"I was a prisoner in my own city," Milton Bradley told ESPN. But that was not all he said.
He was asked if race played a role in the "city's hatred" for Bradley. The response he gave to ESPN was repulsive.
"I got the same mail Latroy [Hawkins] probably got; the same mail Jacque [Jones] got," he told Colleen Dominguez on ESPN.
News flash Milton: Cubs fans everywhere didn't hate you because you were black. We hated you because you got paid an enormous sum of money and you sucked. You sucked beyond the acceptable level of sucking.
When you are making around $10 million a year and batting .257 with only 12 home runs and 40 RBI, you are more than deserving of the bad treatment you get. You can't even blame injuries on his poor performance; he played 124 games last season.
Bradley told Dominguez that Cubs fans expect miracles out of their players. If that doesn't happen, you get booed and hate mail. Not true.
Look at the players who have played for the Cubs. The mediocre ones.
Mark DeRosa wasn't making miracles happen on the field. He was a gritty ball player who got the job done. Something Bradley didn't do.
Ronny Cedeno is another good example. He hit .252 in the few years he had with the Cubs. He was awful, but he played a role. He wasn't paid a lot of money and the fans didn't expect much out of him.
Fans expected a lot out of you, Bradley, because of your salary and the great year you had with Texas. We didn't expect miracles.
Also, look at the names he threw out to Dominguez: He said the same mail that Jones and Hawkins got. Both names bring back awful memories and make me cringe.
With the Cubs, Jones actually wasn't bad the first season. No hate mail.
His second season was a different story.
In season number two, 2008, Jones hit a respectable .285 but only had five home runs and 66 RBI. Not good numbers for a major league ball player of the caliber he was supposed to be.
What about Hawkins?
In 2004, Hawkins posted a 5-4 record with a 2.63 ERA. Usually decent numbers for someone who is the middle reliever. Not the closer.
It gets worse.
During his career with the Cubs, Hawkins had 29 saves in 42 opportunities. That's 69 percent! When you are supposed to be the shut-down guy in the back of the pen and you save 69 percent of your saves, you deserve the bad treatment.
Bradley was traded for Carlos Silva in December. This is Bradley's eighth team in 11 years. Bradley claims he has moved around due to injuries. I beg to differ, sir.
In Oakland and Texas he caused trouble. He was thrown out of games and even tried charging the mound a few times.
Chicago was no different. He was suspended on Sept. 20 of last season for the final games of the year. (Best birthday present ever, if you ask me.)
One of the last quotes from Bradley on ESPNChicago.com says that Bradley hints that everyone who booed him was racist. I take offense to that.
I go to a very diverse high school on the south suburbs of Chicago. White people, like myself, are actually either the minority or on their way to being the minority in my school. I am the farthest from being racist.
Milton, please get over yourself and come to your senses. Chicago isn't racist. Chicago Cubs fans aren't racist. Chicago would welcome you back to visit. We won't take you back to play, though, because you just down-right suck.
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