Milton Bradley has been hitting the ball well lately for the Seattle Mariners. Since returning from a calf injury, Bradley was 8-for-25 with three doubles going into last night’s game against the Rays. Lately, he seems to be one of the lone bright spots on what has been a pretty stale Mariners offense. Apparently that’s not good enough for Bradley, who has of course been known for being a complete hot head in the past and someone who can’t seem to control his emotions. He’s a bomb waiting to go off, and he was detonated once again last night, albeit in a quiet manner.
After Bradley struck out in the 6th inning, he supposedly headed back to the dugout and said something to Seattle manager Don Wakamatsu that was along the lines of, “I’m done; I’m not helping the team.” Bradley then reportedly walked toward the clubhouse, where teammate Ryan Langerhans attempted to talk to him to get him to cool down a bit. When Bradley started back toward the dugout to find out Langerhans had replaced him in left field, he headed to the locker room, packed up his things, and left the ballpark.
This wasn’t the usual blow up on an umpire and get ejected that we’ve grown used to seeing from Bradley. In fact, it’s probably worse. I don’t know whether he’s putting too much pressure on himself to carry the offense in Seattle or what, but you can’t just up and leave your team during a game ever — let alone in a game where you’re only trailing by two runs. This can’t sit well with the Mariners front office. Bradley’s been hitting well, but it’ll be interesting to see how this is handled. Back in December, we asked your opinion on how long Milton would last in Seattle. I’m not sure how this tips the odds, but it certainly shouldn’t be something his coaches and teammates turn their cheeks to. It’s an insult to them and a slap in the face.
Sources:
SbB Live
Milton Bradley packed up, left stadium during game after being benched [Seattle Times Blog]
