The Chicagoist stumbled on this little error the Sun-Times website ran on Friday morning.  I don’t know if you all heard, but there was a fire at a Michigan Ave. mall and due to some sort of delay in the Sun-Times website’s cache cycling, this image appeared on the main page briefly.

Before we put the Milton Bradley situation to bed though, I want to make one last defense of Bradley (coupled with the obvious attack on idiotic Cubs fans and Chicago media).  One of the Trib’s many resident idiots Paul Sullivan ran a story yesterday about Bradley’s most “tumultuous” moments as a Cub.  The obvious implication and tone of the piece is to cast Bradley in a negative light, but let’s actually look at each one of these incidents and see the real story:

April 16: After getting standing ovation at Wrigley Field before his first home at-bat, Bradley is called out on strikes and ejected by plate umpire Larry Vanover, who alleges Bradley made contact with bill of his cap. Later suspended by MLB for infraction.

It was a bad call and he was reasonable in arguing it.  Everyone knows there was no real contact and he shouldn’t have been suspended.  this is a case of umpires treating certain players with bad reputations (whether deserved or not) differently.

April 22: Booed by Cubs fans for not running out ground ball in his first start at home, then refuses to talk to media afterward.

Really?  Cubs fans were booing him on April 22?  That seems a little early for us to have turned on him, doesn’t it?  No matter how bad he was playing he deserved a chance to get going.  April isn’t exactly kind to a lot of new Cubs players.  All the day games and cold weather require an adjustment period.

April 23: Asked how his injured groin feels after game, Bradley cracks, “I feel like 30 million bucks” while walking away from reporters.

So?

May 24 : Tells Tribune that umpires have vendetta against him: ” ‘We’re going to get him any time we can. As soon as he gets two strikes, we’re going to call whatever and see what he does. Let’s try to ruin Milton Bradley.’ “

I don’t understand how this is not true.  He was just being honest and the frustration is understandable.  I mean look at his suspension from earlier for accidentally brushing caps with the ump?  He felt that way for a reason.

June 12: Throws ball into bleachers after making two-out catch against Twins, allowing run to score. “Sue me,” he defiantly says afterward.

Yeah this one was bad.  Especially for a slumping player.  At this point things have begun to deteriorate beyond repair and not knowing how many outs there were did not look good.

June 26: Tells Tribune he feels like he’s “afloat on an island” because his teammates have isolated him: “They say all the right things, but it’s just b.s.” Later creates dugout scene after popout and gets into confrontation with manager Lou Piniella, who calls him “piece of (expletive)” and sends him home.

This is entirely management’s fault.  I’m not saying Bradley isn’t a mopey irritable guy.  What I’m saying is that management knew this when they brought him in and did not give him ANY support system of any kind.  They just left him to hang out there in the media and none of his friends or people who could make him comfortable were in the clubhouse.

July 12: Declares himself “back” after poor first half and says “negative” media is only thing stopping Cubs: “Don’t read the newspaper. Don’t watch TV. Just play, because we have everything we need right here. If we stay together in here, cut out all the outside b.s., we’ll be fine. There’s way too much hoopla, there’s way too much talk. There’s way too much speculation.”

While the media was not the only reason the Cubs sucked, I couldn’t agree more with him that they are negative and it is obnoxious and has an impact on the team.

Aug. 26 : Suggests he has been victim of racial abuse in interview with beat writers. Asked for specifics, he facetiously shouts: “America doesn’t believe in racism.” Also rips Chicago waiters for “bad-mouthing” him.

100% happened.  Dusty, Jacque, Latroy, and other African-Americans have said the same thing and each time Cubs fans and media doubts them.  Kerry wood acknowledged the racism that goes on and still people refuse to believe it is happening.  Wake up!  People are still racist all over and Cubs fans are no different, if anything they have proven to be worse than the norm with their behavior towards black players.

Sept. 17: Takes himself out of game without pinch runner ready, refuses to answer questions afterward, repeating: “What else ya got? What else ya got?”

At this point it was clearly over.  The rift between Bradley and the team/fans made anything he said or did go under harsh scrutiny making this stupid move by him all the more criticized.

Sept. 19: Takes himself out of starting lineup and refuses to pinch-hit, leading to heated confrontation with hitting coach Von Joshua. Beforehand, he complained of “negativity” in organization in Daily Herald interview.

Meh.

Sept. 20: Suspended for final 15 games and sent home by GM Jim Hendry. Cubs players stand by Hendry’s decision. “Sometimes you just have to look in the mirror and realize that maybe the biggest part of the problem is yourself,” Ryan Dempster says.

Dempster was right, Bradley was his own biggest problem.  As I have said before, however, the Cubs and Hendry knew that when they got him and did nothing to help him deal with his problems or at least cushion him from their repercussions.

Did Bradley suck?  Yes.  Did he need to be traded? Yes.  Was he the cause of his own problems? Definitely. But he was no different here than he was anywhere else.  While signing him may have been a mistake, signing him without taking into account his psychological profile and trying to help him with it was the real mistake.

Related Posts:

• Ricketts’ Press Conference Recap (2)
• I Love Jim Hendry Too, But What Was He Smoking This Winter? (Grading The Cubs Offseason Moves in Mid-June) (0)
• Lou, Your Fly’s Open (2)
• Milton Bradley Waves To Some Fans In Texas (0)
• Why Won’t Milton Bradley’s Negativity Just Go Away (Unpaid Rent Edition) (6)
• And Thus Ends The Milton Bradley Era in Chicago (2)
• Is “next year” beginning now??? (0)

Tags: Bad Moves, Fault, Jim Hendry, Milton Bradley