I know that you can't grab tone from the words on a piece of paper, or that of a website, but when I came across this article: 2010 AL MVP: Milton Bradley, Seattle Mariners, I clicked the link and what I thought I might read was far different from what I actually read.

When the news came across the wire that the Cubs had traded Milton, a smile crossed my face. I didn't even care to hear who the other parties were in the deal. I was satisfied enough knowing that he was gone and the Cubs could move forward with their off-season plans, no matter the direction.

I know many Cubs fans feel the same, and I am fairly confident in writing that I believe that many Cubs players took the news quite the same as I did. Remember these comments from Ryan Dempster, "Sometimes you just have to look in the mirror and realize that maybe the biggest part of the problem is yourself." Or the moment when, "after Hendry finally pulled the plug in St. Louis and told the team he was sending Bradley home, several players applauded."

David Chalk from Bugs and Cranks sees things a bit differently. He writes,

"The Cubs totally mishandled Bradley last year, but he still gave them a decent year and a .378 OBP. Obviously, the Cubs expected more based on his superb 2008 when he lead the AL in OBP, OPS, OPS+, OPP and tons of other fancy offensive stats."

I think we have different opinions on a decent year. If you only look at the OBP then you might be able to make a case for that, but this situation goes far deeper than the numbers. For arguments sake though let's take a gander at that "decent year."

In 2009 Bradley hit .257 with 12 home runs and 40 RBI. Under no circumstances would that be considered a "decent year" even if he wasn't making $10 million per. His .378 OBP would have put him among the top 20 in the NL, except for the fact that he didn't have enough at bats to qualify due to his numerous injuries, incidents and flat out poor play throughout the season.

Chalk goes on,

"...the only reason the Cubs wanted to dump him, and the only reason why anyone would think Bradley's not worth risking $3 million a year for two years, is the slugger's reputation. And really what he has ever done that's so terrible?"

Milton is not a murderer. Milton is not a criminal. What Milton is, however, is a cancerous organism that enters Major League club houses and eats away at them from the inside. There is a reason why he is headed to his eighth team in 11 seasons. Cubs fans may have denied it when he was acquired by Hendry prior to 2009, but there is little doubt of the damage he can do now.

For arguments sake though, let's take a look at the Milton Bradley timeline:

In 1996 Bradley is kicked off his high school baseball team temporarily for "combativeness."

2001: after an incident with Expos owner Jeffrey Loria, Loria orders general manager Jim Beattie to trade Bradley immediately. He is sent to Cleveland for Zach Day.

In 2004 Bradley is pulled from a Spring Training game by Eric Wedge for not hustling, they exchange words similar to the way they did the season prior. This, the final straw, gets him traded to Los Angeles.

In 2005, after Jeff Kent questions his hustle, he calls Kent a racist. While I can't confirm the allegations, I can confirm that Ned Colletti could find no way to make a relationship between the Dodgers and Milton work, he is traded to Oakland.

Bradley eventually fueds with Billy Beane, even telling Beane to "get out of the clubhouse, no one wants you here." Bradley plays 96 and 19 games in two years with the A's. He was on the DL five times in his year and a half with Oakland. He is sent to San Diego.

2007: Bradley who joined the Padres lineup in July of 2007 begins to produce quite well, but finds himself in another argument in September, this time with umpire Mike Winters. Manager Bud Black tries to restrain Bradley after things get more heated and in the process throws Milton to the ground, tearing Milton's ACL and ending his season during a Padres playoff run.

In 2008 when his behavior is questioned by Royals commentator Ryan Lefebvre, mid game, something Bradley hears on while in the team's clubhouse, Bradley chooses to go and confront the announcer by climbing the stairs to the booth following the game. He never makes it. Bradley has a stellar season in Texas, one that nabs him a hefty contract with the Chicago Cubs.

2009: During a game with the White Sox Bradley throws a fit in the dugout after a poor at bat. When Piniella tells him to take his uniform off, he takes out his frustrations on the infamous Wrigley water cooler which is followed by an exchange of words between the manager and Bradley. He also calls the Wrigley fans racists, blaming them for the lack of championships. Those comments are another final straw and he is suspended; the Cubs clubhouse can be heard applauding the decision. (For a Bradley-Cubs timeline, click here)

These incidents, in and of themselves are not serious, but when compiled they provide an interesting perspective in the career of Bradley. Can all these teams be wrong? Could Milton truly be that misunderstood? Or, is it something else?

Chalk gives another explanation for the continued Bradley-dilemma:

"Maybe he's too sensitive, maybe he's got a temper, but if it weren't for the color of his skin there's no way we'd look at forgetting how many outs there were or hurting himself trying to argue with an umpire as some sort of international incident."

Come on. Are we to believe that the only reason that Bradley has been a part of so many incidents in his baseball career, and the reason that his reputation is tainted, is because he is black and too sensitive?!? Again, I have to disagree. Production would have made up for a lot of Bradley's issues, but his lack of it and the Cubs downright terrible 2009 were a perfect storm. The guy had to go, white, African-American, Latin, whatever. To think otherwise is to not put enough thought in to it.

It is entirely possible that Bradley has the kind of year that Chalk is predicting. Seattle offers the comfort of the extreme upper northwest without the big market media. My only question is this: if Seattle is in position and constructing a possible winner as we speak, is it possible that this move was their worst decision of the off-season?

He says he is "honest and loyal and really likes to win. I'm pretty simple, really, if you just treat me like a man." You just wonder what Bradley finds as acceptable treatment.

Maybe the Ken Griffey factor will help. Maybe the smaller market will help. Maybe winning will help. Every team that took a chance on Bradley has thought they had the answer, most have been wrong.

Milton is a classic, if not the classic "high risk / high reward" player, and despite what Steve Kelley thinks, he is not the "steal of the winter." He is gift wrapped turd, delivered in exchange for another gift wrapped turd right before holidays.

Maybe you can polish yours, maybe not, time will tell.

Comments (2)

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"Milton is not a murderer. Milton is not a criminal. What Milton is, however, is a cancerous organism that enters Major League club houses and eats away at them from the inside."

Ugh. Really?

So Bradley's not one type of killer (a murderer), he's another (cancer).

Hyperbole alert.

xolager , January 15, 2010 | url

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Thanks for picking that part of the story to focus on. I overlooked that in my editing process, but it surely makes my whole argument moot.

Please check back in to see if any spelling errors I have made ruin my arguments that the Bears are headed in the wrong direction as an organization.

Rex P. Jaybels , January 15, 2010 | url

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