Milton Bradley Has Played His Last Game for the Cubs

Milton Bradley is still technically employed by the Chicago Cubs, but as of right now, he is no longer a member of the Cubs baseball team.  This after Jim Hendry announced that the fiery and controversial outfielder has been suspended for the remainder of the season for derogatory remarks he made about the organization to the media.

“The last few days became too much for me to tolerate,” Hendry said in explaining the move.

Bradley, who had been simmering for most of the season, finally exploded in an interview with the Chicago Daily Herald, saying he had not enjoyed his first season with the Cubs after signing a 3-year, $30 million contract.

“It’s just not a positive environment,” Bradley explained.  “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 go 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.”

Bradley was asked to pinpoint exactly who was being so negative.  “It’s everything,” he replied.  “It’s everybody.”

Clearly, Jim Hendry construed this as a shot at the organization, hence the suspension.

So the Bradley issue is settled for the remainder of this season.  Now the question is, what do you do about him after the season?

Obviously, the Cubs can’t consider keeping him.  This latest incident, on top of all the other incidents over the course of the year, was more than any team should be asked to bear.  The problem for Hendry is finding someone willing to take on the salary and the considerable headache.

Big market teams like the Red Sox and Yankees will clearly not touch him, after his terrible experience with the Chicago media.  Smaller market teams will likely not want to take on the salary.  And teams like the Dodgers, who’ve already had Bradley once, will likely not be up for a repeat of the experience.

Jim Hendry clearly has a tough job ahead of him, trying to sort out this mess, but I don’t feel very sorry for him in the least.  He made this bed and now he has to lie in it.  His signing of Bradley has to go down as one of the worst in Cubs history, right up there with the Jeff Blauser and Danny Jackson deals.