Ump Complains of Bradley Bump

Umpire Dan Iassogna says he will send a report to MLB on the home-plate confrontation between Milton Bradley and umpire Larry Vanover during the 6th inning Thursday, in which he will inform MLB that Bradley made physical contact with Vanover, a big-time no-no under baseball rules.  Bradley, who was making his Wrigley Field debut as a Cub in a pinch-hitting role, was called out on a borderline 3-2 breaking ball, a strikeout that both ended the inning and left the bases loaded with the Cubs trailing the Cardinals.  The circumstances, plus Bradley’s natural tendency to get angry at just about everything, caused the rightfielder to explode at Vanover and get thrown from the game.

I personally suspect Bradley’s display was half-sincere and half-theatrical.  There’s been talk that the fans might not take well to Bradley’s act, so maybe Bradley figured he’d get them on his side by going off, knowing he wasn’t going to stay in the game anyway.  That being said, you can’t touch the ump.  Look for Bradley to receive a nice suspension over the incident.