Some Thoughts on the Milton Bradley thing

The opinion that he wouldn't be a good teammate or he would be a disruption in the clubhouse couldn't be further from the truth," [Chicago Cubs general manager Jim] Hendry said. MLB.com, 1/8/09

Yep, Hendry said that after signing Milton Bradley, the guy he just deemed "intolerable" to the media and fans.

Milton Bradley's reputation as a tumultuous and fragile masher preceded him when he hit the free agent market last winter. Few players carried a risk profile quite like his but the monster year he had as the Texas Rangers' designated hitter would certainly lure a GM to roll the dice.

Jim Hendry was that GM and now he pretends he wasn't the fool who made the bad bet. If I were a Cubs fan, I wouldn't buy the Hendry-led smear campaign against his rightfielder.

The quote above comes from an MLB article that now reads like it came straight out of TheOnion.com.

General manager Jim Hendry said he felt Bradley was the perfect fit after the two dined in early November.

"As we left the restaurant and stood on the curb waiting for the driver ... [Bradley] said, 'I know it's going to take some time and you have some work to do, but I want to be a Chicago Cub if you want me,'" Hendry said.

"I knew when I left that restaurant that night that he was our guy."

I never knew Hendry was such a hopeless romantic. Seriously though, what kind of wine did Hendry imbibe that evening to cause him to ignore all the red flags at the other end of the table? Funny how the check he signed that lovely evening might have cost him his job.

Don't worry, it gets better:

While Bradley has proven he can handle Major League pitching, he also has to deal with his past, which has been interrupted with less-than-flattering incidents with fans, teammates and the media. Hendry did his homework, and asked a lot of people about the sometimes volatile outfielder. He got nothing but glowing reports.

Really? Glowing? On second thought, this makes perfect sense. Let's imagine the phone call to Oakland A's GM Billy Beane.

Hendry: Heyy Billy, it's Jimmy Boy.
Beane: I'm sorry, who's this?
H: Jim. Jim Hendry. From the Cubs?
B: Oh... right. What's up.
H: OK, here's the deal. Wanna hear your thoughts on this. I want to sign Milton Bradley. Really badly.
B: Okay... can you hold on one sec?
H: Sure.
Beane hits the speaker phone button and waves frantically at Assistant GM David Forst motioning him over. Forst wheels himself over in his chair. Meanwhile, Beane scribbles the words "Jim Hendry" on a notepad and raises it for Forst to see.
B: Excuse me, Jim. Please go on.
H: So, with the economy in the dumps it might not be a good idea to invest a lot of money to a brittle media time-bomb who just had a career year as a designated hitter in a hitters park and I know we don't have a designated hitter in our league but, just hear me out on this, I'm thinking of offering him something in the ballpark of 30 million dollars for three years.
B: [muffles his laughter] Well, Jim. It sounds like you've done your homework on the guy. Why do you need me?
H: Well, I'm just worried about his character. He played for you, didn't he? What did you think of him?
Beane contemplates for a moment. He quickly looks to Forst who's nodding his head with encouragement and whispering the word, "YES" over and over.
B: You know, Jim, forget everything negative everyone has told you. He's actually a great guy.
H: You really think so?
B: No, Jim. I know so.
Beane and Forst high five.

That's the only conceivable way Hendry got his "glowing reports." I can't think of anything else.

Anyway, it's my opinion that this is the bed that Jim Hendry made and now he has to lie in it. That couldn't be closer to the truth.