From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.
When the Cubs signed Milton Bradley to a three-year, $30 million contract this offseason, there was no shortage of critics. After 45 games in 2009, the Cubs are only one game above .500 and Bradley is hitting .200. He's also been hurt and suspended. Obviously, everything wrong with the Cubs is his fault, at least if you listen to the media and general public.
I have a message for the naysayers: It's well past the time for you to get off of his back.
There are many reasons the constant barrage of criticism Bradley has had to take from the media and fans on a near-daily basis has gone too far. It all stems from the fact that the only good thing you ever hear about him is that he can rake -- a proclamation always saddled with asterisks galore regarding his health and sanity. Everything else you hear about him is negative. With this in mind, I'm bringing the positivity. From the Windup is a happy place, dammit (well, at least for this week).
His teammates appear to like him. There are many cases where teammates will acknowledge or even call out ex-teammates for not being good clubhouse guys. Curt Schilling, Manny Ramirez, Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds come to mind as players others haven't necessarily enjoyed playing with through varying accounts. As fiery as Bradley can be, you can't find many -- if any -- accounts of former colleagues calling him a bad teammate. On this edition of the Cubs, Bobby Scales, Ryan Theriot, Carlos Zambrano, Derrek Lee, Ryan Dempster and Reed Johnson -- all of whom are well-liked by most Cubs fans -- have publicly defended him and/or seem to enjoy him as a friend. The only complaints you can really find about Bradley's interpersonal skills come from the media (shocker there, huh?). You don't win games by making reporters happy.
He plays hard. He may not go all out on every ground ball or routine fly, but that has more to do with preserving his brittle body than an unwillingness to hustle. He has given full effort every time it was needed this season, from chasing down fly balls, diving (and making himself look less than favorable in the process -- see this picture), breaking up double plays and giving maximum effort on the basepaths when trying to take an extra base or score an important run. Anyone who has watched him this season can not question Bradley's effort, and, sadly enough, that matters in this day and age.
He cares intensely about winning. Would you rather have some apathetic, check-collecting player taking up space on the roster, or someone who might erupt because he wants to win so badly. I'll take the latter. You also can't win games with indifference.
He's more accountable than people would lead you to believe. I can't tell you how many times thus far this season I've read some variation of, "it's never Milton's fault, if you ask him." That actually couldn't be further from the truth. In the last few days, as a matter of fact, Bradley's shown contrition for two separate things. Everyone concentrated on some worldwide conspiracy against Bradley concerning his comments about the Chicago Tribune, but did you see the last line of his quote? "I was frustrated and vented about a lot of things I shouldn't have." It's right there. He admitted he did something wrong. Now, I really respect Paul Sullivan's work. He's a good reporter. Really, though, why was he asking Bradley about the umpiring when the Cubs were in the midst of a possible season-changing losing streak? We know the answer. He knew Bradley was going to give him a beauty quote, and he got it. I tip my cap to Sullivan for his moxie, but it doesn't exactly make Bradley the clown people painted him out to be. He's emotional. He shot from the hip. He was burned by it once again, but he was accountable eventually.
There's more. Wednesday, after Carlos Zambrano's beautiful tirade, Bradley was, not surprisingly, asked by the media for his thoughts on the incident. He offered up this little nugget: "I know from my own experience, when he sits back and thinks about it, he's going to regret some of his actions." So, Bradley regrets his actions from earlier this season when he was tossed for arguing a call on strike three. Bradley was suspended as result of that ejection. He appealed the suspension. That is noteworthy because Bradley had never before appealed a suspension. Why? Just ask him: "I've been suspended before -- justifiably. I never appealed because I knew I did wrong." On the fact that he's been booed by his home fans thus far in the season? "I didn't come here to suck. I know I've sucked so far."
Soak in the accountability.
He's an easy target. Bradley has been Public Enemy No. 1 for years. We could go on for hours discussing his past transgressions, but it would then take days more to discuss the over-dramatized reactions that seem to follow his every move. The guy can't even breathe without being accused of being a jerk. When did it become so commonplace to simply attack the easy target and move on in hit-and-run fashion?
It's just so lazy. It would be one thing if Bradley was a divisive force in the Cubs clubhouse, or if he was the only one underachieving or getting thrown out of games. He's not any of those things, but he is the center of attention on a media monster of a team. When he says it's because of his name, he's not lying. Granted, he made this bed for himself -- and, see above, he'd be the first to admit as much -- but at some point people need to just move on and accept him for who he is.
Fans are actually the biggest offenders of this. When I was in the stands at Wrigley Field this season, I heard more venom directed at Bradley than I've seen since LaTroy Hawkins was the faux-closer. It was ridiculous how much people hated him, and it can only be blamed on the snowball effect. It has become the cool thing to do to hate Bradley. Just as it's cool to blame the President (either Bush or Obama depending on your political affiliation) for whatever personal woes people have encountered, it's such a lazy and played stance.
This isn't without bias. It's no secret I'm a Cubs fan and want to see Bradley succeed. But the amount of piling on done this season has made me even more vigorous in my defense of him. The thing I want more than anything is to see Bradley get scorching hot, stay healthy and lead the Cubs to the promised land. In which case, would all these Cubs fans and Chicago writers whining about the Bradley signing suddenly cry mea culpa and anoint Jim Hendry a God for having the guts no other general managers had?
Doubtful, but here's hoping we get the chance to find out.
In the meantime, let us all focus on the big picture. And turn the page.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
" He can rake"?? What does this mean? Why is this guy leaving no cliche unturned in defending Bradley? won't anyone else on the Cubs talk to him? This pseudo reporting doesn't even include a comment from Piniella or Hendry. The real laziness is this knownothing trying to pass himself off as a reporter.
Have you ever heard of an editorial column? That's what this was. It wasn't a report. There's a big difference.
You're allowed to disagree -- which is the point of opinion pieces -- but to claim I was attempting to be a reporter is off-base.
Mr. Snyder, please do not waste your time responding to blog-goons like the above.
This is actually a pretty good EDITORIAL column.
I have also found it interesting that MB's 15 minute post-game interviews garner more attention than his play, even though accountability seems to be a continuing theme.
The LaToya Hawkins mention is ON-POINT. I was one of the idiots yelling at that clown.
And MB can RAKE. Look at his CAREER stats. Hendry feels he is worth 10 million a year, and Piniella puts him in the line-up EVERY DAY. Does that say enough?
Snyder, this is probably the best piece on Milton Bradley that I have read by any journalist. Ever. Thanks for taking the time to write it. I hope that people read it and think about some things, but I have a feeling they will not.