TheBenjamin
Jun 27th 2009, 1:13 pm
The sad story that is Milton Bradley has taken yet another turn, and as is the usual case, the turn has been for the worse. On a day when Chicago Cub fans should be celebrating a win over their south side counterparts, the Chicago White Sox, and off the field issue takes center stage. With the Cubs this year, that shouldn’t come as much as a surprise, as we have seen a few Cubs put on a show with their antics in the Cubs dugout, as well as a very animated display by Cubs ace pitcher Carlos Zambrano. However, yesterday was Bradley’s turn to put on an over the top display of frustration, though this time we have to trust what we hear as his display was not caught on camera. At least not on the Comcast feed which was hosting the Cubs broadcasters yesterday. There was no video of anything he may have done to upset Cubs Manager Lou Piniella the way he did.
According to all reports, after Bradley’s at bat in the top of the 7th inning, Bradley took his temper out of the Gatorade cooler in the dugout. This shouldn’t be anything new, as Zambrano as well as Ryan Dempster each took several swings at the dearly departed Gatorade machine that once sat in the dugout. During his post game press conference, Piniella stated that he had had enough of this, but no one knows if he meant enough of Bradley’s antics, or the teams as a whole. Either way, after the incident took place, Piniella told Bradley to take his uniform off and go home. Thankfully, Piniella told the media that he had sent Bradley home, or we would have a whole other mess on our hands with a player leaving the game early. That was my initial thought when Len Kasper and Bob Brenley reported that Bradley had left the stadium. That makes things that much easier to take then when Sammy Sosa left the game early a few years ago, as well as Zambrano’s reported departures from games as well. In this case, Bradley was only doing as he was told.
I am not excusing his antics, whatever they were, but should we not be surprised by them? There have been others, as well as Carlos Marmol who threw his glove at the Gatorade cooler after he threw up an embarrassing third of an inning. Makes you wonder if Piniella had said something to him about his tantrum, or if Bradley as his only target. After Zambrano’s highly animated altercation with the umpire, Piniella laughed the situation off. He didn’t make too many comments about the various players who assaulted the Gatorade machine. Whatever Bradley did, which we will likely never know as there as no television coverage of the incident, must have been bad enough to get Piniella to throw him out of the stadium. Whatever happened went unnoticed by everyone, including Kasper and Brenley who immediately thought of an injury when they noticed Ryan Freel playing right field in place of Bradley.
We don’t know the whole story, and likely never will. One thing we do know, or at least have a better idea of, is that this relationship with the Cubs is not working out, at least not with Piniella. The Cubs manager has stated that he will likely start a platoon between Bradley and Micah Hoffpauir, with Bradley facing only left handed pitchers. Not exactly what you want to see out of your $30 million athlete. This is a relationship that I can not see lasting much longer. Whether Piniella steps down at the end of the season, or Bradley is somehow traded, I don’t see this lasting past this year. Bradley’s actions, whatever they were, are in no ay excusable; nor are the tantrums of anyone else. Sadly, this will likely not be where this ends.
In a tribune article, Alfonso Soriano had some un kind words about Bradley. He stated "I have no problem with him, I think he's a great guy. The only problem with him is his [combative] attitude sometimes in the game. A lot of people don't like that, but that's him." That’s not where his thoughts ended though, he also stated that if Bradley “is not 100 percent to help the team, we don't need him." Those could be fighting words, and we could see an altercation between our corner outfielders, much like we saw between Zambrano and former Cubs catcher Michael Barrett in 2007. Maybe I am wrong, but I don’t know if Bradley will take these comments too lightly, and sparks may fly between the two of them, which could lead to one of them being traded away. Or, maybe this could light a fire under one or both of them. Players don’t need to get along to make a team successful. If you need an example, look at the 1970 Oakland Athletics, they hated one another but went on to in three straight World Series championships. Regardless, you never want to see teammates fighting. Something has to be done, and fast.
According to all reports, after Bradley’s at bat in the top of the 7th inning, Bradley took his temper out of the Gatorade cooler in the dugout. This shouldn’t be anything new, as Zambrano as well as Ryan Dempster each took several swings at the dearly departed Gatorade machine that once sat in the dugout. During his post game press conference, Piniella stated that he had had enough of this, but no one knows if he meant enough of Bradley’s antics, or the teams as a whole. Either way, after the incident took place, Piniella told Bradley to take his uniform off and go home. Thankfully, Piniella told the media that he had sent Bradley home, or we would have a whole other mess on our hands with a player leaving the game early. That was my initial thought when Len Kasper and Bob Brenley reported that Bradley had left the stadium. That makes things that much easier to take then when Sammy Sosa left the game early a few years ago, as well as Zambrano’s reported departures from games as well. In this case, Bradley was only doing as he was told.
I am not excusing his antics, whatever they were, but should we not be surprised by them? There have been others, as well as Carlos Marmol who threw his glove at the Gatorade cooler after he threw up an embarrassing third of an inning. Makes you wonder if Piniella had said something to him about his tantrum, or if Bradley as his only target. After Zambrano’s highly animated altercation with the umpire, Piniella laughed the situation off. He didn’t make too many comments about the various players who assaulted the Gatorade machine. Whatever Bradley did, which we will likely never know as there as no television coverage of the incident, must have been bad enough to get Piniella to throw him out of the stadium. Whatever happened went unnoticed by everyone, including Kasper and Brenley who immediately thought of an injury when they noticed Ryan Freel playing right field in place of Bradley.
We don’t know the whole story, and likely never will. One thing we do know, or at least have a better idea of, is that this relationship with the Cubs is not working out, at least not with Piniella. The Cubs manager has stated that he will likely start a platoon between Bradley and Micah Hoffpauir, with Bradley facing only left handed pitchers. Not exactly what you want to see out of your $30 million athlete. This is a relationship that I can not see lasting much longer. Whether Piniella steps down at the end of the season, or Bradley is somehow traded, I don’t see this lasting past this year. Bradley’s actions, whatever they were, are in no ay excusable; nor are the tantrums of anyone else. Sadly, this will likely not be where this ends.
In a tribune article, Alfonso Soriano had some un kind words about Bradley. He stated "I have no problem with him, I think he's a great guy. The only problem with him is his [combative] attitude sometimes in the game. A lot of people don't like that, but that's him." That’s not where his thoughts ended though, he also stated that if Bradley “is not 100 percent to help the team, we don't need him." Those could be fighting words, and we could see an altercation between our corner outfielders, much like we saw between Zambrano and former Cubs catcher Michael Barrett in 2007. Maybe I am wrong, but I don’t know if Bradley will take these comments too lightly, and sparks may fly between the two of them, which could lead to one of them being traded away. Or, maybe this could light a fire under one or both of them. Players don’t need to get along to make a team successful. If you need an example, look at the 1970 Oakland Athletics, they hated one another but went on to in three straight World Series championships. Regardless, you never want to see teammates fighting. Something has to be done, and fast.