Bradley's statement
MILWAUKEE _ Milton Bradley, through his agents, issued the following statement today:
"I chose Chicago as a free agent because I wanted to be part of finally bringing a championship to Cubs' fans. I expected to have a great season and I am deeply disappointed by my performance and the team's struggles. I played every game with everything I had and wanted desperately to win. My frustration and disappointment boiled over and I said and did certain things that I regret. In hindsight I wish that I handled certain things differently and I apologize for those things that did not work out for the better.
"The air has been cleared and we all want to move on and look forward to better days."
No doubt those better days will be somewhere else.
It was a feisty GM Jim Hendry who sparred with reporters in the dugout. The bottom line is that Bradley is suspended with pay and that no grievance will be filed against the Cubs challening the suspension.
"It's done," Hendry said. "There's nothing. It's over. There's no story."
Well, it was and is a story.
When asked about next season, Hendry said: "We'll worry about next season when this season's over."
Hendry said he has not talked to Bradley since sending him home Sunday but that he talked with agent Seth Levinson "numerous times."
On to tonight, the lineup:
Theriot, SS
Colvin, CF
Lee, 1B
Ramirez, 3B
Fox, LF
Baker, 2B
Johnson RF
Soto, C
Samardzija, P
Lou says either Randy Wells or Ted Lilly will start Sunday in San Francisco. The Cubs are taking it easy on Lilly's left shoulder. Lou said, "We don't know about Harden," referring to Rich Harden, whose return to the rotation is uncertain. Ryan Dempster starts tomorrow in San Francisco, and he'll go Tuesday in Chicago and in the season finale against Arizona at Wrigley as he shoots for 200 innings.
Today (Thurs) the Cubs story of the day is the first step of the bankruptcy court approving sale from Tribune to Ricketts. The story on the radio says the final approval step is scheduled for October. If Hendry cuts Bradley this week, who gets stuck with the bill? I do not know bankruptcy law. It seems like the Tribune is responsible for the operating expenses of the team until the sale is final. I am sure Hendry would like to stick it to his old goat boss, Sam Zell. Plus, it saves his new boss the $20 million headache of what to do with Bradley.
I know the Rays were in on Bradley (or there were rumors of it). It sounds like they might be looking to either cut or pick up the option and trade Akinori Iwamura. Any chance the Cubs might be able to work something out if they agree to pay the majority of Bradley's contract or would more be required? I think he'd be a nice addition to play second base and would free Baker up to move around.
Any chance the Cubs are sitting Harden with hopes that it keeps his market value from going up any more so they have a better shot at resigning him? I find it odd that they're sitting him for basically no reason.
As much as you can fault Hendry for this Bradley fiasco, and Hendry is as culpable as Bradley, the Cubs don't operate this way with free agents. As I've said before, we don't know what the meds look like on Harden or any other player. They might actually be doing him a favor. If word got around that a club was messing with a player to diminish his value, that club would not be an attractive place for players to go. The Cubs may screw up, but they're not unethcial.
the guy is about as injury prone as they come and the Cubs are out of it. What's the point of starting him? 1 or 2 starts isn't going to change his value.
An agents job is never done. First you have to find a dumb GM; then squeeze more money out of him than reasonable; tell your client he's a star; and then write a letter of apology after your meal ticket screws up and is curled up in the corner sucking his thumb.
If Milton was half the man he thinks he is, he would've stood up at a news conference and made a heart-felt apology (no script written by an agent or pr firm) and answered questions. But then, if he was that kind of stand-up guy he wouldn't be in this mess to begin with.
with Hendry, who needs a screening of some sort for signing Bradley in the first place.
Milton Bradley becomes a problem on a team? Who would've thunk it?
Jim needs to apologize for all his mistakes!
I was expecting the statement would come through her since she's been doing all the talking lately.
A sad chapter comes to an end.
Only the boring details left on how Hendry plans to send him out of town. :-).
Hoops
Milton the Mental has agents who know how to compose an apology. Whee. They should help him apply for a mental health screening.