Piniella Fed Up With Bradley

The Chicago Cubs beat the Chicago White Sox 5-4, but there were bigger issues. A day earlier, it was revealed that Cubs catcher Geovany Soto tested positive for marijuana during the World Baseball Classic. Then, during this game, in the sixth inning, Milton Bradley flied out and then wreaked havoc. He was frustrated with himself and decided to take out his frustration on the Gatorade cooler. Manager Lou Piniella got upset and had a talk with Bradley, and then he sent him home. Soto also redeemed himself in this game, hitting a three-run home run to give the Cubs some much needed insurance runs.

It's a little bit surprising that Piniella became annoyed with Bradley for being frustrated with himself. Piniella usually loves guys who shown passion for the game and brings it on the field everyday. When Piniella was the manager of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays a couple of years ago, he got upset at Ben Grieve because he didn't argue a strikeout that ended their game with the New York Yankees. Piniella thought that Grieve, and other members on the team, weren't giving enough effort and wasn't showing enough fight. That was something that Bradley just showed by being frustrated with himself, but for some reason didn't like it now.

It's easy to see why Piniella didn't like it from Bradley. An incident like this happened earlier with Carlos Zambrano annihilating the Gatorade cooler with a bat after being ejected in a game earlier this season against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Zambrano and Bradley are two characters that no managers want to deal with. They've both had their run-ins with their own teammates in the past. Also, flying out isn't a reason to destroy something. I know Major League Baseball is a billion-dollar industry but he shouldn't be destroying things players need just because it can easily be replaced. There are lots of people who are struggling and can't replace the simplest things and he's taking advantage of MLB's wealth and his own wealth. He knows that a fine isn't going to hurt his pockets. It's elementary school behavior that he is exhibiting.