Rangers Quote Of The Week (1/11)
John Vittas
Milton Bradley was an asset to the Rangers' lineup in 2008. - no smorking/Flickr.com
Good Sunday morning, one and all.
This week, the Cubs inked Milton Bradley to a three-year, $30 million deal. During his introductory press conference at the Wrigley Field (you know, that Wrigley Field?), Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune provided us with this snippet from Bradley on his often times balky right knee:
"I didn't have any issues with my knee last year and I don't anticipate any this year."
He better hope not. Without the luxury of the designated hitter role to take the occasional sabbatical from playing in the field, it's going to be outfield or nothing for the Cubs and Bradley. An oft-publicized number that should scare Cubs fans about their new right fielder is as follows: Bradley has played more than 100 games just three times in his nine-year career. He played in 126 games with the Rangers in 2008, but just 20 of them as an outfielder. The rest of the time he was the designated hitter. That option is gone with the Cubs, so you can count on more games missed.
And though he claimed the knee wasn't an issue last year, I seem to remember him needing more than just a game or two (or 37) to rest his knee that exploded during a bizarre incident involving first base umpire Mike Winters towards the end of the 2007 season. Also, was there ever a player you remember seeing "left the game in ____ with a ____" attached to his name in the box score the following day more than Milton Bradley?
Still, there's no doubt about it -- Bradley can help your club win ballgames. Last season, he led the American League in on-base percentage at .436 while establishing career highs with 22 homers and 77 RBI, and he hit .321. If he's healthy, he'll surely be a major factor in how deep the Cubs can go into the post-season.
But that's a pretty big "if".
Reader Comments (5)
I think it is hard to overstate the contribution MB made here last year and I wish we had been able to keep him around. That being said, it is lunacy for any National League team to figure on MB as an everyday player at this point in his career. I just do not see any way that his body is going to allow him to take the field on an everyday basis without there being some injuries which lead to a significant loss of playing time.
I've never been more frustrated with a Ranger player than I was with Milton Bradley.
Barnone, the smartest hitter the Rangers have ever had but what good is he when he can't play in the most important games? And 2008 was one of the most "healthy" seasons he has ever had.
Having smart hitters here is such a refreshing change and Bradley also brought intense passion and he's one of the few batters I've ever seen who actually possessed the intangible known as "presence."
Washington was the first manager to "get along with him" but what that means is that he let him dictate everything and he was essentially a doormat - When the rest of the players get a whiff of that it's not healthy for the team and I wonder if that's one of the things that happened to cause the 2nd half swoon?
I'm really curious to see how Bradley gets along with Lou in Chi. That team is expected to win now and I doubt that media (or Lou) is going to be nearly as forgiving as the media in DFW.
Exactly, how will Lou and Milton fair come a big series late in the season and Bradley pulls up lame or says he can't go for the 20th time? Should make for some classic Lou rants.
I do wish Bradley success... I wish we could of kept him, but clearly his health is a major issue and not worth the risk for a team that needs healthy bats that can play everyday, not to mention with a log jam at DH. Plus the Rangers are trying to clear salary, and a player who can't go at least 150 games doesn't deserve 10 mil per season.
Last year when Texas needed Bradley the most, when they made that nice little run, Bradley was nowhere to be found in the Ranger lineup... ouch that was painfully irritating to watch as a fan.
The Cubs should be pretty interesting in the OF defensively. For a National League team to sign Bradley is a huge gamble... enjoy him when he can go Cubs fans. I hope he doesn't pull up with some injury or fear due to the fact that you have ivy on the walls.
I can hear it now... Fly ball to right, Bradley backing... backing... running... he's running from the wall Pat! He's running from the wall!
"As a Cub, Lou Novikoff would chase deep fly balls only so far in Wrigley Field, purposely letting them sail over his head. Novikoff explained to his infuriated manager, Charlie Grimm, that he was afraid of the ivy on Wrigley's wall. Novikoff's plantophobia became apparent when he was with the minor-league Los Angeles Angels. Their home field was also called Wrigley and, you guessed it, its walls were also covered with vines."
I liked Uncle Miltie and defended him as often as possible against those who called him a "cancer" and so forth last year. But I think the Rangers probably did the right thing, just like they did the right thing with GMJ before him. There are players you take a gamble with and players you don't. Save the money for Josh's extension.
Great blog. Just found it today. Keep up the good work.
Been a long-suffering Rangers fan (1977 was the first year I drank the Kool-Aid) and can't stop now. My 2 cents on MB:
I am glad he was here in 2008 and think he was very well behaved and extremely productive. I hope he has a great career. BUT I agree that his value to a NL club is way lower than a team with the DH.
As someone who used to play a lot of baseball and softball, I can tell you that knee troubles in 30somethings just don't get better after you have existing damage. And there seems to be little chance that MB can play 100+ games in the NL this year. If he somehow proves me wrong and plays 145 games in 2009, then the wear and tear on that knee will mean that he will be less productive in 2010 or 2011.
And besides, there were moments in 2008 when Bradley played outs into hits in the OF. I expect his replacement to take some of those hits away.
So I don't mind the Rangers letting him go. MB wasn't going to stay here after he had his career year. I am just hoping that youngsters like Davis and Andrus can step up.