Rob

We may just be trying to get out of keeping him on the 40 next season. Or maybe his arm is toast.

This isn't really the point of all of this (though I don't know what the point of this thread is anymore), and it's nitpicking, but factoring in defense, Bradley was below-average this year. UZR has him 2.6 runs below average. FRAA has him 6 runs over average. I imagine most metrics have him floating somewhere around average or within a few runs of it.

I don't know, but he's turning every discussion about Bradley into the kind of juvenile crap you'd see on Cubs.com.

His idiocy is so pervasive on the boards right now that I can barely bring myself to visit. I can't believe the mods have allowed him to troll for so long. I'm a troll because I 100% disagree with you? Interesting logic. You're continually asserting incorrect things after being corrected multiple times. That's an obvious failure to engage in a rational debate, and shows that you have no interest in listening to opinions other than your own. That's pretty much the definition of trolling. The fact that the other side is asserting that, for some amazing reason, players are "afraid" to speak their true minds because of some great fear of Attila the Hendry coming down on them is just as irrational, if not more, than the "incorrect" things being asserted on his side. Nobody's trolling. Its just a bad argument on both sides. Both sides of this debate are using incredibly stupid points. Get over your ridiculous message board pride and see the rational side of this, people. The truth of this is somewhere in the middle between "this is the greatest injustice ever done to a player and I hope it gets overturned" and "Bradley is the single biggest cancer since...cancer." Putting "incorrect" in quotation marks? Really? His production is a matter of public record and is fact. It's not open to interpretation. Again, from Joe Sheehan: "Bradley is fifth on the Cubs in Runs Above Replacement Player, and tied for third among their regulars with a .271 EqA." If you want the Cubs to win, the best thing you can root for is Bradley being our RF next year. There's really no way around it. On the other hand, if Bradley being on this team really makes it impossible for you to enjoy watching them, you're entitled to that opinion. But that's rooting against the Cubs for your own selfish reasons... and I can't stand people trying to point at his production as an excuse so they can feel okay about it. Why can't they just admit they'd rather this team lose a couple more games if they'd better enjoy the players on the field? It's a legitimate opinion that isn't extremely intellectually dishonest... provided they don't bitch about the Cubs front office screwing things up when we miss the playoffs by a game or two.

WOW!!! WHAT?????? No, it's called I DISAGREE 100% with you. What do you not understand about that? You also admitted you have no interest in a rational discussion about it. That's trolling.

His idiocy is so pervasive on the boards right now that I can barely bring myself to visit. I can't believe the mods have allowed him to troll for so long. I'm a troll because I 100% disagree with you? Interesting logic. You're continually asserting incorrect things after being corrected multiple times. That's an obvious failure to engage in a rational debate, and shows that you have no interest in listening to opinions other than your own. That's pretty much the definition of trolling. No, I have no interest in the three or four Bradley defenders telling me how unfair we all have been to him. That's a joke. So you admit to trolling? That's a bold move.

His idiocy is so pervasive on the boards right now that I can barely bring myself to visit. I can't believe the mods have allowed him to troll for so long. I'm a troll because I 100% disagree with you? Interesting logic. You're continually asserting incorrect things after being corrected multiple times. That's an obvious failure to engage in a rational debate, and shows that you have no interest in listening to opinions other than your own. That's pretty much the definition of trolling.

I dont think anything he said deserved being suspended for. do you think there may possibly be some "behind the scenes" incidents that we aren't privy to though? I sure hope so. Joe Sheehan pointed this out... "the last non-drug-related suspension of this length was Albert Belle's, and he threw a baseball at a fan who was heckling him from the stands." For a few comments at the media to spark such an action? It's absurd. People haven't been suspended this long when they've been accused of beating their wives.

His idiocy is so pervasive on the boards right now that I can barely bring myself to visit. I can't believe the mods have allowed him to troll for so long.

Jesus... He performed like a league average RF. I understand the desire to have something to point at besides your own personal feelings about the guy, but continuing to bitch about his production like it's a good reason to hate him is absurd and just makes you look like an ass. It's completely offbase and if you'd read any of this thread, you'd know that.

I need to learn to stop clicking "show this post" when I know I put these people on my foe list for being idiots...

No. Jake Fox is a horrific outfielder. I'm all for making him work his ass off out there to see if he can become passable enough that his bat can cover him... but I'd be shocked if he ever manages it.

And to the idea that speed somehow better suits a player to the top of the order, that's backwards as well. Stolen bases are actually better utilized at the bottom of a lineup, where the batters are less likely to hit for extra bases.

That's not really true. But the idea of acquiring a top of the order hitter is working backwards. Find the best 8 hitters you can, and then tweak the batting order to maximize value.

JD Drew's is a horrible deal? He's been worth over $18 mil each of the last two years in Boston. That deal is actually looking like a bargain.

i won't speak for him or the other fans who didn't like him because he's a dick, but in my opinion, it matters because i find it a whole heck of a lot easier to root for a good human being who plays for my team than a dick who plays for my team. for example: i can root for a good story like bobby scales very easily this season even though he has a fraction of the talent that milton bradley has. i would like for my team to be a bunch of good guys who can play ball. if we had a bunch of players who had world class elite level talent but acted like (synonym for donkeys) who made up the entirety of the cubs roster for the year, i would openly be an indians fan until the roster turned over to get those bad attitudes out. i won't trade a championship for a bunch of 5 cent attitudes. And you know what? That's fine. If you decide that his personality is so bad that it makes it hard for you to root for the Cubs, that's your call. What I have a problem with are the people who are pretending this is somehow good for the Cubs, instead of just admitting that they want him gone purely for selfish reasons.

The fact that this is emotionally charged for you reveals a lot. Unless I'm mistaken, you have no personal stake in Milton Bradley's particular brand of crazy... he doesn't key your car every night in the parking lot, refuse to pick up his dog's leavings on the sidewalk, or make lewd phone calls to your wife. He plays for a team you root for. A team you want to win. And he's part of the solution to that. You're letting guys like Paul Sullivan dictate your emotions. Their job isn't to make the Cubs better... it's to move papers. And the fact that you'd let them put you in a situation where you're rooting for our team to get rid of a useful player... I just can't fathom that. I mean, if he was breaking the law or something, sure. But he's just a dick. Why on earth does that matter to you?

All that said, if Ricketts bumps our payroll to 170 million, I'm fine with eat Bradley's contract and signing Holliday or Bay. The trick is that I want an upgrade... not a more expensive lateral move or downgrade.

You don't know that. Give me one realistic option to put out there that's likely to outproduce Bradley. One. I've been asking for quite a while... haven't seen anybody come up with one. Why don't u give us one then? I'm pretty sure that his right fielder would be Milton Bradley but I may have missed that. At this point in time, the best move the Cubs have to make for 2010 is to do everything in their power to get Milton Bradley into therapy. And even if we can't, we'd be better served to spend what little available funds we'll have elsewhere... rather than replacing a player we already have who can produce adequately. He's a jackass. I don't particularly like him as a person. But from both baseball and business perspectives, we're best served trying to salvage what's left of his contract.

Given the full-blown mental retardation of our organization, you gotta figure he's being replaced with a speed player. And given the financial constraints we're in, you gotta figure we go cheap. Even if we do go after Figgins (which again, stupid idea), I still think they plan on him at 2B. Some options: (in no particular order) Sam Fuld David Dejesus Coco Crisp BJ Upton Scott Podsednik Endy Chavez Chris Young Eric Byrnes

Yes, poor Milton Bradley is the victim. Everybody is conspiring against him, just like they did in Montreal, Cleveland, LA, Oakland, etc. etc... free Milton Bradley!!! Wow... more willful distortions. I never said he handled it well and didn't say things he shouldn't have. I just said that he was telling the truth. But of course, in your bizzaroverse, that was somehow equated with me shedding tears for this fragile ebony god.

The irony of it is that Bradley never said anything that wasn't at least partly true... it was just constantly distorted by the fans and the media.

I wouldn't even know how to. I'm not above wishing a bunch of the posters on here would though.

Here's the thing. We know Hendry probably wouldn't have made this move if he didn't already have a target in mind. Given the comments to the media, I'm convinced it's probably a speed guy. I'm hoping it's BJ Upton. I'm scared it's gonna be Sam Fuld. I'm scared shitless it'll be Chone Figgins.

Seth Smith is largely a byproduct of Coors. Luke Scott isn't a bad player, but last I heard MacPhail was asking an absurd amount for him. (as he does for everybody)