unless you really believe that a player should feel obligated to keep his mouth shut for the sake of clubhouse cohesion. He also called out the Brewers offense in the series too, and saying that the Cubs starting rotation is better is hardly a news flash, our rotation is among the best in baseball.

I doubt many Cub position players would have been thrilled to see Zambrano or Lilly hit the road as Sabathia did prior to the season either.

From time to time on here, a few of us have commented that we think a lot of what is said about Milton Bradley is media-driven spin. In response, many seem to doubt the media could or would make someone seem as petulant, erratic and childish as Bradley has been. Well, whatever your thoughts on the specific example of MB, this fanshot/article are a perfect reminder of exactly how easy it is for the media to create a scandal where none exists.

Look at what Braun actually said:

bq"I wish I got to make decisions like that," Braun said with a smile. "I wish I was in those conversations. I know he’s trying to make our ball club better. I know he recognizes the importance of making a move and making it soon.
“At the same, I think everybody has recognized there are a lot of teams still in the race. There are not too many teams willing to give guys up and if they are, the asking price is pretty high.
“That being said, it would be nice to make a move and it would be nice to do something to help us out for the time being. The sooner we do it, the better.”
Braun said the Cubs’ starting pitchers are “a lot better than ours.”
“They threw the ball a lot better than our starters did,” said Braun. "They certainly swung the bats better than we did as well. Clearly, they were the better team.
“It was nice to at least get one win but they clearly outplayed us and outperformed us during the series.”bq

The first statement - “I wish I got to make decisions like that”-clearly signals that these comments were in response to a direct question about whether he thought the Brewers should make a trade. And his Answer? That its not his job to make those decisions, but he’s confident the GM is working to improve the club. The balance of his comments were just an acknowledgment that they got their brains beaten in by a better team, in every phase of the game “They threw the ball a lot better than our starters did …They certainly swung the bats better than we did as well. Clearly, they were the better team”

Those comments are completely innocuous. How are they spun? “Braun: Lets make a deal.” An obvious distortion of what he said, and a reflection more of what the original questioner wanted him to say than what he actually said. How is that headline then received: “Braun wants to be GM … Calls out pitching staff after loss.” An even bigger distortion of what he said, and a reflection only of the headline, not of his actual comments.

Sorry for the rant, but this is just too easy for sportswriters to do. And they do it all the time.