Actually, we knew you all too well. Before you even got here.
Fortunately, Jim Hendry finally made a roster move that I approve of, deciding to suspend Milton Bradley for the remainder of the dismal Cubs season after he once again ripped Cubs fans and the entire Cubs organization in a recent interview with the Daily Herald. Hendry has said he is unsure if the relationship is "fixable," which could mean that the Cubbies are done playing around with Milton and ready to eat the remainder of his colossal $30 million salary. Fingers crossed.
At the risk of crowning myself a prophet, allow me to offer a quote from my post on February 5, 2009:
I will join the chorus on this one and say that it makes little sense to relieve ourselves of clubhouse leaders and classy, old-school gentlemen of baseball like Kerry Wood and Mark DeRosa only to replace them with Milton Bradley. The man has the self-image of Sammy Sosa with a fraction of the home runs.
I sleep at night by convincing myself that, although the Cubs are hundred-year losers, they are lovable because they try hard and respect the game. It's hard to convince myself that Bradley fits that criteria and I can't help but think he will drastically throw off the chemistry of a team that just traded away its outspoken leaders [Mark DeRosa and Kerry Wood]. I hope I'm wrong.
Sometimes I hate it when I'm right, but there was really no other way for this to end. Bradley claims that playing for the Cubs is a negative experience and "negativity" pervades the clubhouse, the media, the fans and anything else sporting Cubs colors in Chicago. I think there are hundreds of thousands of Cubs fans who would beg to differ.
Regardless of the fact that we were immediately swept out, the Cubs made the playoffs two years in a row. We didn't get there on negativity. We got there on positive team chemistry and offensive production. Both of those crucial elements were suddenly in short supply when Bradley put on the pinstripes.
From the beginning, the Bradley deal was a match made in Hell that simmered all summer and festered in the hot August sun. Bradley blamed his microscopic batting average and defensive miscues on the fans, the media, his teammates, the recession, Michael Jackson's death and anything else he could think of. Most players would give their left leg to play at Wrigley every day. Bradley treated it like a prison sentence.
Well, hopefully we will both be free of each other soon. Bradley can sulk off into the sunset and the Cubs can find a cheap, young player with class and heart to play right field.
The Cubs palette will need some major cleansing in the off season, and this is the perfect way to start.
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Matt Paolelli
Matt Paolelli has been root, root, rooting for the Cubbies since before he could stand on his own during the Seventh Inning Stretch. More
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and another one bites the dust!
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