is not with the team as the Cubs prepare for a 7:05 p.m. game against the division-leading Cardinals.

The Cubs signed the oft-moved Bradley to a three-year, $30 million contract in the off-season but are expected to try to trade him this off-season after one disappointing campaign on the North Side.

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotr...ress-team.html

Bradley enjoying Cubs? 'Not really'
By Bruce Miles | Daily Herald Staff

ST. LOUIS - Milton Bradley was a late scratch from Saturday's Cubs lineup, and it appears he's scratching himself from the team's future plans more and more each day.

In a brief one-on-one interview Saturday with the Daily Herald, Bradley talked of his unhappiness and said, "you understand why they haven't won in 100 years here."

Bradley, whom the Cubs signed to a three-year, $30 million contract last off-season, has been at the center of controversy for much of this season.

On the field, he is batting .257 with 12 home runs, 40 RBI and an on-base percentage of .378.

Lately, he's been bothered by inflammation in his left knee, which apparently is why he was scratched from Saturday's game.

When approached, Bradley said he didn't want to talk about his knee.

When asked if he was disappointed in his own performance, he didn't want to answer that, either.

"I'm not talking about that," he said. What do you think I did?"

Bradley claimed to have no opinion on where he bats - "In the lineup," he said of his preferred spot - and the only time he became expansive at all was when he was asked if he had enjoyed his first season in Chicago.

"Not really," he said. "It's just not a positive environment. I need a stable, healthy, enjoyable environment. There's too many people everywhere in your face with a microphone asking the same questions repeatedly. Everything is just bashing you. You got out there and you play harder than anybody on the field and never get credit for it. It's just negativity.

"And you understand why they haven't won in 100 years here, because it's negative. It's what it is."

Asked whether he was talking about the fans, the media or even the Cubs organization, he replied: "It's everything. It's everybody."

However, he would not go so far as to say he regretted coming to Chicago.

"No, I made the decision," he said. It is what it is."

General manager Jim Hendry most likely will try to trade Bradley this off-season. When asked if the thought he'd be back, Bradley said: "Who knows?"

The Cubs signed the switch-hitting Bradley to provide some left-handed production in their batting order. As a left-handed batter, Bradley has batted .234, compared with .324 right-handed.

Bradley was suspended earlier this season for allegedly bumping an umpire after striking out as a pinch hitter in his Wrigley Field debut.

In a June game against the Twins at Wrigley Field, he lost track of the outs and threw the ball into the stands with men on base after making a catch. He and manager Lou Piniella got into a shouting match at U.S. Cellular Field in June, and Piniella apologized for calling Bradley a name.

Bradley has been booed frequently at Wrigley Field this season

Last month, he talked of not being "comfortable" because of the "adversity and hatred" he said he faces.

Asked to clarify those comments the next day, he said: "All I'm saying is I just pray the game is nine innings so I can be out there the least amount of time as possible and go home."

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=322741

[Highlifeman21]

Good luck trading Milton Bradley with that contract.

[Chip R]

He's the gift that keeps on giving.

[RedsManRick]

Mike Lincoln and Willy Taveras for Bradley and cash. He might be a first class pain in the butt but at least he produces.

[Brutus]

Originally Posted by RedsManRick

Mike Lincoln and Willy Taveras for Bradley and cash. He might be a first class pain in the butt but at least he produces.

I have my limits. I think there are such things in sports as clubhouse cancers. Though I think the concept is overblown, Bradley is the textbook, clinical definition of a distraction. Even ridding of Taveras might not make it worth a trade for me (LOL).

EDIT: Well, on second thought, if there's anything that could change my mind, it might be just that.

[edabbs44]

Originally Posted by RedsManRick

Mike Lincoln and Willy Taveras for Bradley and cash. He might be a first class pain in the butt but at least he produces.

Sorry, but you are 100% off the mark on this one.