A Word about Attacking Bradley Personally with Gossip

in a straight-up even exchange for the racing hot dog.

BTW, BCB isn’t professional journalism, it’s a fan’s blog. So rumors, secondhand sources, what it feels like in the bleachers are all fair game and what we come here for. If we wanted professinoal journalism, we’d read those guys who sit in the pressbox and never cheer.

and even they use rumor in their pieces. Look at Gordon’s piece about what Lou allegedly said to MB after the incident..

Or you do not understand how reporting works.

What he said came from insiders. They spoke “on background”.

When someone tells you something “on background” you don’t give up your source. That is highly unethical. Though when a source deliberately gives you disinformation, “burning” them is considered an acceptable response.

What Al put up was the word of more than one insider, who did not want to be attached to the information while wanting to let it out. That is in fact very good journalism. A single source might be questionable, corroborating sources is another story.

Background comes from the actual fist hand sourse, the writers who covered Bradly. They are the one’s who might know insider info, Al’s friend of the writers is not a source, he is a gossip.

And acutally I do know a lot about how reporting and journalism work, first hand.

And while I do not hold fan posts to any standard at all, I do/did hold Al to a more professional standard, because he appeared to do so himself in his posts over the years.

anyone here can post anything they “heard” about someone if they want to. You are crediting this blog for more than it actually is. it is a place for opinions, facts, and rebuttals. I rebut you.

Of course this is a blog, so anyone can post anything, especially opinions and hearsay. But I was a little put off by attack and I just don’t see how this helps or explains anything that happened yesterday. No disrespect to Al, but when you set it up as:

Let me tell you a couple of things I have recently learned, which I had earlier decided not to post. Now, though, it seems imperative to do so. I am not naming names here to protect my sources; however, I have absolutely no doubt that the stories I have been told are true.

I was expecting something concrete and specific. And the you referenced it again in today’s post:

First, I continue to stand by the two things I posted last night regarding things I have heard about Milton Bradley. I learned these a couple of weeks ago but decided to sit on them at the time, only posting them last night because I felt they were relevant to yesterday’s incident. No, I can’t and won’t post names. Believe what you will, but I have absolutely no doubt I was told the truth.

But there wasn’t even a single “story”- it was just a simple statement that “this guy thought he was an asshole” and “this guy knows a reporter who said he was a cancer.” C’mon now… I’m sure there are a lot of people who don’t like Bradley, is this really a surprise?

I want to know more about yesterday. I want to know what he did off the field to deserve Lou’s blast. Is it just the fact that he’s not hitting well and he’s made some bone-headed plays on the field? If so, what’s the difference between him and Sori (other than the fact that Bradley usually at least goes deep in the count)? And I’m fairly certain there is more to the story, but if he truly was singled out for smashing his helmet after striking out, that’s crap. Because I’ve watched 4 other Cubs this year commit a similar offense on inanimate clubhouse objects and I haven’t seen them get punished… I actually remember Lou laughing at Z for his antics which were on the field and visible for all to see. And if the reported exchanged went down like it did, I actually gained more respect for Bradley and lost a little for Lou yesterday. So I just don’t feel like two straight posts calling for Bradley To Go were justified nor substantiated.

and he seemed like an awesome guy, but i do agree with the original post and most of the points he was trying to make.

Facts: Milton Bradley ends his manager’s patience and a teammate (Soriano) tells him publicly that he better get 100% into the team or he’s wrong. The GM (Hendry) questions whether Bradley is in tune with the team.

Opinion: To me, that is a textbook definition of a cancer in the clubhouse. The question is what is a team to do: wait until the cancer spreads through the entire clubhouse?

You may disagree with Al’s decision to post what he heard from his sources. I respect your opinion and the right to express it. However, it seems to me that with his actions, Bradley corroborated Al’s sources, not the exact incidents told but the attitude they reflect.

on his blog, I don’t think it added anything to the story. But the fact that he wrote unspecific charges against him is no different than what journalists (at least Chicago sportswriters) wrote about Barry Bonds. For years they would mention what a jerk he was or what a drag he was on the team spirit. I would always look for specifics on what he did and they never included anything. I truly believe sportswriters, in general, are lazy. They don’t do the work they should because they know, in the end, it’s just sports. Obviously, there are exceptions, Bob Verdi comes to mind, but it’s easier to write what is considered general consensus and rely on reader apathy. We do have specifics about MB from his past. But if Al does aspire to be considered a journalist, then he seems to be right on track.

By pure happenstance I know who the source ( and the player) is and there is no question that they player did say Milton was the biggest asshole he had played with. Sorry but he is not going on record with that and I am sure it was not said for the purpose of giving Al information. It was not just some mindless “friend of a friend” unsourced gossip.I don’t happen to agree with Al that “Milton must go” Look it is ONE player’s opinion, it hardly represents all players and personally I doubt it represents most players who have been on teams with Milton. Despite all logic I still have a soft spot for Bradley. It probably was a bad signing but we got him and he is not going anywhere. Obviously it is a tough call for Al in terms of using information he has without naming the source but it is done all the time by journalists. You can’t cover a lot of stuff because people don’t want to go on the record. I realize how frustrating it can be when someone says my source says X but in this case I am sure Al’s source did say Milton was an asshole. I have no problem with arguing if this is fair view of Bradley or even of when should or should not quote a source but I will go on record that this was an accurate source .

and that he can also be criticized harshly for it.. Not a fan of the censor police..

I think my biggest problem with the post was the ITOLDYOUSOITOLDYOUSOITOLDYOUSO part.. That was childish.. .

I also dont believe there is ever any proof that he supported Adam Dunn or wanted him. Maybe more than Milton but was never an advocate

I can take criticism of what I did. As I said, I learned these things quite some time ago and decided not to post about them then. Given what happened yesterday, I thought they would give useful background on them. I have sources to protect and I will not compromise these people. Again, I have absolutely no doubt that what I was told is true.

I grant you that it comes across as hearsay — what else could it be, as I have had no personal contact with Milton Bradley. If it had been just one person — maybe that one person would have had an axe to grind. But it’s more than one person on more than one occasion.

I think it was useful information for the community to know. Obviously, many disagree with what I posted; that’s your right, just as I believe it was mine to post it.

not knowing the correct place where these came from and the sources. (And I’m not talking about the blog, I’m talking about his job outside of this.) Al is one of maybe 10 people in Chicago that really have to know the ethics of journalism and when to run with something or when to stand back (up there with the editors of the Trib, Sun-Times, and other local news outlets). I’ll trust his judgment on whether something should be told or not.

DLee called MB yesterday to make sure he was ok.

http://vyous.com/sports/mlb/thecubs/2009/06/27/lee-lends-his-support-to-bradley

I give you my word that somebody who played with Milton Bradley said he was the biggest asshole he ever played with. It is not gossip or hearsay. Like I said in my original post it is ONE player’s opinion. It may or may not reflect how other teammates have felt about him. I suspect Milton tends to split players down the middle with many finding him a jackass and others liking him. I happen to be closer to your view of Bradley than Al’s in that I feel he has gotten a raw deal on some things but still has HUGE anger management issues. I don’t think he is so bad or destructive he needs to be dumped at all costs. There is nothing unethical or even wrong with using sources you can’t ID so long as you know them to be credible. I grant you it should be done prudently which in this case it was.
( jeez I go off the search eBay for an hour to get over the DeRossa news and this thread explodes). Back to eBay.

but sometimes, it’s the only way you can get information.

There are plenty of reasons people might not want to affix their names to stuff like this. It might cost them their job. It might make their working life unbearable. If you know the sources to be credible and if you hear the same story from more than one source, I’d say it’s good to go.

Of course, only one source is not enough to meet a journalistic standard.