Milton Bradley ejected Thursday - suspension looming?

[jjfanec]

I just saw this report this morning. Looks like Bradley was ejected during the St. Louis game and the umpire is claiming that Bradley made contact with him during Bradley's ejection in the game. The contact does not seem to be that bad but the umpire is going to inform the commissioners office about. If they do deem contact was made that will be a suspension for Bradley. If so, that was quicker than I thought it would happen. A suspension may not be the worst thing since he has a bad groin and that will give him a chance to rest it without having to go on the DL.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

That's good news for Brewers fans. Hopefully he keeps causing distractions for the Cubs and makes them regret the signing.

[crewcrazy]

After seeing the blow-up on highlights, it didn't seem like he did anything to really deserve a suspension. He blew up, sure, but he said his piece and went back to the dugout after a few seconds. If he gets a suspension, it'll be on reputation alone, IMO.

[Yeti73]

I think his 1 for 18 is more likely to drive the Cubs toward hating him. For as much as people complain about how much we pay Cam, Milton is getting more cash, is a bigger question mark, and his antics are the opposite of Cam's leadership--I'd much rather have MC.

 

So mad at myself at grabbing Bradley on my fantasy team.

[RU Rah Rah]

I listened to a big chunk of the game while I was driving back to Madison yesterday from Oshkosh. IIRC, Bradley came in and basically looked at three strikes; it was a pretty miserable at-bat.

 

The broadcast also featured Ron Santo calling Fukudome's 3-run homer a "grand slam!" Poor guy is really hard to listen to.

[Fear The Chorizo]

I'm as big a Milton Bradley hater as anyone, but the 3-2 pitch he got rung up on was definitely not a strike...granted, had he not mildly complained about the first two strikes being called that actually were over the plate, he may have gotten the walk on the 3-2 pitch.

 

regardless, for a guy who's supposed to be a run producer, why is he sitting at the plate with the bat on his shoulders with the bases loaded and less than 2 out, especially on the 3-1 pitch?

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

He's a powder keg for sure and the umps have it in for him...a very volatile combination. It will be very interesting to see how this works for the Cubs.

 

On one hand, Bradley is a talent. The Cubs looked like they were sleep walking in the playoffs last year and they need some fire. Outside of Zambrano and Pinella, there are no real "firey" type guys on the team. Derek Lee might be the team leader and he's about as mellow as they come. I've also noticed when they play the Brewers, despite all the animosity between the fans, there doesn't seem to be much between the players. Maybe Bradley brings them that intangible.

 

On the other side, Bradley could meltdown at any moment and that puts the Cubs clubhouse into a death spiral. Maybe he blows his knee out while being restrained from taking on 4 umps, several cops, the grounds crew and numerous hot dog vendors in some type of blind rage over a called third strike at the knees. He gets suspended and takes a few guys with him.

 

I'm sure rooting for the latter, but who knows.

[monty57]

After seeing the blow-up on highlights, it didn't seem like he did anything to really deserve a suspension. He blew up, sure, but he said his piece and went back to the dugout after a few seconds. If he gets a suspension, it'll be on reputation alone, IMO.

I believe that if a player or coach makes any contact with an umpire, it's automatically a suspension. If he didn't make contact, then you are correct, he should not get suspended for his actions.

[olliegjw]

The 3-2 pitch was awfully close to let go, especially with the bases loaded. He has to protect. If you want some really good laughs, read the cubs game thread at nsbb from yesterday.

[endaround]

If its a 50-50 pitch its too close to swing at 3-2 especially with the bases loaded

[JoeHova]

That was a ball. I can see why he was upset, but it wasn't that smart to act so enraged over it considering his reputation. I don't think it's a big deal though. Umpires are too sensitive in baseball, I wish that they were all fired and replaced by a Questec type system. Someday, maybe.

[rluzinski]

If its a 50-50 pitch its too close to swing at 3-2 especially with the bases loaded

 

Agreed. With the bases loaded, it's a 50% of a run and the inning continuing, vs. about a 75% chance of the inning ending. But don't tell Bill Schroeder that!

[Thurston Fluff]

With the bases loaded, it's a 50% of a run and the inning continuing, vs. about a 75% chance of the inning ending. But don't tell Bill Schroeder that!

 

Not questioning the accuracy of the statement but I'm wondering how you got to the 75% chance of making an out. I see guys foul off a lot of borderline pitches all the time, especially on 2 strikes so it just seems high to me. Is there some sort of analysis tucked away in your mountain of empirical evidence you can share or was it more or less a general observation?

[BrewCrewForever]

I think the 3-2 pitch was a strike. If it wasn't, it was way to close to take. Wainwright threw a NASTY curve on that pitch.

[TooLiveBrew]

With the bases loaded, it's a 50% of a run and the inning continuing, vs. about a 75% chance of the inning ending. But don't tell Bill Schroeder that!

 

Ya gotta put the ball in play! What if you strike out?!?

 

Also, you wouldn't want to hit a HR... that would rely too much on the HR. Better just put the ball in play & go for a single.

 

 

(pared back some punctuation --1992)

[trwi7]

Bradley suspending two games according to ESPNEWS. He will appeal.

[Janelle Larson]

I think his 1 for 18 is more likely to drive the Cubs toward hating him.

I know Bradley isn't having a good start, but he's still has a .320 OBP despite his terrible BA. It's a good sign for him.

[homer]

Kinda dumb for him to appeal. Best case scenario he gets a game chopped off that he serves later on this season. Why not take the two games now when you're hurt and not playing well?

[yount19.u]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4095214

 

This just warms my heart to read.

[fondybrewfan]

I like the story. It also warms my heart to see that every move Hendry made in the offseason has been an utter failure in the first month of the season. Bradley, Miles, and Gathrait have all sucked, Dempster hasn't been the Dempster of last year thus far. I still think they are going to miss DeRosa a ton.

 

But Bradley has been by far the biggest failure, he already can't stay on the field and when he does he is hitting 043/290/464. The is failure of epic proportions so far. And of course they don't have DeRo to sub in for him while he is out 50 games this year because of lingering injuries.

 

This Cubs team still has a ton of talent and should win the division but I think their is a scenario where they just utterly fall apart and a crappy Milton Bradley is part of that scenario

[BrewCrewForever]

I read an article where he won't take any questions from the Chicago media except the guy that writes for the official website. What a jerk. Have fun with him Chicago! So glad you took a chance on this goof.