Dear Lou: The Flaw is in His Brain

Lou Piniella and Gerald Perry have reviewed the tapes on Milton Bradley, and believe they have discovered the “mechanical flaw” that is causing him to suck like the black hole at the center of the Milky Way.

‘We found something I think will help him get to the ball much easier,” Piniella explained.  ”It’s fairly minor. He doesn’t have to change much at all except one little thing.”

And I’m sure that once Bradley tweaks his stance, or whatever it is he has to do, he will at last bust out like a man who’s worth $10 million a year.  Sorry if I sound skeptical.  The problem is, I don’t think whatever’s wrong with Bradley has anything to do with his stance or eyes or swing or anything else.  It’s all between his ears.

It’s become obvious that Bradley doesn’t have the mental toughness needed to play under the harsh glare in Chicago.  He couldn’t even get through a few months of his first season without getting in altercations on the field, getting suspended, and leveling crazy accusations of bias against the umpires.  Sorry, but a guy who thinks he’s in a slump because the umps are getting revenge by squeezing him isn’t in possession of nearly enough marbles to make it in a climate as pressurized as the one the Cubs face every day.  A dude like that is bound to crack.

So, Lou and Gerald can review as much tape as they want, run Milton through as many extra batting practice sessions as they want, bring in as many consultants as they want, but it won’t change the fundamental fact:  Milton Bradley can’t hack it as a Cub.  That $30 million might as well have been flushed down the toilet, or burned, or invested in GM.