Brenly rips Bradley

[davell]

Bradley is obviously getting the short end of the stick here. He's not having a bad year. But, he's not making things easy on himself either obviously. Which he seems to do everywhere he's ever been. We're MUCH better off keeping him, but he's appearing to be drawing a line in the sand right now. What team would honestly want him? This is the absolute epitomy of selling low. I wish Hendry would come out and say Milton is a key for the Cubs going forward or SOMETHING. Because I don't see how we can deal him and come out ahead.

 

Doing a quick glance, I guess I could see a Mags for Milton swap maybe? Not sure who even eats money in that deal either. And no, I'm not advocating this whatsoever, just my mind is blank as to what can possibly be done to get him out of town. (which is starting to appear like the only way this is going to end)

 

Yes, it is a conspiracy. Every one is out to get the poor guy.

 

No, not what I was saying at all. He's been extremely easy to dislike everywhere he's ever been. Which sucks, because he's good at baseball. Trading him will suck even worse, because there is no way for us to come out ahead in that. That's my main point here.

[Sammy Sofa]

Still don't know how that actually causes the Cubs to lose over, say, Aramis missing a ton of time, Soriano playing hurt and being ineffectual except for two months, the Miles/Fontenot combo somehow being even worse than the worst case scenario and Soto having a horrendous sophomore slump likely (and hopefully) due to nagging injuries, weight gain and the WBC. Bradley's attitude is pretty far down the list in terms of reasons for this letdown of a season, especially coupled with how productive he's been for most of the year. Bradley's a pain in the ass, but anyone thinking his attitude is more detrimental than all of that simply is not being realistic. Edited September 20, 2009 by Sammy Sofa

[CUBZ99]

Bradley is obviously getting the short end of the stick here. He's not having a bad year. But, he's not making things easy on himself either obviously. Which he seems to do everywhere he's ever been. We're MUCH better off keeping him, but he's appearing to be drawing a line in the sand right now. What team would honestly want him? This is the absolute epitomy of selling low. I wish Hendry would come out and say Milton is a key for the Cubs going forward or SOMETHING. Because I don't see how we can deal him and come out ahead.

 

Doing a quick glance, I guess I could see a Mags for Milton swap maybe? Not sure who even eats money in that deal either. And no, I'm not advocating this whatsoever, just my mind is blank as to what can possibly be done to get him out of town. (which is starting to appear like the only way this is going to end)

 

Yes, it is a conspiracy. Every one is out to get the poor guy.

 

No, not what I was saying at all. He's been extremely easy to dislike everywhere he's ever been. Which sucks, because he's good at baseball. Trading him will suck even worse, because there is no way for us to come out ahead in that. That's my main point here.

 

Apparently there is a point where being decent at baseball isn't enough. It just goes to show that if you are a shitty enough of a person, your shittyness can outweigh your baseball skill, unless your last name is Puljos or Bonds.

[Sammy Sofa]

Apparently there is a point where being decent at baseball isn't enough. It just goes to show that if you are a [expletive] enough of a person, you [expletive] can outweigh your baseball skill, unless your last name is Puljos or Bonds.

 

How is it "outweighing" his production?

[davell]

I guess I'll open up a can of worms here, just to see what people think, so anyway.......

 

 

Does team chemistry matter? And if so, how much? 1-2 games a year? 3-5 possibly? Maybe more? Maybe none at all? I know that there is not a correct answer for this and my guess is this has been debated here somewhere ad nauseum, but if so, I haven't seen it.

[CUBZ99]

Apparently there is a point where being decent at baseball isn't enough. It just goes to show that if you are a [expletive] enough of a person, you [expletive] can outweigh your baseball skill, unless your last name is Puljos or Bonds.

 

How is it "outweighing" his production?

 

How is it not "outweighing" his production?

[CUBZ99]

I guess I'll open up a can of worms here, just to see what people think, so anyway.......

 

 

Does team chemistry matter? And if so, how much? 1-2 games a year? 3-5 possibly? Maybe more? Maybe none at all? I know that there is not a correct answer for this and my guess is this has been debated here somewhere ad nauseum, but if so, I haven't seen it.

 

Please don't start this.

[davell]

Bradley is obviously getting the short end of the stick here. He's not having a bad year. But, he's not making things easy on himself either obviously. Which he seems to do everywhere he's ever been. We're MUCH better off keeping him, but he's appearing to be drawing a line in the sand right now. What team would honestly want him? This is the absolute epitomy of selling low. I wish Hendry would come out and say Milton is a key for the Cubs going forward or SOMETHING. Because I don't see how we can deal him and come out ahead.

 

Doing a quick glance, I guess I could see a Mags for Milton swap maybe? Not sure who even eats money in that deal either. And no, I'm not advocating this whatsoever, just my mind is blank as to what can possibly be done to get him out of town. (which is starting to appear like the only way this is going to end)

 

Yes, it is a conspiracy. Every one is out to get the poor guy.

 

No, not what I was saying at all. He's been extremely easy to dislike everywhere he's ever been. Which sucks, because he's good at baseball. Trading him will suck even worse, because there is no way for us to come out ahead in that. That's my main point here.

 

Apparently there is a point where being decent at baseball isn't enough. It just goes to show that if you are a [expletive] enough of a person, your [expletive] can outweigh your baseball skill, unless your last name is Puljos or Bonds.

 

I guess my question becomes this then....... If we trade him and eat alot of salary in the process, how are we a better team?

[Cubswin11]

Bradley is obviously getting the short end of the stick here. He's not having a bad year. But, he's not making things easy on himself either obviously. Which he seems to do everywhere he's ever been. We're MUCH better off keeping him, but he's appearing to be drawing a line in the sand right now. What team would honestly want him? This is the absolute epitomy of selling low. I wish Hendry would come out and say Milton is a key for the Cubs going forward or SOMETHING. Because I don't see how we can deal him and come out ahead.

 

Doing a quick glance, I guess I could see a Mags for Milton swap maybe? Not sure who even eats money in that deal either. And no, I'm not advocating this whatsoever, just my mind is blank as to what can possibly be done to get him out of town. (which is starting to appear like the only way this is going to end)

 

Yes, it is a conspiracy. Every one is out to get the poor guy.

 

No, not what I was saying at all. He's been extremely easy to dislike everywhere he's ever been. Which sucks, because he's good at baseball. Trading him will suck even worse, because there is no way for us to come out ahead in that. That's my main point here.

 

Apparently there is a point where being decent at baseball isn't enough. It just goes to show that if you are a [expletive] enough of a person, your [expletive] can outweigh your baseball skill, unless your last name is Puljos or Bonds.

 

I guess my question becomes this then....... If we trade him and eat alot of salary in the process, how are we a better team?

Maybe in the process we get more lefthanded?

[UMFan83]

Man, Bradley is such a dick.

[Guest]

i don't even see the point of being a cubs fan, or a sports fan in general, if all you do is complain about your team. yeah the cubs lost and were pathetic in the playoffs in 2007 and 2008, but considering that they made the playoffs a grand total of four times from 1946 to 2006, i'm going to actually be happy that they made it two years in a row. it's a hell of a lot more interesting than this season, when they pretty much have been playing out the string since late august, and it sure as hell is better than 2006, when the season was done in june. (granted the season was done to some people in april of 2007, but we already discussed that)

 

you want a team that is going to win the world series? give up on the cubs. they probably won't ever win it. go root for the yankees or red sox or cardinals or whatever. i would think that someone who has been a cub fan for a long time, as mr. horse claims, would have gained a greater appreciation for teams that are competitive through august and september, having sat through decades of relative incompetence. instead you bitch about three games at the end of each season. i know they say misery loves company, but frankly we'd just prefer if you leave us alone.

 

Completely agree.

 

Nobody is going to deny that the last two postseasons sucked. But it's certainly better than the alternative, i.e. years like 2006. If the Cubs were like the Yankees or Braves (through 2005) and made the playoffs every single year, sure, a first round sweep would be extremely disappointing. But looking at each season as a whole and comparing it to what the Cubs have done in the past, the season wasn't a failure. I think most people here would agree that 2008 was in the top 3 Cubs seasons in terms of enjoyment in our lifetimes.

 

Am I happy with everything the Cubs do and how each season has turned out in the end? No. But it certainly could be a hell of a lot worse. I'm a Raiders fan and I'd take what the Cubs have done over the last six years over what the Raiders have done and that choice would take me about a half of a second.

 

And for those of you who are that ticked off at the Cubs, as a Raiders fan, I understand where you are coming from. But if a team pisses you off that much, you can root for another team. You're not contractually obligated to root for the Cubs. Pick another team. It's pretty easy. Well, unless your name is Kyle.

[RedFlash]

http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/2624

 

Hey, we ca official talk about how the Cubs will get 80% of his contract and get very little in return for Bradley. In my opinion, I don't know who is going to want him? He's tried the midwest (Cleveland and ChC), he's tried the southwest (TX). He's tried to west (San Diego, LA, and Oak). And then he was briefly in Canada. If Bradley can't handle Chicago, then the Northeast is out of the question. Forget about Atlanta (Bradley+Atlanta=trouble). (And I sure as heck would not trade him to an NLCentral team) So I'm thinking the ONLY places the Cubs could reasonably trade him could be: Seattle, Detroit, Kansas City, maybe back to TX, or perhaps San Francisco (come on, Bradley in SF has a chance to be special).

 

So oh boy, this is going to be a REAL good offseason. :doh: #-o

[Sosa21MVP]

It is fairly simple, winning more division titles and being in playoff contention in August/September more often translates into more chances to chase the World Series dream. That is why despite the 0-6 playoff record for 2007 & 2008 I still place value on being able to win back to back division titles. That was the first time the Cubs made the playoffs in consecutive seasons since the run of 1906 to 1908...and then people wonder why the Cubs haven't won the big one since then. Because the management was so poor for a period of time that even making the playoffs was elusive. You have decades where a season like 2006 was the norm. Now at the moment I can look at what the Cubs have done since 1998 and say they have been in the playoffs 4 times in these last 12 seasons (1998, 2003, 2007, 2008) and been "in the hunt" in August or later at least 7 of those 12 seasons (throwing in 2001, 2004, 2009). Point being, the Cubs as an organization are making strides towards increased competitiveness. I started following the team in 1986 and from 1986 to 1997 we had what, 3 winning seasons in that 12 year stretch? 1989, 1993, 1995. And only one playoff appearance in that stretch.

 

So with that in mind, hopefully the trend continues in the next block of 12 years. :wink: The trend being making the playoffs more and more often. And in the process maybe breaking the championship drought "trend".

[Little Slide Rooter]

IMO the handling of th Bradley situation should hold a huge bearing on Hendrys employment. Any GM for a big market team can throw a big wad of money at a player and sign him, but it takes a good GM to be able to handle this type of situation. Its not every GM who can say that they took the best team its fans have ever seen and completely restructured it into this, mainly to sign a player, 1 many advised him against, and then dump that player the very next season for next to nothing.

 

I really dont blame Hendry for everything thats happened this season. He couldnt have predcted Soriano and Soto to play they way they did, although he should have been more careful when dumpin DeRosa and having an unestablished player take the job. He couldnt have pedicted Bradleys season. While I do blame Hendry for the financial issues this team will likely come upon in the next few years, as for the 2009 team itself, it looked like he put together a pretty good team and nobody could have predicted how little production would come out of some key players.

[Sammy Sofa]

Apparently there is a point where being decent at baseball isn't enough. It just goes to show that if you are a [expletive] enough of a person, you [expletive] can outweigh your baseball skill, unless your last name is Puljos or Bonds.

 

How is it "outweighing" his production?

 

How is it not "outweighing" his production?

 

Reality? The perceptions of the fans should not dictate the removal of a useful player just because he's a jerk. There's absolutely nothing that shows that his behavior or attitude has been detrimental to the team's play.

[Tarver]

Apparently there is a point where being decent at baseball isn't enough. It just goes to show that if you are a [expletive] enough of a person, you [expletive] can outweigh your baseball skill, unless your last name is Puljos or Bonds.

 

How is it "outweighing" his production?

 

How is it not "outweighing" his production?

 

Reality? The perceptions of the fans should not dictate the removal of a useful player just because he's a jerk. There's absolutely nothing that shows that his behavior or attitude has been detrimental to the team's play.

 

Nothing statistically, but every writer in town has alluded to it being a problem.

[Tarver]

And I can't understand why people continue to argue about this. He's out of here; better to argue about what the team should get in return.

[Sammy Sofa]

Nothing statistically, but every writer in town has alluded to it being a problem.

 

How? How does it effect the game if they don't like Bradley? How is Bradley impacting any of these players when they go up to bat or are making a play in the field or pitching the ball? He's not: that's simply not realistic at all. You're either saying the players are so weak-minded that they can't produce because they're constantly thinking about a guy who has absolutely nothing to do with them at that moment or they're so petty they're essentially willfully focusing on Bradley over the game. Again, I'm not saying Bradley's a jerk, but I want to know how people know or think that his attitude is actually impacting the play of the other players or the outcomes of the games.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Nothing statistically, but every writer in town has alluded to it being a problem.

 

How? How does it effect the game if they don't like Bradley? How is Bradley impacting any of these players when they go up to bat or are making a play in the field or pitching the ball? He's not: that's simply not realistic at all. You're either saying the players are so weak-minded that they can't produce because they're constantly thinking about a guy who has absolutely nothing to do with them at that moment or they're so petty they're essentially willfully focusing on Bradley over the game. Again, I'm not saying Bradley's a jerk, but I want to know how people know or think that his attitude is actually impacting the play of the other players or the outcomes of the games.

 

What, are you blind?

 

He took a crowbar to Sorianos knees.

Soto and Fontenot have been so depressed by his behavior that theve been sucking most of the season.

Zambrano and Harden hate him so much that theyve forgotten how to pitch.

He has Marmol so upset that he lost all concept of the strike zone.

His behavior has angered Lou so much that he makes foolish decison like putting in Aaron Miles a key pinch hitting situations.

Ramirez and Theriot are so steamed that they cant even turn routine plays anymore. Hell, he cost Ramirez a big chunk of the season.

[17 Seconds]

Milton is just actng like a bitch now. How about you sack up and honor the contract you signed instead of telling everybody how much you want out.

 

Seriously, did he not expect any of this when he signed here? Nothing has been unexpected, except for his crappy production. Stop acting like you were forced into this situation and are somewhere you didn't want to be.

 

YOU chose to come to Chicago, and you knew what it would be like if you didn't perform up to expectations.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Milton is just actng like a bitch now. How about you sack up and honor the contract you signed instead of telling everybody how much you want out.

 

Seriously, did he not expect any of this when he signed here? Nothing has been unexpected, except for his crappy production. Stop acting like you were forced into this situation and are somewhere you didn't want to be.

 

YOU chose to come to Chicago, and you knew what it would be like if you didn't perform up to expectations.

 

A lot of people were saying that Bradley wouldnt be able to perform under the pressure of the Cubs, and in order to play well, he needed a smaller market team like Tampa Bay or Washington. Those that wanted Bradley laughed that off. I guess the irony is that if any team would be able to or want to take on his contract, it wouldnt be one of those small market teams.

[danonwaveland]

What, are you blind?

 

He took a crowbar to Sorianos knees.

Soto and Fontenot have been so depressed by his behavior that theve been sucking most of the season.

Zambrano and Harden hate him so much that theyve forgotten how to pitch.

He has Marmol so upset that he lost all concept of the strike zone.

His behavior has angered Lou so much that he makes foolish decison like putting in Aaron Miles a key pinch hitting situations.

Ramirez and Theriot are so steamed that they cant even turn routine plays anymore. Hell, he cost Ramirez a big chunk of the season.

 

True.

_____________________________________

Sandberg>Mazeroski>Morgan

[KingCubsFan]

"You got out there and you play harder than anybody on the field and never get credit for it."

Bradley is dead on about that, regardless of what else he says

[TruffleShuffle]

i have a feeling that this offseason is going to be a disaster and i'm going to be interested in the cubs for about a month next year... similar to 2006.

[Little Slide Rooter]

I really cant see too much of a disaster this offseason. I dont see Z going anywhere, unless something really good comes back like Peavy. If Bradly goes, we'll probably end up with a similar player with a bad contract, something like a Magglio Ordonez or Jose Guillen. Other than that, maybe we'll get another middle infielder, maybe not. Maybe another starter, maybe not. I for one am very curious to see what happens, and actually kind of looking forward to see what Hendry does to try and clean up his mess.