Milton Bradley is no longer a Mariner.
Designated for assignment, it’s now only a matter of time before he packs his bags and makes his way out of town. It’s not a shock, and it’s hard to get that upset about the whole thing. Milton was, after all, one half of the “head case formerly semi good player with a bloated contract” player swap of a few years ago. The other half of that is busy working in single A ball trying to get a call up from the Yankees, where he could join Bartolo Colon and CC to put together one of the fattest pitching threesomes around. Quick fun fact: those three combined weigh 845. Jason Vargas, Erik Bedard, Jason Vargas, and Felix Hernandez? Those FOUR weigh 845. Let’s hope Big Carlos can make it happens just for novelty sake.
But I digress.
Sure it’s been a rough few weeks for Milton, maybe even a rough year or two, but didn’t we sort of know this going in? He had a reputation as a difficult character, yet he clearly had potential, and the ones close to him always vouched for his character. He drove fans and management crazy, yet in his quieter moments it was clear he was troubled, and it was easy to make excuses for his behavior. In those glimpses, you sort of thought he could be rehabilitated, and people who knew him said the same. And I think we wanted to believe them, because on some level, we all sort of know a guy like Milton (minus the earplugs and millions of dollars).
A buddy of ours brought a guy like this to cabin party a few years ago. We’d heard good things about him, and at first, he seemed like a nice enough guy. He might just fit in, we thought, and so we sat around shooting the shit and drinking beers. But, like Milton, at a certain point it took a turn for the worse. This guy proceeded to get loaded and talk about Oregon football and his Jerome Bettis poster collection (delicate territory for a house full of hawks/uw fans). As he sank further into his drunken stupor, he became all the more ardent in his Bettis love, trying to provoke a fight while alternately apologzing, spinning around like an emotional dervish before tiring himself out, eventually slumping over in his chair and falling asleep. He hung around for the weekend and after that, we never saw him again.
Which brings us back to Milton. We wanted him to succeed and he didn’t, alternating between trying too hard and walking out, all the while harboring an anger and level of defeat so profound that he told a Seattle Times reporter he had seriously contemplated suicide. And so I guess Milton leaving is a bummer, but I’m not really all that upset about the outcome, just that it took so long for him to go. It’s like that guy who loved “The Bus”...maybe he’s a good person and maybe he’s trying to please, but he’s worn out his welcome, and it was time for him to leave. I hope those guys can figure it out, but they’re gone now, and it’s probably for the best.
Designated for assignment, it’s now only a matter of time before he packs his bags and makes his way out of town. It’s not a shock, and it’s hard to get that upset about the whole thing. Milton was, after all, one half of the “head case formerly semi good player with a bloated contract” player swap of a few years ago. The other half of that is busy working in single A ball trying to get a call up from the Yankees, where he could join Bartolo Colon and CC to put together one of the fattest pitching threesomes around. Quick fun fact: those three combined weigh 845. Jason Vargas, Erik Bedard, Jason Vargas, and Felix Hernandez? Those FOUR weigh 845. Let’s hope Big Carlos can make it happens just for novelty sake.
But I digress.
Sure it’s been a rough few weeks for Milton, maybe even a rough year or two, but didn’t we sort of know this going in? He had a reputation as a difficult character, yet he clearly had potential, and the ones close to him always vouched for his character. He drove fans and management crazy, yet in his quieter moments it was clear he was troubled, and it was easy to make excuses for his behavior. In those glimpses, you sort of thought he could be rehabilitated, and people who knew him said the same. And I think we wanted to believe them, because on some level, we all sort of know a guy like Milton (minus the earplugs and millions of dollars).
A buddy of ours brought a guy like this to cabin party a few years ago. We’d heard good things about him, and at first, he seemed like a nice enough guy. He might just fit in, we thought, and so we sat around shooting the shit and drinking beers. But, like Milton, at a certain point it took a turn for the worse. This guy proceeded to get loaded and talk about Oregon football and his Jerome Bettis poster collection (delicate territory for a house full of hawks/uw fans). As he sank further into his drunken stupor, he became all the more ardent in his Bettis love, trying to provoke a fight while alternately apologzing, spinning around like an emotional dervish before tiring himself out, eventually slumping over in his chair and falling asleep. He hung around for the weekend and after that, we never saw him again.
Which brings us back to Milton. We wanted him to succeed and he didn’t, alternating between trying too hard and walking out, all the while harboring an anger and level of defeat so profound that he told a Seattle Times reporter he had seriously contemplated suicide. And so I guess Milton leaving is a bummer, but I’m not really all that upset about the outcome, just that it took so long for him to go. It’s like that guy who loved “The Bus”...maybe he’s a good person and maybe he’s trying to please, but he’s worn out his welcome, and it was time for him to leave. I hope those guys can figure it out, but they’re gone now, and it’s probably for the best.
