Lou Piniella Sets Milton Bradley Straight

Needless to say, Milton Bradley's first few weeks in a Cubs uniform probably haven't gone as planned. He's got one hit in his first 23 at-bats, been ejected from a game already resulting in a two-game suspension and he also has that whole injured groin thing going on. Still, that didn't stop Bradley from appealing his suspension and rejoining the Cubs lineup on Wednesday night.

It wasn't a great night for him either. Bradley went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and started hearing the boos from his own fans after he didn't run out a ground ball or go very hard after a foul ball. Well, it seems that Cubs fans aren't the only ones who took exception to Bradley's lack of hustle, as he was called into the principal's office this morning because of it.

"I had a conversation with Milton. He's not 100 percent. When he's 100 percent I'll put him out there to play. Until then, I'll use (Reed) Johnson and I'll use (Micah) Hoffpauir in the outfield.

"Nothing has put me over the edge," he replied. "I don't play people unless they're totally healthy. That's been my m.o. throughout my managerial career. With Milton, when he's ready to play, we'll put him out there.

"I told him basically that I'm going to take him out of the fourth hole when he gets back and put him in the sixth hole, where he'll be a little more comfortable. And we'll go from there. But when I get him out there, I expect him to run hard and play hard, the way he always has."

The meeting between Lou Piniella and Bradley lasted 10 minutes, and considering that nobody emerged bruised and bloodied, it's safe to assume Bradley accepted everything Piniella told him, which is probably the right step to take considering he's gotten off on the wrong foot in Chicago.

Getting into an argument with Piniella would only make things worse. Well, unless he was hitting .450 with seven home runs right now. Then he and Piniella could fight out by second base during the seventh-inning stretch every game and Cubs fans would be perfectly fine with it.