Bradley, Cubs Demoralized, Hated

I'll mostly let you all read this and make up your own mind, but remember, Cubs fans, what they say about pointing fingers. If nothing else, Bradley comes through here with some money quotes about the emotional state of the team, and I doubt he's making it up.

over 2 years ago DisCUBbobulated 41 comments 0 recs |

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Hey Milton.....

The sooner you shut your mouth, the sooner everyone will get off your damn back.

IGNORE IT.

"It's hard to win 97 games, it's hard to win the division. Our attitude is if you get in every year, you get in most of the time, sooner or later you are going to knock that door down." -- Jim Hendry

by EJThunder on Aug 26, 2009 2:21 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs

Bullshit.

It literally makes no difference what Bradley does, Cubs fans will be on his back either way.

by Wreckard on Aug 26, 2009 9:12 AM CDT up reply actions 2 recs

My biggest hope for this off-season

Is really that the Cubs find some nice AL landing spot for Milton; I don’t even care if they give him away. No offense to Bradley, but everyone knew this was a terrible match — probably him too — but he took the money anyway, and won’t still stop talking about how bad a match it is.

Seriously, it’s getting old.

by Damen Jackson on Aug 26, 2009 6:41 AM CDT reply actions

I expect they will.

And I expect Dome will go back to RF with the Cubs looking for a new CF.

I might as well add that Milton’s quotes never read as “bad” to me as they do to others.

Randy Wells - You continue to astound me.

by DGU on Aug 26, 2009 7:32 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

Bad was a comment

on the relationship, not the severity of the comments. I don’t find them bad; just frequent and unhelpful.

by Damen Jackson on Aug 26, 2009 8:07 AM CDT up reply actions

I agree about Milton's comments.

He’s refreshingly honest to me. Granted, the word “hatred” is a bit overdramatic – then again, I’m not the one who has to stand on a field in front of 40,000 people and hear boos and cheap shots at just about every ballpark he plays in – including Wrigley Field. I’m sure it feels like hatred and, judging by many of the comments I read here (hi, Nibbles!), it probably is.

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by daver on Aug 26, 2009 9:16 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

I agree with your

thoughts on Milton too.

Recipe for Disaster;
C'mon Cubs, hurry up and blow this so I can relax.
by Bluekoolaide on July22, 2009 3:08 PM CDT

by sue369 on Aug 26, 2009 1:38 PM CDT up reply actions

I agree with you and DCD as well..

Milton Bradley is just culturally different than a lot of the fans who have such trouble with him, and people really need to be more open-minded. The guy says what’s on his mind.. so what? I really hope the cubs don’t get rid of this guy. He plays VERY hard and he really can hit. Attitudes like the ones that say that “Bradley Sucks” “He’s a (insert derogatory, hateful comment)” – really depress me about the human race. But that’s just me.

by DisCUBbobulated on Aug 26, 2009 1:13 PM CDT up reply actions

Please tell us who will be playing right field next year then

Or if the Cubs move Fukudome back to right, who will be playing center.

by Wreckard on Aug 26, 2009 9:14 AM CDT up reply actions

Since the Cubs have a grand tradition of trying non-CFs in CF

I say Carl Crawford.

Randy Wells - You continue to astound me.

by DGU on Aug 26, 2009 12:24 PM CDT up reply actions

I love Crawford and think he would be an excellent right or center fielder here.

But I’m not convinced the Rays would part with him cheaply. He’d fetch a price similar to or greater than Holiday I’d imagine (start with Vitters, and add 2 more of the top 5 prospects in the system as a starting point).

by Wreckard on Aug 26, 2009 12:43 PM CDT up reply actions

I think he'll be pricey, maybe not as much as Holliday, but pricey.

Rick Ankiel, Randy Winn, and Johnny Damon are the three LH OFs who could semi-plausibly play CF so there are other options, none of which all that great as CFs, and two of which are not really dependable as bats.

If we’ve got a trade match with the Rays, I’d rather see us pull in Brignac – he’s a Hendry type of player and left-handed.

Randy Wells - You continue to astound me.

by DGU on Aug 26, 2009 1:08 PM CDT up reply actions

I see I neglected to mention that I was listing

free agents.

Randy Wells - You continue to astound me.

by DGU on Aug 26, 2009 1:09 PM CDT up reply actions

See I look at those options and see 3 players who'd be worse options than bringing Bradley back

I’m not sure Damon can play center any more. His arm makes Juan Pierre look like a young Vlad Guerrero.

by Wreckard on Aug 26, 2009 1:21 PM CDT up reply actions

I agree.

The grass is always greener…

This is also why I think the Cubs will look to trade – that and they can look for a lead-off type LH CF now that Sori’s down in the order.

Randy Wells - You continue to astound me.

by DGU on Aug 26, 2009 1:36 PM CDT up reply actions

Petulant child

This is exactly why many fans were so cool to the signing of Bradley. No, let me rephrase that. The headlong mancrush of Jim Hendry on Bradley consumated in a baseball contract. The facts are there. He has left a trail of hard feelings at every stop of his career. There is a reason so many teams passed on keeping him. We are finding out why.
Maybe if he bothered to back up his fellow players on the field, didn’t try and show up the umps on every strike he disagrees with, and remembered how many outs there are in an inning he might get a little more love. Sadly race had to crawl into this. I don’t know the man personally, but on the field he is a bum.
And it will only get worse from here as his comments spread, and he has another month to start planning his exit strategy to a place where he’ll be hugged more.

by Nibbles on Aug 26, 2009 9:04 AM CDT reply actions

This is exactly why many fans were so cool to the signing of Bradley.

Because they knew they would boo him all the time and that he wouldn’t like that? Cubs fans haven’t supported Bradley from the get go.

Sadly race had to crawl into this.

Cubs fans have a habit of making that happen.

by Wreckard on Aug 26, 2009 9:16 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

actually, in this article, race was not mentioned.

it has been by Bradley before, but in these quotes it sounds more like it’s the booing, etc. that goes on. I don’t think it’s a good idea to assume racism if he hasn’t included it.

Some people say the glass is half empty, some say half full. I say, are you going to drink that?

by BleedsbluinMI on Aug 26, 2009 9:21 AM CDT up reply actions

The "facts" you refer to are dubious and immaterial.

Milton Bradley is not a “bum” – he is very good at baseball. That’s all that should matter to Cubs fans, but I’ve long given up on many among us ever recognizing this relatively simple notion.

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by daver on Aug 26, 2009 9:19 AM CDT up reply actions

That's incorrect.

Things were fine with the Padres until the argument in which Bud Black threw him to the ground (injuring Bradley) to get him away from an umpire, who blew a call at first.

That ended his season. There was no controversy over Bradley’s efforts in SD. Nor was there any in LA. He’s better off in smaller markets, with less cut-throat sports media. (Or cities in which sports is entertainment, not life and death. I include LA in that category.)

by San Diego Smooth Jazz Man on Aug 26, 2009 9:58 AM CDT up reply actions

Post is in the wrong spot, this is in reply to Nibbles.

by San Diego Smooth Jazz Man on Aug 26, 2009 9:59 AM CDT up reply actions

Post is not in the wrong spot then

I'm singing, "GO CUBS GO! GO CUBS GO!" -- DrCrawdad on Jun 12, 2009 7:23 AM CDT

Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true! -- Homer J. Simpson

by Shanghai Badger on Aug 26, 2009 2:45 PM CDT up reply actions

The Dodgers, Padre's,A's, Indians, Rangers beg to differ

I give the Expo’s a pass in parting ways with Bradley. It is hardly immaterial that so many teams have found Bradley lacking. Maybe you didn’t mean it, but don’t be so dismissive that you know more about baseball than I do. I played it for a long time. I played with a lot of guys that were less than the sum of their parts. Bradley reminds me of several of them. Baseball isn’t purely about numbers. The intangibles he brings outweigh the singles and walks.
The race angle I refer to him is what has been swirling around all year. He’ll claim it when he leaves town. It will certainly show up on shout radio today. But, you’ll never hear someone like D-Lee make excuses, and talk about how he just has to soldier on despite the fans that pay him.

by Nibbles on Aug 26, 2009 9:33 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs

Fair enough.

I’d still disagree that his intangibles outweigh his production (or at least potential production) on the field. But, clearly, he’s not an easy fit on any team. Personally, I recognize that Milton is a very sensitive guy who’s much more susceptible to reacting to the public and the media than other players. But I do not hold this against him because, despite all that’s happened this year, I still see him as being immensely talented.

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by daver on Aug 26, 2009 9:53 AM CDT up reply actions

EVERYWHERE he goes, he says something like this

“It’s hard to be comfortable when you don’t get a hit and get booed every time,” he said. “When I go home and look in the mirror, I like what I see. My family is there I have people I can talk to who are very supportive, in spite of everything and all the adversity and the hatred you face on a daily basis. But I’ll be alright. I always have.”

The guy ultimately isn’t a good fit anywhere.

"When they signed Fukudome, I knew they were trying to get me fired". - Ron Santo, January, 2008

by BeerCub on Aug 26, 2009 10:03 AM CDT reply actions

I've got blockquote disease

"When they signed Fukudome, I knew they were trying to get me fired". - Ron Santo, January, 2008

by BeerCub on Aug 26, 2009 10:03 AM CDT up reply actions

But how does that, in and of itself, make him a "bad fit"?

He’s being honest. He hears boos at Wrigley Field and he feels hated. Why does him saying that bother people so much?

Clearly, a large contingent of Cubs fans had it in for Bradley from the moment he was signed and, clearly, very few of them are willing (or perhaps able) to recognize that he’s slowly but surely turned things around in the second half. Do I wish he’d produced more consistently this season? Hell yeah. Do I wish he’d slugged more? Hell yeah. Do I wish he’d driven in more runs? Hell yeah – if for no other reason than to shut Steve Stone up.

But I still believe he is a talented baseball player – and those are the kind of guys I want on my team, no matter what they say to the press.

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by daver on Aug 26, 2009 10:30 AM CDT up reply actions 2 recs

+1

Well said. I don’t know that if people really looked at why they don’t like Bradley, they’d feel too proud about the answer.

by DisCUBbobulated on Aug 26, 2009 1:17 PM CDT up reply actions

There's more to it than just this.

Bradley HIMSELF said he isn’t a good fit here. He was quoted earlier this year as saying he’d rather be in a situation where he could do his job and go home and not be the center of attention.

That’s not what you get when you are a Chicago Cub. If he didn’t realize that before he signed, he didn’t do his homework.

Maybe Bradley has “value” based on numbers that show his contract is “worth” his performance this year. He is a good player and he has stayed remarkably healthy this year (that was my biggest concern about him). But he is not a good fit as a Chicago Cub.

I hope the Cubs can deal him elsewhere in the offseason, and get some good value in exchange.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al Yellon on Aug 26, 2009 2:02 PM CDT up reply actions

Don't you think he could eventually make the adjustment to being a Cub, though?

Again, I think Milton is just a bit overdramatic in some of the things he says. And that’s why. with Milton and Big Z. I don’t recommend spending too much time parsing everything they do and don’t say off the field (or on the field, for that matter).

The bottom line is he’s a great top of the order hitter and a decent defensive right fielder. If he can stay relatively healthy and produce, why not let him play out his contract? Either he’ll learn to adjust to Chicago or the fans will just get used to him (or perhaps bored with him) enough to stop all the harassment.

Catch my act on Twitter as @dat_cubfan_dave.

by daver on Aug 26, 2009 3:15 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

Rec'd

Numbers may not lie, but they don’t tell the whole truth (and nothing but the truth), either. -- Doug Glanville

by leothelip on Aug 26, 2009 3:25 PM CDT up reply actions

With that great batting eye

he would be a great asset to the team next year, I hope we keep him.

Say this much for big league baseball - it is beyond question the greatest conversation piece ever invented in America. ~Bruce Catton

by KaliCub on Aug 26, 2009 6:31 PM CDT up reply actions

Because he doesn't realize that constantly bitching about it doesn't help the situation

Are the people booing him going to be more or less likely to keep booing him after reading these comments? What about fans who don’t really care one way or another? Nobody wants to hear a ballplayer making $10 million a year complaining about their feelings being hurt. He needs to realize that he’s making it worse on himself with comments like these.

Why resort to name calling?
-Dionysus2.0

because I wish to insult you personally
-your friendly BullsBlogger

by Big D on Aug 26, 2009 1:19 PM CDT up reply actions

Question

Would you turn on a player making only six figures if you could find three different situations of him complaining in the past year?

Randy Wells - You continue to astound me.

by DGU on Aug 26, 2009 1:37 PM CDT up reply actions

All I'm telling you is the way that people react

Whether you agree with it or not, many people don’t like to hear professional athletes complaining about their feelings being hurt. I’m not interested in getting in a philosophical debate with you about it, I’m just telling you the way things are. Bradley needs to realize he’s just inflaming the situation.

Why resort to name calling?
-Dionysus2.0

because I wish to insult you personally
-your friendly BullsBlogger

by Big D on Aug 26, 2009 1:50 PM CDT up reply actions

Well, there is a Cub who's making less than a million

who has complained and whined a number of times this season. But he is seen as a role model type player.

I’m wondering if it’s the money difference that keeps his image intact or if it’s the way the media handles these two players or if, in fact, it’s both – that the media themselves are jealous of the money these players make for their God-given talents.

Randy Wells - You continue to astound me.

by DGU on Aug 26, 2009 2:49 PM CDT up reply actions

Well said Daver.

Recipe for Disaster;
C'mon Cubs, hurry up and blow this so I can relax.
by Bluekoolaide on July22, 2009 3:08 PM CDT

by sue369 on Aug 26, 2009 1:41 PM CDT up reply actions

Thanks!

Catch my act on Twitter as @dat_cubfan_dave.

by daver on Aug 26, 2009 3:15 PM CDT up reply actions

Hendry had better be able to deal him

It won’t get any better. You never win by laying blame with the fans. They get to have the last word out on the field. Of course, I lay blame with Bradley and Hendry too. Bradley signed a deal, he should have realized his sensitive personality was a poor fit. Hendry should have looked more closely at Bradley and pursued other outfielders. He had his radar locked on Bradley right from the start of last years FA period.

by Nibbles on Aug 26, 2009 4:53 PM CDT reply actions

The only problem I have with Milton is...

…that, clearly, this was (with the possible exceptions of New York, Boston or Philadelphia)…the WORST possible place for a guy with his personality and sensitivity to play.

It absolutely boggles my mind that Hendry could spend all of that time scouting him with “due diligence” and would never stop to consider how he deals psychologically with pressure in a major media center and in front of a rabid, increasingly frustrated and impatient fan base.

Nice job Jimbo. Don’t let the door hit you on the ass on your way out.

by bluekoolaide on Aug 26, 2009 8:30 PM CDT reply actions

Milton's a fascinating guy.

The winnowing process that begins as early as T-ball usually separates an acutely emotionally sensitive guy like Bradley from the pool of potential big leaguers. He’s like the second coming of Dick Allen.

A truly successful pro athlete must be able to filter out the criticism and boos. Yet, Milton is so affected by the catcalls that he doesn’t even enjoy playing the game! Think of it! He himself said he’s thankful when the game doesn’t go into extra innings because then he won’t have to endure the agony that much longer. Wow.

I can see him snapping ala Jimmy Piersall at some point. I hope it doesn’t happen. Whatever does happen, though, anybody who professes to hate or even dislike him is really forgetting that he is a tortured human being.

Joe, you coulda made us proud!

by copingwiththecubs on Aug 26, 2009 9:58 PM CDT reply actions