You have got to be kidding, Milton.
If I was Jim Hendry, Milton wouldn't sniff another Cubs uniform. He would be banned from the clubhouse, never to be seen from again. How can you be supportive of a player who doesn't even enjoy playing a game and being paid $10 million a year for it? Lou Piniella put it best, saying to Milton:
"You're not a ballplayer!"
Spot on, Lou. Let's take a look at the facts. Jake Fox is hitting .295/.345/.532/.877 with 9 home runs in 156 at bats. Milton? .255/.387/.401/.788 with 11 home runs in 326 at bats. Yet Fox rides the pine. Cutting Milton Bradley is the only scenario that makes any sense. Yes, he is owed $20 million, but when Fox is making just $401,500 and completely out-producing Milton, Hendry can just "pretend" the money he has thrown away on Bradley is actually paying to keep Jake Fox's bat in the lineup everyday.
In this morning's Chicago Tribune, Phil Rogers writes a convincing article on why releasing Bradley is the best option, suggesting the Cubs move Fukudome to right and allow Sam Fuld to play center everyday. While I agree Fuld deserves a shot, it is Fox who at 27-years-old is in his prime and has proven he can produce consistently this year at the Major League level.
Milton said that he's "never" been comfortable playing in Wrigley. "It's hard to be comfortable when you don't get a hit and get booed every time." Give me a break buddy. First of all, every player gets booed, it comes with the territory. Second of all, taking a look at his split stats the difference is night and day--in favor of the home stats:
Home: .304/.421/.509/.930
Away: .208/.354/.652
Yet Milton claims he is not looking for attention. Riiight, "America doesn't believe in racism," Bradley said Tuesday night. Not looking for attention, are you Milton?
Razzball.com put it best in a blurb yesterday:
Milton Bradley – HR yesterday. Before the game, he talked about how much he hates Chicago, “I’m talking about hatred, period. I’m talking about when I go to eat at a restaurant. I’ve got to listen to the waiters badmouthing me at another table, sitting in a restaurant.” Milton needs to stop eating at Dick’s Last Resort.
The worst part about the whole "Milton Bradley Saga" is that bringing Milton to Chicago had a domino effect on the rest of the moves in constructing the 2009 Chicago Cubs. In order to create enough cash-flow to pay Milton, Mark DeRosa had to be traded away. Kerry Wood was then subsequently deemed "too expensive" at $10 million and Hendry decided to trade promising young hurler Jose Ceda for the infamous Kevin Gregg. The rest is history. Aramis Ramirez goes down and the Cubs have no backup third baseman. Second base has been a joke all year (though I do like "mini DeRo" Jeff Baker) and everyone knows what happened with Gregg.
The one silver lining in all of this is that looking towards 2010, the Cubs had nowhere to play Jake Fox or Sam Fuld with Bradley, Fukudome and Soriano all signed to long term contracts. Milton has now given Hendry a great excuse to dump his ass to the curb. If Hendry doesn't do so, the Rickett's family will hopefully show Jim the door as well.
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