Bradley Agonistes

From the only real beat writer in town, Bruce Miles: Milton Bradley was a late scratch from Saturday’s Cubs lineup, and it appears he’s scratching himself from the team’s future plans more and more each day. In a brief one-on-one interview Saturday with the Daily Herald, Bradley talked of his unhappiness and said, “you understand why they haven’t won in 100 years here.” Yee-ouch. It’s seeming more and more like Bradley realizes he’s done in this town, and has decided to speak his mind. Milton is kind of an ass, but for some reason I love his complete lack of tact and guile. But Bradley wasn’t done: the only time [Bradley] became expansive at all was when he was asked if he had enjoyed his first season in Chicago. “Not really,” he said. “It’s just not a positive environment. I need a stable, healthy, enjoyable environment. There’s too many people everywhere in your face with a microphone asking the same questions repeatedly. Everything is just bashing you. You got out there and you play harder than anybody on the field and never get credit for it. It’s just negativity. “And you understand why they haven’t won in 100 years here, because it’s negative. It’s what it is.” Asked whether he was talking about the fans, the media or even the Cubs organization, he replied: “It’s everything. It’s everybody.” So, to Wittenmeyer, Sullivan, and Deluca, I hope you’re satisfied with having finally driven the man out of town. Have fun with dying medium. See you on the unemployment line! But I also want to point out one thing, one thing that bothers me about what Milton seems top be saying here: there’s only one person responsible for Milton’s uneven and mostly disappointing performance this season, and that person is Milton Bradley. Did the fans treat him like ****? Surely. Did certain writers engage in a concerted effort to provoke the worst reactions from him, and eventually drive him out of town? Almost certainly. But Milton, and Milton alone, is responsible for what happens on the diamond, and you know what? He knows that. Just like always, he owns it: However, he would not go so far as to say he regretted coming to Chicago. “No, I made the decision,” he said. It is what it is.” I honestly think Milton didn’t anticipate what it would be like here. Maybe he should have had a conversation with Torii Hunter. Or Dusty. Or Corey Patterson. Or Jacque Jones. Or LaTroy Hawkins. Or Sammy Sosa. Or Carlos Zambrano. Or Alfonso Soriano. Or Aramis Ramirez. But that’s on him, and he’s at least willing to acknowledge it. Look, I’ve been one of, if not the, biggest defender(s) of Milton Bradley this season, but it hasn’t been through rose-colored glasses. I readily admit that he’s a little crazy, more than a little abrasive, and plays with a too-large chip on his shoulder. But he’s also damn good at hitting baseballs, and for that reason, it was a smart move to sign him. And it’s also why it would be stupid to trade him, because the Cubs are going to end up paying him to OPS .850 or better for another team. That doesn’t make a whole helluva lot of sense. However, these latest statements of Bradley’s tell me that he’s likely gone, and it’s too bad. A lot of Cub fans will be happy, and the beat writers, Miles and Muskat excluded, will pat themselves on the back and have a cold one on it. But the fact of the matter is that while Bradley has been disappointing on the field, the behavior of the fans and the people paid to write about this team in reaction to his on-field disappointments has been appalling. There are no winners in this situation. The fans, vocal minority that they definitely are, who hurled racial epithets at him, have only further tarred the reputation of all of us who call ourselves Cub fans. The Milton Bradley episode is one more thing we’ll all have to answer for because of a few ignorant douchebags. One of our number, Ryno, has already been driven away by the behavior of this contingent of the Cubs’ fanbase. MB and I were almost pushed to shut this place down because of it. Baseball stops being fun when **** like this goes down. I’m still a Cub fan, and I’ll remain one, because I’m not going to let these fuckwads take something from me. But I hate being associated with that type of person, and that will always be so. The writers (again, excluding Miles and Muskat) have so sacrificed any pretense of objectivity and journalistic integrity in their mad rush to drive Bradley out of town, that it has become impossible to trust anything they write. There are two professional beat writers in this town, and neither of them work for two major papers. That, my friends, is a sad testament to the cheapness with which these men regard their professional obligations. Unfortunately, having successfully expelled Milton Bradley, they will likely only be emboldened in their duplicitous and unethical methods. So much for the mind of the Chicago sports fan. And finally, there’s Milton, the last angry man. I don’t know what eats at him, but I hope wherever he goes, he finds what he’s searching for. The life he must lead does not seem to be an easy one, and the fact of the matter is, while the best thing for the team might be to retain Milton Bradley, the best thing for Milton Bradley is probably to go to another team. I’m sorry that it’s ending this way. I’m sorry for the fan who has to answer for the behavior of the Johnny Macchione crowd. I’m sorry for the writer so mired in his own biases that he can no longer perform his job in an ethical and productive manner. Most of all, I’m sorry for Milton Bradley, who’s alienated himself from yet another fanbase. It’s a soggy **** sandwich, and now we all have to take a bite.