There was something poetic in watching the winning hit sail over the head of Chicago Cub outfielder Milton Bradley in yesterday’s 8-7 loss to the crosstown rival White Sox.
Because amidst the hoopla of baseball bragging rights for Chicago it perfectly symbolized Bradley’s relationship with the city. Since signing a three-year, $30 million contract last January, there’s so much about Chicago Cub baseball that, simply put, is over Bradley’s head.
If there was ever an ill fit for a baseball team or for that matter, a city, Bradley is it. And the fact that Cubs general manager Jim Hendry was not only able to find the mis-fit, but sell it to the organization is sick genius in itself.
For as much as Bradley doesn’t “get” Cub baseball or the fervor of its fans, Cubdom doesn’t “get” Bradley. Take for example, Bradley’s revelation of his current team and half the city’s adoration for it.
”It’s something else,” Bradley said. ”I played in L.A., and I thought L.A. was over the top, but this is a whole different level. It’s fanatic fans. It’s constant cameras and things. It’s a lot more than you expect. But this is what I signed up for, so I can accept that.”
Memo to Milton: Chicago’s love for Cub baseball is not a new phenomena. Pull your self-absorbed head out of your helmet and pick up a newspaper. Watch Sports Center for God’s sake.
Bradley’s utter lack of awareness is why Friday’s much publicized blow-up between Bradley and Cub manager Lou Piniella shouldn’t have come as a surprise. If anything, I’m confused why more people haven’t asked the question, “What took it so long?”
Take two volatile personalities – one a selfish, underachieving player and the other a demanding, old school manager – toss in a team that’s closer to the bottom of the Central Division standings than it is to the top and the recipe for disaster is just waiting to be served.
Seemingly, everyone in and out of major league baseball knew what the Cubs were getting in Bradley. Everyone, that is, with the exception of Hendry. Maybe the Cubs GM just got confused and thought he was Father Flanagan instead of second in command of the team’s baseball operations.
The Cubs are Bradley’s seventh team since breaking into the big leagues in 2000. Outside of his stint with the Dodgers, Bradley basically bounced from one minor market to another. Bradley’s trek has gone from Montreal to Cleveland to Los Angeles to Oakland to San Diego to Texas and now, Chicago.
And for the present – and most likely the next two-and-a-half years, the Cubs are stuck with him. It’s not going to be a pretty stay for him or Cub fans.
That Sosa was found among 104 other players testing positive from a 2003 survey could be considered mildly surprising at best from even the most casual baseball fan. If anything the Times story confirmed what many, if not all in and out of baseball, suspected.
These two offensive outbursts come just four days after Hendry replaced fired hitting coach Gerald Perry with Von Joshua. And at a time when the Cubs downward spiral was beginning to look more like a leap into the abyss.
Cubs’ Show More Stagger Than Swagger
It was good while it lasted. The Chicago Cubs swagger I mean.
When Lou Piniella arrived as Cubs’ manager two-and-a-half seasons ago, he made it clear that one of his top priorities was instilling a winning attitude. To hell with this “Lovable Losers” stuff.
He was going to create a new breed of Cubs player – one that bit back, instead of licking its wounds. These new Cubs would have confidence and play like it.
They would have … swagger.
And for about a season-and-a-half, I actually believed Piniella could get it done. Beginning in the second half of the 2007 season and for much of last year, as surprising as it seemed, the Cubs played and acted like a franchise where winning was more of an expectation than an afterthought.
Chicago’s two Central Division titles are testament to it. The Cubs mental approach to this wonderful game of baseball was equal to their on-field abilities.
For the first time in a long time Chicago Cubs baseball not only realized its potential but fulfilled it. Well, at least during the course of the regular season they did.
Then came consecutive three-and-outs in the NLDS playoffs. And perhaps those post-season nosedives can be attributed to contributing to this season’s stagger as much as anything. After two straight years of folding like a cheap tent in the playoffs, it’s not beyond probability that the Cub swagger has been acting like it’s been taking season-long shots to the groin.
Whatever “swagger” cream Piniella had the players apply, this season has shown its clearly worn off. The loss of Aramis Ramirez for the past six weeks certainly was a blow. But winning franchises don’t bemoan setbacks. They go out and perform despite them.
These are the Cubs, however. No matter how much money GM Jim Hendry can throw at continually re-building this team or how many marquee names fill the roster.
If Piniella was looking for a miracle to perform he should have chosen something simpler. Like turning water into wine. Or making Alfonso Soriano an actual lead-off hitter. The degree of difficulty has to be less for both.