It was only a matter of time before Milton Bradley started to hit the ball. In addition to getting in trouble with the league office and falling injured, you could always count on Bradley raking throughout his major league career. The problem, this season, is that he's playing in Chicago -- where the fans aren't exactly patient with new big ticket acquisitions. Hopefully Bradley's heroics Tuesday night were the beginning of a love affair between the fans and the maligned right-fielder. As the Cubs trailed 2-1 in the sixth inning, Bradley deposited a Jake Peavy pitch into the right-center field bleachers for a go-ahead 2-run shot. What followed the prodigious blast was the Cubs fans collectively embracing Bradley for the first time.
"Nice to hear some cheers for once," Bradley said. "I didn't come here to suck. I know I've sucked so far, but give me some love, you know what I'm saying? I am a Cub."The worst thing a player can do in his early days as a Cubs player is get off to a slow start. Compare the difference to Kosuke Fukudome. Fukudome had a free pass until about August last season by virtue of some Opening Day fireworks and an insanely hot April.
Furthermore, many of the fans didn't want Bradley anyway because of many preconceived notions. When those notions became a reality in a Cubs uniform, the excessive -- and undeserved, as far as this author is concerned -- boos from the stands commenced.
The clutch home run -- which was absolutely crushed -- is not just an outlier. Bradley has been climbing out of his early season swoon for the past week. In his last six games, Bradley has hit .304 with 2 home runs, 6 RBI and a .993 OPS. He's picking up the slack when the Cubs need it most, as Derrek Lee has been injured and Aramis Ramirez will be on the shelf for a while.
It's time the Cubs fans started rallying behind the guy instead of trying to find reasons to avoid backing him. With his personality, support can only help elevate him to the next level with the bat in his hands. His recent hot streak is pretty modest compared to his immense talent with the lumber.
