Mark's Madness

Milton Bradley – The “New Kanye West”

When I was growing up, Milton Bradley was a game company.   Then again, when I was growing up there wasn’t such a sense of entitlement and self-aggrandizing behavior.  Some people you love to hate.   I can’t even love hating him.  I think Milton Bradley should curl up somewhere dark and be forgotten.  

“If I was a musician, I’d be Kanye West. If I was in the NBA, I’d be Ron Artest,” said Bradley.  Bradley, now  31 years old has played for the Expos, Indians, Dodgers, Athletics, Padres, Rangers and Cubs said this week. “In baseball, they’ve got Milton Bradley. I’m that guy. You need people like me, so you can point your finger and go, ‘There goes the bad guy.”   How ’bout, “there goes a waste of talent.”  Don’t confuse him with a journeyman; if he could have gotten along on any team, his stats might have been much better.

Milton Bradley was ejected twice in three Mariners spring games last week. The first ejection remains a joke to Bradley. He disagreed with another called third strike, then umpire Dan Bellino thought Bradley gave a demonstration immediately afterward at the plate.

Bradley thought it was the third out, and said he was one move into taking off his batting glove to prepare to play the field.

“Never dropped my glove. I pulled one strap off my glove, like this,” Bradley said, pulling off the velcro strap on his batting glove. “But if you read the paper, it will say I removed my gloves. It’s exaggerated, because that’s what the media does, you know? I pulled one strap.

“That’s when I glanced and realized it was two outs. I bent down to pick up my bat, and in the periphery, I see this,” he said, thumbing an ejection sign. “That’s what happened.”

Had Bradley ever had an incident with that umpire?

“I mean, I haven’t been in Triple A, so how could I have an incident?” he said with a grin.

(sources SI.com, ESPN.com, FoxSports.com)