Milton Bradley

[CCHS_Dad]

I agree with strike 3 about staying within the boundaries of the rules. Lest you forget that baseball is one of the few sports that an official is nowhere near a coach without it being very obvious that a discussion is going on.

 

In football and basketball there are a number of of over the shoulder discussions that take place that fans don't notice.

[HammerTime]

"Don't tear my ACL, Bro!"

 

 

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[STRIKE3]

Umpire gets suspended, over Bradley incident. Here is the link....

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7267732?MSNHPHMA

[mcpapa]

In the words of Paul Harvey - "and now, for the rest of the story". It must have been pretty bad behavior on the ump's part, as MLB RARELY announces terms of umpire's suspensions - they tend not to air their dirty laundry in public.

[Under the Lights]

In the words of Paul Harvey - "and now, for the rest of the story". It must have been pretty bad behavior on the ump's part, as MLB RARELY announces terms of umpire's suspensions - they tend not to air their dirty laundry in public.

 

IMO it wasn't just bad behavior on the ump's part, it was bad behavior by both. From what I've read this is how it went down:

 

1B umpire Winters to HP umpire Runge after inning in which Bradley is rung up:

 

"Did you catch that?", "I'm pretty sure he flipped his bat at you after you rang him up."

 

Then Bradley comes up again and Runge asks him if he did so. Bradley says no, at which point Runge tells him that his 1B umpire said it looked like he did. Bradley singles, and reaches 1B. He says, "Did you tell Runge that I threw my bat at him?" Winters says, "That's what it looked like from here."

 

Then the fun starts, Bradley says, "Your a (expletive) idiot". Winters then replies with some choice expletives of his own. Bradley then calls for time(which is baffling to me) and gives Winters some more colorful remarks. Chaos ensues at this point......

 

To me, I think both were wrong. Fact of the matter is it could have been avoided entirely by either party. Bradley couldn't let it go and neither could Winters. I have a problem with a couple of things Bradley said though.

 

Bradley, whose volatile temper has overshadowed his talent during his career, called Winters' action "the most unprofessional and most ridiculous thing I've ever seen."

 

"It's terrible. And now, because of him, my knee's hurt," Bradley said Sunday. "If this costs me my season because of that, he needs to be reprimanded. I'm taking some action. I'm not going to stand pat and accept this."

 

IMO Bradley fails to see the error of his ways. He doesn't realize that what he did, and what he has done in the past for that matter, is every bit as unprofessional as what Winters did. Regardless, Bradley could have avoided the confrontation entirely(just as Winters could have) and thus avoided the injury. It would seem to me that you might want to do just that given that your team is in the middle of a wild card chase and any ejection may have ramifications on that race. Bottom line is both were wrong, and both are being punished now.

[cshs81]

Winters then replies with some choice expletives of his own. .

 

According to the reports I've heard, this part right here is why the ump got suspended. He didn't simply say, "You're stupid." He went way beyond that. When the first base coach says its the worst thing he's ever heard from an ump, its significant.

[Under the Lights]

According to the reports I've heard, this part right here is why the ump got suspended. He didn't simply say, "You're stupid." He went way beyond that. When the first base coach says its the worst thing he's ever heard from an ump, its significant.

 

I never said that he didn't. The major problem I have with the disciplinary decision is that the cursing between players and umpires happens on a regular basis. IMO if Bradley doesn't get hurt here, there is no suspension. Not saying it isn't warranted regardless, but it should be uniform across the board. I give you this to ponder: Suppose that MLB continues to come down hard on umps for cursing back at players. What happens then? I'll tell you exactly what happens......more ejections. Quicker ejections. How do you think that will sit with MLB? The umpires are not going to just sit there and be shown up by players/coaches and not do something about it. That is not in their job description and never will be. Of course if they are quicker to eject, then everyone will be up in arms saying that the umpires are out headhunting........no win situation.