I find this pretty ironic.
When Ned Colletti became GM of the Dodgers after the 2005 season, his very first trade was shipping outfielder Milton Bradley to Oakland for AA-prospect Andre Ethier. Ethier has done nothing but shine in four seasons with the Dodgers.
So in the same week in which Ethier collected his 40th double, 30th home run and 100th run batted in, all career highs, the man he was once traded for, Bradley, was suspended by the Cubs for the rest of the season for what the organization has labeled as "conduct detrimental to the team."
Bradley criticized the team, the city and the fans in a newspaper article on Saturday, and today, Cubs GM Jim Hendry ended his season early, and possibly the rest of his Chicago Cubs career. (Bradley has two years left on a three-year, $30MM contract he signed this past off-season.)
Not surprisingly, several of his teammates, responded harshly to Bradley's comments, as did Cubs manager Lou Piniella.
So while Ethier continues to become a superstar in the National League, improving each season, Bradley's career has taken some twists and turns through three other cities since his stint in Oakland.
His antics with the Dodgers during his two-year stint is well documented. His two most memorable moments took place at Dodger Stadium. In one incident, after being ejected from a game in 2004, he promptly went to the dugout and threw a bag of baseballs out onto the field from the dugout, and then picked up one of the balls and threw it into the left field pavilion.
In the other incident, he charged a fan and threw a plastic beer bottle into the right field stands after someone in the stands threw it at him while he was playing right field in 2004. Then, during the playoffs that season, he called a newspaper reporter an "Uncle Tom" and was forced to undergo anger management counseling.
The final straw came towards the end of a dreadful 2005, 90-loss season when teammate Jeff Kent criticized him for his lack of hustle after a game in San Francisco in September that year. A war of words ensued through the media when Bradley then accused Kent of badgering him all-season and not understanding African-American players.
The Dodgers certainly knew what they were getting when they traded for him just days before the 2004 season. Bradley had a number of run-ins with Indians manager Eric Wedge, including one that would eventually result in his being traded to the Dodgers.
He behaved rather maturely during his one and a half seasons in Oakland. Midway through that season, he was designated for assignment after having a poor first half that was riddled with injuries. When he was finally released after 10 days, he signed with the Padres for the rest of the season. But once he left Oakland, controversy found him again.
Towards the end of that 2007 season, Bradley tore his ACL while he was being restrained by Padres manager Bud Black during an altercation with an umpire and missed the rest of that season. The following season with the Rangers in 2008, he attempted to go after a Royals TV announcer after the announcer made what Bradley called unfair comments directed towards Bradley.
And now this.
It's a pretty sad story because I've always felt Bradley has a load of talent and could be a superstar in this league. But injuries and all of these altercations and incidents have prevented that from happening. And unfortunately, this last incident might not only end his tenure in Chicago, but it could very well be the end of his career. I can't imagine what other would take a flyer on him, if the Cubs do in fact cut him loose from his contract.
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