Despite going 4-for-4 in last night's loss to the Washington Nationals, Cubs right fielder Milton Bradley is grabbing headlines for a different reason this morning.His mouth.
First, he spoke about how uncomfortable he is playing at Wrigley Field due to the pressure and ill-will shown towards him from the home crowd.
Then there's this, from ESPN Chicago's Nick Friedell:"It's hard to be comfortable when you don't get a hit and get booed every time," he said. "When I go home and look in the mirror, I like what I see. My family is there I have people I can talk to who are very supportive, in spite of everything and all the adversity and the hatred you face on a daily basis. But I'll be alright. I always have."
What do you have for everyone's favorite offseason acquisition, Cub fans?His four-minute session with the media started off this way:
Q: Obviously not the type of beginning you felt you were gonna have here on the homestand:
MB: "No, we got a Rodney King beatdown tonight."
After a few seconds of awkwardness, Bradley responded, "What's up, what do ya'll got next, something else?"
Its tough to play for a new team in the first year. You try to do too much, like Aramis Ramirez when he came from Pittsburgh. All he tried to do was hit a homer and it took him a while to get going. Jim Hendry points to Alou on this also. Bradley has given us all he's got this year and that's all we can ask. I'm disappointed in his season so far and I'll bet you any amount of money too that he's more mad than we are about it.
Bradley is another example of a whiney ballplayer prima donna, who seems to have the need to be coddled at every turn,,,,wwwwaaaaahhhh,,,if he had an ounce of integrity he would return the balance of his salary and take a hike
Mr. Bradley should read Raymond Arsenault's book "The Freedom Riders." The people profiled in that superb text attempted to desegregate the interstate bus systems in the deep South in the early 1960s.
They were ordinary people who believed deeply in a cause and were willing to put their lives on the line for it. They did not make $10 million per year to play a game. Many of them were beaten to the point of unconsciousness by vicious mobs for engaging in something that was perfectly legal.
While Mr. Bradley's claims may have some merit, he should realize that the word "hatred" is a very strong word. If he is truly facing racist taunts and insults, then shame on those who utter them. But if Mr. Bradley is only facing idle boos and yells and is turning it into a race issue, then he needs to read this book and put the criticisms into perspective.
Milton, you are a pitiful fool.
If Bradley is too weak to take criticism from Cubs fans, he sure better stay off the South Side. They don't even play over there. And he might want to try checking out the demographics for Chicago before he runs his mouth again. Whites comprise only 37.6% of the population. The main ethnic group is African American aka Black.
Bluejeans comment has nothing to do with anything... what difference does demographics mean?