I'm not a GM......

Bradley should be Brenly’s type of player, no? Doesn’t he play hard and show passion for the game?

Your point stands that Brenly alone among the bunch would challenge a player, though. If you listen to those post game press conferences with the beat writers, they are awfully meek sometimes in their questioning.

confrontation

I think that goes without saying now, right? But that’s interesting to hear he can play defense pretty well. When is someone going to come up with a way to measure range and arm strength quantitatively?

The impact of the team is mostly in shaping the parameters for which the individual has to perform. The types of pitches you see, the location of the pitches (including how hit-able they’ll be) are all often sizeably reflective of the circumstances created by your teammates, for example. (The other part of course being the individual’s ability to perform)

Anyhoo, I’m not disagreeing with you. Baseball is more individual than the other major team sports. But it’s interesting (among other reasons) because it’s an individual game set within a massively complex system of variables determined in large part by your fellow teammates. In Bradley’s case, since he seems to give it his all on the field, his personal issues shouldn’t impact any of those team-related issues. The only time it would matter is, for example, if he stopped caring and therefore didn’t try. Teams would be able to adapt to that, and it would then change how they interacted with the other Cubs.

That’s why Manny is such a cancer. Bradley, for all his idiosyncracies, won’t be a problem so long as he continues to play hard..

Sometimes, a super-star in basketball can single-handedly win a game. Sure, there are 4 other guys with him out on the court, making passes and setting picks. But you can’t tell me that a guy who puts up 40+ in a games is relying that much on his teammates, they are relying on him.

Similarly, I feel, in Football, a great Quarterback can make a mediocre receiving team look amazing, and, virtually, single-handedly win a game for his team. Yes, blocks have to made, routes need to be run, and catches need to be made. But you cannot convince me that a Quarterback can’t put a team on his shoulders at times.

Baseball has much more individual interaction than the other sports. It’s virtually a 1v1 (if you don’t count the catcher, which I do) battle every at-bat, and by and large, each defensive play is a one man effort. However, each individual act has little meaning on it’s own, other than the strikeout. A leadoff single doesn’t result in anything. It takes at least another hit (generally speaking) if not multiple to get that guy home. Meaning, just because you, as an individual, did you’re job (getting a hit) you need to rely on your teammates to finish the job to make that hit mean something.

The only way a single player can put a team on his shoulders (really) is a starting pitcher pitching a CG shutout. And even then there are likely to be numerous difficult defensive plays that fall upon the teams shoulders. A guy could go 5 for 5 at the plate, and unless he hits a HR, he may have made no effect on the final score.

So yes, Baseball can be incredibly individual at times, but each individual achievement is less significant, in my opinion, than those in other sports. You perform as an individual, but you get nowhere without the rest of your team.

Now as for the Cubs organization they didn’t say they were flipping him like a house…as you well know…
“

We are thrilled to acquire three strong, young arms in Jeff Stevens, John Gaub and Chris Archer,” said Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry. "They are significant additions to our system and have received universally high marks from our scouts, notably Stan Zielinski.

But Wittemeyer did report:

‘’We certainly wouldn’t close the door on anything,‘’ general manager Jim Hendry said when asked about the desire to replace the starting pitcher he might lose in a trade. ’’Once we add the outfielder we want to add, we’ll take a good look where we’re at. The pen is getting deeper and deeper. We’ll see how we want to shape up the starting situation, whether we pursue somebody else or use somebody internally in that role.’’

So they gave permission to speculate.

Stevens is a part of that burgeoning pitching stable.