Chicago Cubs color commentator Bob Brenly has become increasingly critical of this year’s Cubs club as the season wears on. And who can blame him? The Cubs have become increasingly criticizable as the season wears on.
Yesterday, Brenly went on the Score and dropped a mini-deuce on Milton Bradley, the Cubs’ whiny, disappointing right fielder.
”The bottom line is, just get the job done,” Brenly said. ”[Bradley] can point fingers and assign blame wherever he wants, and laugh in the face of critics that he can swing the bat from the left side and he can stay healthy. But do it all year long. Don’t just do it for a month of the season and proclaim yourself the guy we were looking for.”
Bradley put an OPS well in excess of .900 in August.
”I think Milton Bradley is a much better offensive player than we’ve seen this year,” Brenly continued. “I just think he’s allowed too many distractions to get between his ears. I think he incorrectly blames everybody else for making him the lightning rod. Well, if you don’t want to be the lightning rod, then don’t stand on the roof in a thunderstorm with a one iron in your hand.”
Well put, Bob.
Because that is precisely what Bradley has done – at every turn where he felt he was being unfairly made the victim of scorn, he made sure to get his message out in the media: I’m the victim of being made the victim!
As Brenly put it, ”don’t call it upon yourself, and I think with some of his comments, he’s done that.”
There’s no reason to believe that Bradley is magically going to change the way he responds to criticism or, well, any kind of strife at all. So I guess we’ll just have to hope that he performs well for the next two years. That way, all of us – including Brenly – will have nothing but good things to say about Bradley, and he can leave his one iron in his golf bag.
Editor’s note: the one iron is actually a relatively uncommon club for amateurs to carry in their bag. Due to its extremely reduced loft, most amateurs find that they can have equal success with a fairway wood. Thus, it would be highly unlikely that Bradley would have a one iron in his bag. Maybe a three iron.
Better hope Bradley doesn’t read this. He’ll accuse you of being racist. Just because he’s black you think he can’t hit a one iron? Bradley can’t catch a break (or a ball).