From the Windup: Being Milton Bradley

Let's get one thing straight before I delve into this. I do not dislike Milton Bradley as a person. I don't know him, personally, and I never condone people passing judgment on an individual they've never met.

That being said, I loathe everything he lets the public see.

So far this season, which isn't even 10 games old, we've seen Milton Bradley start 1-for-22, flip off the Texas crowd and have two closed-door meetings with Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu. I've already heard discussions on talk radio about how long the Mariners would wait before pulling the plug, as Jim Hendry and the Cubs did last September.

In the next two games, however, Bradley rebounded by hitting a game-winning home run and followed it up with a two-RBI night in the Mariners' second straight victory. Now, all of a sudden, he's adored once again in the clubhouse. We'll see how long that lasts.

Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times recently wrote a spot-on blog about how the Mariners need Bradley as much as he needs them. I've got news for you, Seattle fans. He's going to screw you over. I'd guess sooner rather than later, but he may delay the inevitable for a bit. The two recent games should buy him a little time. But it's coming. He will ruin the Mariners' season. Mark my words.

We're talking about a man who gets to play baseball for a living -- and he's currently making $7 million a season to do so -- yet projects himself as if he's some hobo on the side of the street begging for his next meal. Ron Santo, the jovial Cubs radio color commentator, earlier this spring said Bradley always walked around with a scowl on his face -- just giving off an air of unhappiness.

This is a guy who appears to take his incredibly blessed life for granted, in addition to a sporting a gigantic sense of entitlement. Heaven forbid anyone actually question anything Bradley does. He gets to play baseball because he deserves to. It's a burden to walk around with his level of talent, you see. If you disagree, or have a problem with how he carries himself, you must have an agenda.

In the directions of said dissenters, Bradley has a gauntlet of accusations to levy. If you don't blindly support every action Milton Bradley makes, you are clearly racist, insensitive and just don't have the capacity to understand the strife he feels on a daily basis (remember, he's saddled with this talent; he didn't ask for it). When he alienated himself from the Chicago Cubs locker room last season and was sent home permanently, he blamed the media for "running (him) out of town." Never mind the fact that the media has been all over Alfonso Soriano for three years and the Cubs are fine with still running him out there. Racism? When Kevin Gregg and Aaron Miles are showered with boos, that doesn't count.

That's the thing with Bradley: it's never his fault and he is always the victim. He tears his ACL trying to charge an umpire, well, it was naturally the umpire's fault. No matter what he does, there is no accountability for his actions. He and his friends will regale you with tales of how he's a perfectionist and just cares so much that his temper gets the best of him.

OK, so, does Ken Griffey, Jr. not care about his play? Is Ichiro not a perfectionist?

I'd even be willing to forgive a bad temper for a few years, but Bradley just turned 32 on Thursday (Happy Birthday, Milton! I send my best!). He's been in the majors for 11 years. It's about time to grow up and start acting like an adult. No one owes him anything (other than the $14 million for the next two years by the Mariners, of course).

The best way to start proving to people what a good person you are is to start showing it. And, again, Bradley's already having problems nine games into the season. Diving deeper, don't you think it has to be annoying for his manager and teammates to have to field questions about one player's personality on a daily basis? Playing 162 games in less than six months is already enough of a grind.

The good news for the Mariners is they stand to see an uptick in production once he's gone, no matter when that is. The 2004 Indians saw an increase of 12 wins once Bradley left. The 2006 Dodgers won 17 more games once Bradley departed. The 2009 Rangers won eight more after the Cubs swooped in and signed Bradley to an inexplicable multi-year deal. We'll see how the 2010 Cubs fare, but they did get 14 games worse with Bradley last season.

Obviously, there are always a lot more circumstances than just one player in all of the above examples, but when something keeps happening over and over and over, is it really a coincidence anymore?

I'm banking on the answer to that question being no. The Mariners are going to finish with a worse record than they did last year and will eventually have to release Bradley (and I'm kicking myself for not totally thinking it through when I predicted the M's to win the AL West). He probably won't even get another big league contract after that happens. And when he cries racism or collusion or whatever else, you will need to remember one thing.

It's not his fault. He's Milton Bradley, and he's been burdened with this life.