Cubs Bradley remaining in spotlight

We have heard a couple of things out of Chicago Cubs right fielder Milton Bradley this past week.

Earlier this week, Bradley stated that he was feeling hatred from Cubs fans. Considering the season Bradley is having after signing a 3 year/$30 million contract, that's somewhat understandable. But Bradley thrust himself into a bigger spotlight when it was reported by the Chicago Tribune that Bradley brought race into the discussion.

The only reference Bradley makes is by his statement that "America doesn't believe in racism". That comment was taken as having a sarcastic tone. I wouldn't blame Bradley for that tone, nor will I condemn him for his statement. In fact, even with that tone, Bradley is correct. I said it...Bradley is correct.

The comment from Bradley that I find totally incomprehensible (especially in the wake of the above comment) is one Bradley made after a loss to the Washington Nationals. There were reporters around Bradley's locker and the questions were begininng to come from the reporters. ESPN Chicago's Nick Friedell was in attendance and had to be totally shocked by what he heard. Here's the very beginning:

Q: Obviously not the type of beginning you felt you were gonna have here on the homestand:

MB: "No, we got a Rodney King beatdown tonight."...

Way to make yourself a bigger distraction, Milton. Did your comment have a sarcastic tone? In this case, no. You can read Friedell's whole article here.

I've been reading on Cubs message boards that Bradley's an idiot. If you're one of those, get a load of this. Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago posted early Friday evening that Bradley says he got off to such a slow start this season because of the many day games the Cubs play. Read this for yourself.

"Strange as it seems, [on other] teams you play mostly night games," Bradley said. "Here, you have to get up at 8 a.m. It's an adjustment for your body. You may say you're ready to do that, but your body tells you something else. It's an adjustment to get ready and revved up. This is the Major Leagues, it's not spring training. It counts. That's the only thing I can attribute it to, because I do everything else the same."

There is a history of players struggling in their first season in Wrigley. What I find extremely difficult to understand is why the outspoken Bradley is just now offering this info to everyone. Considering Bradley's past, we should have heard his explanation about two months ago.

I cannot write this and not shake my head at Bradley's outrageousness. Bradley is not really a pro baseball player, is he? At this point, the Cubs may view him as a sideshow that they want run out of town.