Playin' Games

I would have been on board with getting Milton Bradley last winter.

Hard to believe that would come from a guy who flipped a lid when the Mets signed Gary Sheffield. But to get a bat for the lineup from a guy who was still in the prime of his career rather than a guy steaming away from 40 would have been a more solid option. Bradley in left field would have been interesting ... admittedly in more ways than one. But that's a big difference to me.

So now that Bradley's been suspended for the rest of the season by the Cubs for detrimental conduct, the conversations are starting as to whether the Mets should offer Oliver Perez for Uncle Milty. I reply to this by saying: How dare you toy with my emotions ... whispering the sweet nothings of Ollie being gone from this team to pull me on board for this? Do I look that easy to you?

Alright, maybe I am. But I can't see Milton Bradley as a viable option on this team next season. Although I've always thought Bradley's clubhouse rants were a bit overblown, you can't ignore them. That's not to say Bradley in New York would automatically be a complete disaster ... after all, Latrell Sprewell of all people had a positive experience here. But that was when the Knicks weren't a completely dysfunctional organization (they were still about five seasons from Stephon, mind you.) And since nobody really knows how fragile an ecosystem lies in that Met clubhouse, who knows the effect Bradley would have.

Snoop Manuel would probably relish the chance to try to reign him in and play more of the facilitator than Lou Piniella is comfortable with. But if you put a sensitive superstar in that clubhouse, isn't it the exact opposite of what this clubhouse needs at this point? If you believe that this team is in dire need of a kick in the butt, a Piniella clone if you will, to take over this team, or at the very least a new attitude, then wouldn't getting Bradley be another step away from that?

Besides, if Snoop dares put Bradley in the same doghouse that he put Ryan Church in, Manuel may wind up in traction at the end of the day.

But more importantly, if the Mets had a clubhouse that could keep him grounded, and were one player away, Bradley might be your man. I stress might because Bradley isn't the type of player the Mets should be looking for anyway. He's hitting home runs this season at about the same rate as Francoeur is hitting them in his time with the Mets ... but when you consider where each player plays, that doesn't speak well for Bradley. Not to mention that Frenchy's slugging pct. with the Mets is .490, while Bradley's with the Cubs is .397 (Francoeur has more doubles with the Mets alone than Bradley has all season with Chicago.)

Point being that the Mets are, in addition to being nowhere near one player away, in the need for a dangerous bat ... a bat you fear, even in Citi Field, to play left. Bradley isn't that guy. He gets on base and walks more than his share, but the Mets have enough singles hitters.

And the final reason why Bradley shouldn't be in New York:

"It's just not a positive environment. I need a stable, healthy, enjoyable environment ... it's just negativity." -Milton Bradley on playing in Chicago

And you want to put him on this franchise? The petry dish of negativity? If he's looking for a stable, healthy, enjoyable environment, he should seriously think about playing in some city where there's no media, or playing in Japan, or having Bill Gates adopt him. He wants stable and healthy? Well, don't we all.