As the new owner of the Chicago Cubs, Tom Ricketts is just the guy to send a message to all the future Milton Bradley’s that may be coming up through the ranks… How? By making Milton the highest paid Single-A ballplayer in history.
The way these things work is that the club who is stuck with the problem player (and his contract), have “no other choice” than to deal the problem guy to any team that will take him on… in exchange for eating most if not all of the remaining dollars on that players contract.
How does that make any sense?
If you’re going to be paying his salary anyway… someone tell me why we should allow another team to have him, when… and don’t kid yourself… Milton will most likely have a breakout year and contend for MVP wherever he ended up. He would have the ex-Cub factor going for him after all… so this way, at least there’s no chance he could hurt the Cubs further from an enemies dugout. And again, don’t kid yourselves… Cubs make it to Game 7 of the 2010 World Series… tie game, bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, bases loaded for the Boston Red Sox… who steps to the plate? That’s right Cubs fans… it’s Milton Bradley… just the kind of twisted serendipity Cubs fans are conditioned to.
Let’s not let that happen… instead, I say we score a Guinness World Record (feel good press coverage as well) and see how Milton feels about the right field bleachers at Wrigley after spending his Summer touring the Florida State League with the Daytona Cubs.
Just look at the dollars… Milton Bradley has a 3-year contract with the Cubs totaling $30 million dollars. This year, Milton was paid $7 million of that contract. With the median income of a US household at $50,233, that means Milton made enough this season by himself to support 140 families… yet he can’t dig down deep and find the will to do his job? Which is playing baseball by the way… how much might any one of us endure for the same privilege?
And if you’re the Florence Nightingale team that feels it can change/fix Milton Bradley… a behavior clause might be something to consider in any forthcoming proposal (where were you on that one Jim Hendry?). You have a pre-existing condition here now Milton, I wouldn’t raise too much of a stink over this, just sign on the dotted line and then do your best to not be yourself…. because after 7 teams in 9 years… it might be time to look in a mirror.
