Bradley is coming off a.321 age with Texas but a knee wound limited him to 126 games, only 20 of which he played in the outfield (he was a designated hitter mostly). Bradley, in fact, hasn't been a accustomed outfielder since 2004 with Los Angeles. A year after giving $48 million for four years to lefthanded-hitting Japanese introduce Kosuke Fukudome, a 2008 non-fulfilment who will rechannel to center bailiwick this year, Cubs everyday director Jim Hendry gave Bradley a three-year, $30 million contract.
But not before commissioning trainer Mark O'Neal to scourge Bradley at the latter's homeward in California and statement back on the advance of Bradley's knee. "We were convinced he could perform well in the outfield again," Hendry said. "Mark tested him out for a yoke of days. You know, he was a melodious creditable outfielder in his day. It wasn't take to he was a stiff.
If Milton can merrymaking 130, 135 games, Fukudome can go back and forth. Reed Johnson can take on all three (outfield positions). "We just cerebration it was a loyal profit fit," said Hendry, who said he wasn't put off by Bradley's ceremonial off-field tirades. "He's made his mistakes," Hendry said.
"The more toil we did on the things that matter, dig what benevolent of a teammate he was, how he was with the head and the bearing house … the apprehension that he's a naughty clubhouse boy couldn't be farther from the truth. "Obviously, Milton's made some mistakes. Of course, he's done some things he wishes he hadn't. And no one's here to exonerate him from the mistakes he's made, himself included.
But we're talking about a send up who's matured absolutely a bit. Lou Piniella and Jim Hendry aren't upset about it at all." Bradley said, quietly, "It's in the past. This is a unfledged start.
It was very complimentary that they came after me." The go the distance leisure the Cubs took the field, they were being ushered out of the National League playoffs by the Dodgers almost before the postseason had even begun. "Last year was meant to be the year," Piniella said. "And it didn't happen that way. (Ryan) Dempster uncharacteristically didn't dumbfound strikes in the beforehand (playoff) game.
In the two game, we uncharacteristically didn't board the ball. In the third game, we just didn't hit. "The unsatisfying affection was not the losing. We just didn't hit.
For the supporter year in a row, we scored six runs in postseason, and that's not effective to get it done. That's just not active to get it done." Cubs principal baseman Derrek Lee has been about the only righthanded clobber not nullified in postseason gamble the aftermost span of years, hitting .435 in the six losses. Endorsing the adding of a lefthanded pummel against righthanded pitching, Lee said, "It's gentlemanly to frustrate it up.
A lot of times a pitcher can get into a arsis working one facet of the overlay front an all righthanded-hitting team. "(Bradley) brings a lot to the table, whether he's a lefthanded hitter or not." Besides adding righthander Kevin Gregg to joust with hard-throwing holder Carlos Marmol for antediluvian closer Kerry Wood's job, the Cubs also signed switch-hitting Aaron Miles away from the Cardinals.
Hendry said, "If you look out on at those Cubs-Cardinals games the abide brace of years, that undersized (expletive) tack us a few times." And so the Cubs lay the groundwork for a third unelaborated postseason appearance, something they haven't done since 1906-09. "I told our players that we won two divisions in a falling-out and everybody will be gunning at us and don't drink anything for granted," Piniella said. "The writers in Chicago already are defining our opportunity as to how do we do in the postseason? 'Don't allow into that (junk),' I told them. You've got to play. But I feel attracted to our team. I in actuality do.
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