Bradley Vs. Piniella

Ok – who had June 27 in the “What day will Lou Piniella call Milton Bradley a piece of expletive” pool? Isn’t it just a little bit amusing Piniella is upset with Bradley for throwing things?

You certainly didn’t need to be Nostradamus to make a pre-season prediction that these two would have a run at each other. With the Cubs and Bradley not living up to expectations, it’s surprising it took this long.

Truth be told, players who constantly “snap” in the dugout are not looked upon kindly by their fellow teammates. Everyone is allowed to destroy a water cooler on occasion, but those who make it a habit are often viewed as childish – and either phony or unstable. Players do not want to get hurt by any shrapnel, but mostly they just get tired of the predictable sequence of events.

While I’m not in the Cub’s dugout on a regular basis, I imagine Bradley has been asked to vent somewhere else by coaches, players and perhaps even Piniella had previously fined him. This being the case, Piniella probably felt this was the only way to send a message to Bradley, and with the exception of the final comment, probably did the right thing.

Need to know: A Club can automatically deduct a fine of up to $2000 from the players’ salary for disciplinary purposes. Fines of this magnitude (or above) would not typically be levied unless there was written warnings and previous fines. Fines of around $500 are often dished out for breaking “Team Rules” – late arrival, not being in the dugout for the anthem, missing travel etc.

If “Bradley vs. Piniella” was the main event – “Rothschild vs. White Sox Visiting Clubbie” was the undercard.

MLB Visiting Clubhouse’s are a unique environment. The clubhouse attendants (clubbies) are employed by the home team – but are expected to work for the best interests of the visiting team during their stay. The best visiting clubhouse attendants are exceptional at providing premium service while playing the role of an independent and impartial observer.

I’ve spent significant time in every visiting clubhouse in the A.L., including the one at U.S. Cellular – and I’m pretty sure I know exactly who Rothschild and Cubs GM Jim Hendry are referring to when they talk of a “leak”. This particular employee has a reputation within baseball circles as someone who may be a double-agent. If the allegation is true, and can somehow be proven, I hope he is banished from working in the visiting clubhouse.

To me, this is a worse offense than smashing a water-cooler.