ESPN Interviews Milton Bradley (who felt like a prisoner in Chicago)

More Milton Bradley stuff. Also with video! Just because...

almost 2 years ago ThundaPC 70 comments 0 recs |

Comments

I'm disappointed that the Mariner organisation has let him give this interview.

Someone from the Mariner PR dept. needs to be following Bradley 24/7 whilst in Peoria and if a member of the media comes within 20 yards of him they need to be warning them away. What could can come to Bradley from interviews like this? He needs to learn how to say ‘No Comment’ and move on.

by EnglishMariner on Mar 10, 2010 4:35 AM PST reply actions

I wish I hadn't even read this interview, it's given me a soured opinion of Bradley who appears to live in an idealistic world where 'bad people' don't exist.

by EnglishMariner on Mar 10, 2010 4:39 AM PST up reply actions

Meh. I could really care less what Bradley says while he's here. Just hit and stay healthy Milton, that's all you need to worry about.

FUCK ERIC BYRNES FUCK ERIC BYRNES!

by Goose on Mar 10, 2010 7:04 AM PST up reply actions

I feel that things would run smoother if he just kept his mouth shut when the media start provoking him.

by EnglishMariner on Mar 10, 2010 8:36 AM PST up reply actions

Come on

You soured on him because he didn’t like the over hostility and loads of hate mail he received in Chicago? Should he have said it was a nice gesture? He’s human. Very, very human. And I think Seattle will be just fine for him so long as everyone remembers whom he’s replacing.

De Gutibus non disputandum est

by Bearskin Rugburn on Mar 10, 2010 8:46 AM PST up reply actions

Overt.

god, typing is a problem today.

De Gutibus non disputandum est

by Bearskin Rugburn on Mar 10, 2010 8:46 AM PST up reply actions

I can do without the slavery talk and the racial undertones of the whole conversation.

I don’t think they hated him in Chicago because he’s a black man. They hated him because they are a desperate fanbase who will boo anyone who makes money and doesn’t produce up to expectations.

by Rudy4three on Mar 10, 2010 9:26 AM PST up reply actions

There are racial undertones in the whole conversation

because of the racial undertones of Bradley’s treatment, and other african american player on the Cubs. These are well documented, and are referenced here and here

by Ballard Erik on Mar 10, 2010 10:31 AM PST up reply actions

Right, but one of the methods they used to express that hate was racism.

by Graham MacAree on Mar 10, 2010 10:43 AM PST up reply actions

There was overt racism. Tons of black players have spoken how difficult Wrigley can get.

Derek Lee, Jacque Jones, LaTroy Hawkins, Juan Pierre, Mike Cameron, even Torii Hunter.

As usual, it was a vocal minority of a huge fanbase that ended up being louder than the majority of people who were just frustrated at a lackluster season. I suppose Bradley deserved his time to explain what went down, but he just comes off as both delusional and paranoid. Perhaps it was just a failed marriage to begin with playing in a city desperate for Cubs glory.

by Ozzie Montana on Mar 10, 2010 7:46 PM PST up reply actions

People unfortunately yell things at every park

To single out Wrigley isn’t accurate.

"When they signed Fukudome, I knew they were trying to get me fired". - Ron Santo, January, 2008

by BeerCub on Mar 10, 2010 9:47 PM PST up reply actions

I don't think I've ever heard a racist comment yelled as Safeco (or any other sporting venue in the northwest)

They don’t yell those comments at every park.

by Edgar for Pres on Mar 10, 2010 10:08 PM PST up reply actions

Alrighty

"When they signed Fukudome, I knew they were trying to get me fired". - Ron Santo, January, 2008

by BeerCub on Mar 10, 2010 10:13 PM PST up reply actions

That's a pretty naive assumption.

by Ozzie Montana on Mar 11, 2010 12:18 AM PST up reply actions

I'm pretty sure that saying anything of a racist nature at Safeco would get you tossed in about half a second,

by Aaron Campeau on Mar 11, 2010 7:44 AM PST up reply actions

I've heard some stuff that was definitely racist and ignorant.

However, it is very rare at Safeco.

by Sec 108 on Mar 11, 2010 8:26 AM PST up reply actions

I've heard it as well, but like ac suggested the guilty party was removed from their seats in a hurry.

by BrianL on Mar 11, 2010 8:30 AM PST up reply actions

I think once I yelled "GO BACK TO CUBA YOU STUPID MONKEY"

after Yuni pulled a Yuni on a routine ground ball. That was probably in poor taste.

Mariners/D Broncos/BSU Broncos fan in Seattle

by appleshampoo on Mar 11, 2010 10:02 AM PST up reply actions

As is the case at any ballpark, provided security hears you.

Or someone reports it. From my experiences at Wrigley, the security is pretty lazy.

by Ozzie Montana on Mar 11, 2010 11:46 AM PST up reply actions

I defer to Lee Elia when it comes to the atmosphere at Wrigley

I trust you know what I mean,

De Gutibus non disputandum est

by Bearskin Rugburn on Mar 11, 2010 6:43 AM PST up reply actions

I believe he may have legitamate gripes, and I accept that I should have taken these into account first. However, I feel as a professional athlete at a new team he should keep stum about further comment on his previous team...

…these media distractions can no help himself or the ballclub. Which is why I believe the M’s PR dept. should be protecting him more.

by EnglishMariner on Mar 10, 2010 12:49 PM PST up reply actions

Wakamatsu says he was fine with Bradley's interview although he hasn't seen it yet

by Graham MacAree on Mar 10, 2010 12:52 PM PST up reply actions

Just so I understand this.

You were okay with Bradley and his reputation after being with eight different teams but you soured on him after this one interview?

by ThundaPC on Mar 10, 2010 9:47 AM PST up reply actions

I had no opinion of Bradley before he joined Seattle because I didn't know much/anything about him other than he was great for Texas and if injured often.

by EnglishMariner on Mar 10, 2010 12:47 PM PST up reply actions

Well that's a absurd reaction

There’s nothing wrong with this interview. He says that th city expected too much of him, turned hostile, and hi was upset that his kid was being called names at school. He also says that he didn’t flip a tizzy when Lou called him a piece of shit to the media. How does he come off poorly here? I don’t see it.

De Gutibus non disputandum est

by Bearskin Rugburn on Mar 10, 2010 8:44 AM PST up reply actions

He comes off a bit paranoid

The insinuation that Cubs people were transmitting or even generating racist hate mail is… interesting.

I like Bradley a lot, and yes, he comes across as an intelligent guy. But pro athletes probably shouldn’t react like this to booing and taunts. The constant jabs at Chicago’s fans may be justified for all I know, but it’s not terribly professional to keep repeating how historically awful they are.

(Yes, we criticize athletes for saying the expected and sticking to cliches in interviews, and then when someone says what they feel, we criticize it too. But the guy has a reputation for taking any perceived slight…poorly, and the interview seemed like it will only enhance the view that he sees conspiracies and threats everywhere.)

by marc w on Mar 10, 2010 10:39 AM PST up reply actions

I also feel your reaction to this is unfair and incorrect.

In the United States, we often describe ourselves as being post-racial, and this is anything but the case. Bradley has been painted by Chicago local (and some national) media outlets as the stereotypical black thug and a cancer. If Bradley has an opportunity to disprove this portrayal he should do so.
In this interview he comes off as intelligent and articulate, certainly not the way he has been portayed. While it is easy for us to sit in our anonymity and declare what he should do, he is merely trying to do his own PR to enhance his image.

by Ballard Erik on Mar 10, 2010 9:23 AM PST up reply actions

That sounds reasonable. I have no idea what the Chicago media have portrayed him as.

Using my own standards it just sounded like he was whining over things that affect most people in life, however I accept that I do not know the full story behind his problems in Chicago and I probably should have researched more before jumping to conclusions.

by EnglishMariner on Mar 10, 2010 12:45 PM PST up reply actions

I don't think Bradley is the one who comes away looking bad here

The interviewer is. I’ve never seen so many loaded questions in an interview, but he handled them pretty well.

“I don’t think the entire city of Chicago is racist or anything like that. If you weren’t booing me, I’m not talking to you.”

by OlSalty on Mar 10, 2010 9:40 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs

In fact, he almost sounds downright reasonable which is weird

by OlSalty on Mar 10, 2010 9:57 AM PST up reply actions

Maybe its just me

but I like Milton Bradley just a little bit more after this interview.

by Ballard Erik on Mar 10, 2010 10:35 AM PST up reply actions

Not just you

De Gutibus non disputandum est

by Bearskin Rugburn on Mar 10, 2010 11:33 AM PST up reply actions

I certainly do.

But now that he has answered the questions, will the media finally let it go? I doubt it and it would piss me off if I was Milton Bradley. There should now be a mandate by the Mariners PR to have Bradley respond to these questions with “I’ve already answered this question, next question” and other variations of the sort.

by Wilder. on Mar 10, 2010 12:23 PM PST up reply actions

I didn't think he looked bad either, but then I read the article afterwards.

In the video the reporter was definitely pushing Bradley down a line he was uncomfortable with, like the repeated question if he thought the letters came from the Cubs Front Office. Then if you read the article underneath the video, it has Jim Hendry blasting back at him.

“That couldn’t be farther from the truth,” Hendry said. “I think it’s time maybe Milton looked at himself in the mirror. It is what it is. He didn’t swing the bat; he didn’t get the job done. His production was the only negative, or lack of.”

Call me crazy, but it looks as if ESPN was setting Bradley up for this story.

by Jaejo on Mar 10, 2010 12:32 PM PST up reply actions

Jim Hendry is really in charge of running a team? He shows very little professionalism

for a man with his positon.

by Rudy4three on Mar 10, 2010 1:05 PM PST up reply actions

Hendry has not managed to maintain a dignified silence for months now

by msb on Mar 10, 2010 2:44 PM PST up reply actions

Pushing him on the letters thing was way out of line

He obviously didn’t want to answer, get off it. It seemed like she was trying very hard to fan the flames, and Milton did a surprisingly good job not biting on it.

by OlSalty on Mar 10, 2010 2:29 PM PST up reply actions

I noticed I fudged the structure of the last few words.

What I meant ESPN was going out of their way to villanize him, and they succeeded in that regard. I saw BCB quoted me as well…. oh well.

by Jaejo on Mar 10, 2010 5:16 PM PST up reply actions

And I agree he handled himself well. He was very timid, but seems like a cool guy.

by Jaejo on Mar 10, 2010 5:18 PM PST up reply actions

Hendry is an idiot

It’s one thing to say that Bradley’s personality negatively affected the teams performance, but to say that his production was “negative”, is just flat out wrong. If you are looking at RBI’s from a high walk hitter who’s primary spot in the lineup was the 2 hole and who only played in 124 games to judge a player’s production, you have no business being a major league GM. His wOBA was .345, his WPA was .55, and his UZR WAR was 1.1. He had a solid year and his production should not be criticized, especially given the huge bag of fail delivered by Fontenot, Soriano, Soto, etc.

by vivaelpujols on Mar 15, 2010 12:22 AM PDT up reply actions

This is the correct answer

Mariners/D Broncos/BSU Broncos fan in Seattle

by appleshampoo on Mar 10, 2010 1:43 PM PST up reply actions

They could put the old Felix/Fastball shock collar back to work.

by Robert on Mar 10, 2010 10:56 AM PST up reply actions

The woman interviewing him really pissed me off.

The way she kept pressing him on certain inane questions.

by redwolf75 on Mar 10, 2010 9:04 AM PST reply actions

Bradley's past actions speak for themselves.

We can only hope Bradley and keep his head in the game and his focus on baseball. It seems he constantly has an agenda that seems to distract him sufficiently to impact his play and affect his relationships with other players, managers and fans.

Well, here he goes again. Another fresh start. They say you can learn from past experiences.

We can only hope.

At this point I wish him nothing but the best.

mjc

by quidveritas on Mar 10, 2010 12:25 PM PST reply actions