When I visited ESPNChicago.com tonight I saw an interview with Milton Bradley and as a Sox fan I am finding this whole situation amusing. Here's the interview:
While I enjoy a good ripping of the Cubs, I for one don't enjoy someone criticizing the city of Chicago or the people of Chicago. Bradley is quickly becoming a baby who can't handle a little bit of pressure. He says no African American player can play in Chicago unless they're Superman. Really Milton? Do you perhaps remember a man by the name of Jermaine Dye? A man who White Sox fans love to this day even when he started struggling down the stretch last season, if I remember correctly, he is African American.
You also say that people don't like it when someone doesn't perform "miracles" when they're paid a lot of money. Now you were brought into the Cubs organization to hit for power similar to what you did in Texas the year before, you didn't accomplish that, and in fact you hardly came close to any of your numbers the previous season. The Cub fans weren't asking for you to perform miracles, just to hit for a little bit of power. You also say people don't want to see a guy who is cocky get paid a lot of money, really? Michael Jordan is one of the cockiest athletes to ever play a sport and the man is worshiped in Chicago and he was paid a ton of money (he reportedly laid down $25 million cash to purchase the Bobcats).
Bradley says he received a lot of hate mail while with the Cubs similar to Jacque Jones and LaTroy Hawkins (it hurts to see these names doesn't it Cub fans?). What he also mentions is that he received hate mail in Oakland and LA also. So when does this become an issue about you and not the fans for the teams you play for?
If you think you were a prisoner in your own home, well that's your own fault. You're a professional athlete, scrutiny is sure to follow you wherever you go. You need to be the bigger man and own up to your lack of productivity. Jay Cutler struggled in his first season in Chicago and he owned up to his mistakes and took the blame when it was necessary for him to blame.
I understand that wherever you go as an African American you're likely to face some sort of racism, but to paint the entire city of Chicago as racist is just ignorant on your part, enjoy Seattle where it rains all the time and good luck dealing with more fans who are expecting a power hitter and won't get it.
Showing posts with label Milton Bradley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Milton Bradley. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Friday, December 18, 2009
Carlos Silva for Milton Bradley. No joke.
The Cubs have just completed what should be the worst trade of the MLB off-season. Milton Bradley has been dealt to the Mariners for Carlos Silva and $9 million cash. The cash will help offset the $3 million difference in salaries while making Silva's salary only slightly less obscene. The "experts" are saying this is the perfect deal for both sides, as both players have large contracts and both teams were looking to unload the players. The one minor detail they're missing is that one player is good, and the other player is bad.
I understand that Milton Bradley had to get out of town. Lou Piniella openly admitted that the Cubs would do everything they could to get Bradley out of town. Ryan Theriot just spoke on ESPN1000 about how it will be a lot nicer to go about the daily grind of baseball without having to worry about Milton Bradley. The fact remains that Bradley was a decent baseball player. He had the second-highest OPS of any Cub with 400 plate appearances in 2009, a solid .775 clip. The problem is that Bradley's trade value was shot. The whole world knew that the Cubs had to get rid of him by any means possible and the Mariners were the only team desperate enough to take on that entire salary. Blame for Bradley's plummeting value has to be spread around the entire city of Chicago. Blame Jim Hendry for taking Bradley in the first place. Blame the fans and the media for not being a little nicer to Milton Bradley, for never giving him a chance to succeed and tearing him down when the littlest thing went wrong. Blame Milton Bradley himself for not being a little nicer to the fans and the media when that happened.
That said, I'd rather have Milton Bradley, his teammates, the fans, and the media tough it out one more year than still have to pay $16 million over two years for the worst player in baseball, Carlos Silva. Here are the unbelievable pitching lines that Carlos Silva has put up the past four years:
To summarize, that is a line of 29 W, 47 L, 5.60 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 11.6 H/9, and 3.8 K/9 from 2006-2009. Of all the pitchers who have thrown 500 IP the past four years, Silva has the worst ERA, the worst H/9, the worst K/9, the worst BA against, the worst SLG against, the highest percentage of starts lost at 47.95%, AND the worst average game score. And that all includes a 2007 season in which he wasn't terrible!
If this is the best Jim Hendry could do, he was either not trying hard enough or should have just given up and kept Milton. If Silva puts up 2007 numbers and the Cubs manage to do something productive with the money they are saving, this could turn out to be a not terrible deal. Don't hold your breath.
Interesting Baseball Fact of the Day: Carlos Silva is not very good at baseball.
I understand that Milton Bradley had to get out of town. Lou Piniella openly admitted that the Cubs would do everything they could to get Bradley out of town. Ryan Theriot just spoke on ESPN1000 about how it will be a lot nicer to go about the daily grind of baseball without having to worry about Milton Bradley. The fact remains that Bradley was a decent baseball player. He had the second-highest OPS of any Cub with 400 plate appearances in 2009, a solid .775 clip. The problem is that Bradley's trade value was shot. The whole world knew that the Cubs had to get rid of him by any means possible and the Mariners were the only team desperate enough to take on that entire salary. Blame for Bradley's plummeting value has to be spread around the entire city of Chicago. Blame Jim Hendry for taking Bradley in the first place. Blame the fans and the media for not being a little nicer to Milton Bradley, for never giving him a chance to succeed and tearing him down when the littlest thing went wrong. Blame Milton Bradley himself for not being a little nicer to the fans and the media when that happened.
That said, I'd rather have Milton Bradley, his teammates, the fans, and the media tough it out one more year than still have to pay $16 million over two years for the worst player in baseball, Carlos Silva. Here are the unbelievable pitching lines that Carlos Silva has put up the past four years:
| Year | Team | W | L | ERA | G | IP | H | HR | BB | SO | WHIP |
| 2006 | MIN | 11 | 15 | 5.94 | 36 | 180.1 | 246 | 38 | 32 | 70 | 1.54 |
| 2007 | MIN | 13 | 14 | 4.19 | 33 | 202.0 | 229 | 20 | 36 | 89 | 1.31 |
| 2008 | SEA | 4 | 15 | 6.46 | 28 | 153.1 | 213 | 20 | 32 | 69 | 1.60 |
| 2009 | SEA | 1 | 3 | 8.60 | 8 | 30.1 | 41 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 1.71 |
To summarize, that is a line of 29 W, 47 L, 5.60 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 11.6 H/9, and 3.8 K/9 from 2006-2009. Of all the pitchers who have thrown 500 IP the past four years, Silva has the worst ERA, the worst H/9, the worst K/9, the worst BA against, the worst SLG against, the highest percentage of starts lost at 47.95%, AND the worst average game score. And that all includes a 2007 season in which he wasn't terrible!
If this is the best Jim Hendry could do, he was either not trying hard enough or should have just given up and kept Milton. If Silva puts up 2007 numbers and the Cubs manage to do something productive with the money they are saving, this could turn out to be a not terrible deal. Don't hold your breath.
Interesting Baseball Fact of the Day: Carlos Silva is not very good at baseball.
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