I guess the Milton Bradley haters are all going to be basking in all their glory now. According to a report on Chicagosports.com, Bradley was taking out some frustration on the Gatorade cooler in the Cubs dugout when approached by his manager, Lou Piniella. Apparently the two exchanged "angry words" and Bradley was removed from the game. In news much more disconcerting, though, Bradley was seen in street clothes leaving the stadium and is now gone from the premises. You might recall Sammy Sosa left Wrigley Field during the last game of the 2004 season and it was the last time he ever played for the Cubs. The Bradley situation will obviously conclude differently, because the Cubs signed him to a three-year contract this offseason and likely can't get a good return on him via trade.
Bradley, the mercurial yet talented outfielder, is having a major off-year thus far for the Cubs. He hasn't had an OPS in the low-.700s (which it currently is) since 2002 in Cleveland and he's been just brutal hitting left-handed.
The one positive for the season thus far was that Bradley hadn't had any go-rounds with fans, opposing players, teammates or management. That has now apparently fallen by the wayside. Not only did he argue with Piniella -- which wouldn't have been awful on the surface; players and managers argue from time to time -- but he won't likely curry much favor with teammates for abandoning them during a game. A game the team won, by the way, so the act itself appears incredibly selfish on the surface.
From a personal standpoint, this is very infuriating. I've done everything I could to give Bradley the benefit of the doubt, and spent a lot of time defending him. It could turn out that Piniella told him to leave the stadium -- albeit a pretty unrealistic scenario -- so we should all reserve judgment until the facts surface. Still, it doesn't look good.
In the post-game press conference, Piniella did say he was "tired of looking the other way," regarding Bradley. We can draw any conclusion we want from there, but, as I said, it doesn't look good from Bradley's end.
UPDATE: Piniella said he ordered Bradley to leave the ballpark. He also implied he was tired of watching temper tantrums from the players -- which, considering the source, is quite funny. This actually makes the situation look much better for all parties involved, assuming it was the whole truth. Piniella also said Bradley will be in the lineup Saturday when the Cubs play the second game of a three-game series against the White Sox.
All's well that ends well, right?
Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Milton is a certified looney tune. Its never his fault. Thank God I,m a white sox fan.
I got a straight jacket with Miltons number on it!
So, after reading the update, this news story seemed to be nothing but conjecture and personal opinion. That's great reporting!
Wasn't a report nor was it a news story.
There are different forms of sportswriting.
This child-man seems bent on self-destruction. He is the last person in Chicago, or on this planet, who should be given all the money he wants and then told to behave.
He needs hardship to develop discipline.
Well stated!!!
Pinella tired of watching players throw temper tantrums? Now thats the funniest thing I've read today and by the way, with all these Cubs assaulting Gatorade equipment, are they sponsored by Powerade?
What would you suspect from someone who is named after a borad game company? This guy batted like a dork in Detroit and would better serve the Cubs if he took his frustrations out on opposing pitchers and not the Gatorade jug! Make him clean up after his own mess too!
This is one cub fan who wishes Bradley would stay "gone" and take Soriano with him. Let the kids who aren't overpaid play the game.
I agree. How can "Sorry"ano be in the majors when he can't catch simple fly balls? These guys play for the big deals and then they suck. Dempster, Zambrano, Bradley, etc. They need to start earning their money!!! DeRosa earned his money and we got rid of him. We deserve to lose.
How about a $100,000 fine and a 10-game suspension for such behavior? You wanna act like a spoiled little boy, you should be treated like one. I'm so sick of these over-hyped, over-paid, over-confident, and over-bearing sports figures. It's high time MLB kicked some ass and fans booed the spoilsports off the field.
Just another incident where a prima-donna athlete feels he is bigger than the game. Milton Bradley has been a loser form day one in the major leagues. Why anyone would sign this moron is a mystery. Kick his dumb ass out of the league.
im a 53 lifelong fan of thew cubs,my grandfather sold life insurance to the team in the phil cavaretta era........and im finally tired of the act......
A-S-S-H-O-L-E's like Bradley should be banished from the league...let'em work for McDonald's.
The Cubs should have kept Edmunds and DeRosa. Worst mistake they made was getting rid of DeRosa. You don't just get rid of guys who have given you over 40 home runs and over 100 RBI for someone like Bradley.
There were times last year where DeRosa was the only on hitting, and to give up a guy that you can play anywhere is crazy.
He was our protection for the 3rd baseman who's been out and our top hitter.
I am in complete agreement. We sealed our own deal to end up in the bottom by getting rid of DeRosa. I also think that Gregg is a mistake as well.
Maybe Bradley's blowing up will light a fire with the team, since Lou has been calm so far this year.
So far we've fired the hitting coach, but with our bullpen failing us like crazy maybe it's time to fire the pitching coach as well.
I've never liked him, he'll let a pitcher walk the bases loaded before he'll go out to talk to him.
Bradley needs to put up and earn all the money we're paying him or shut up.
Lou, you'll never win with this group of immature,spoiled 3rd graders. Bradley is a cancer,baseballs version of terrell owens. Dempster acts like a little girl with his hissy fits. Sorianno and ramirez are two of the biggest hotdogs in the NL. The Cubs deserve to lose with with this group of jerks.
Ramirez isn't a hotdog jerk, he's our best hitter. We're not doing well because he is out of the line up. He's our clutch hitter, and we can't win the division without him.
The asshole that plays left field on the other hand I'd like to bitch slap every time he does that hop before catching a fly ball. I'm just waiting for the day he drops it doing that. I hope then Lou chews some ass.
Sounds like he would be a good fit in the Bronx!!