Reunited and it feels so good? That likely won’t be the case when the hiring of manager Eric Wedge reunites the new Mariners skipper with Milton Bradley.
The emotional outfielder and Wedge have a bit of a history together, as ESPN reported back in 2004 when Wedge managed Bradley for the Cleveland Indians.
On Wednesday, Bradley was removed from a game against Houston in the third inning for not running hard on a second-inning popup that dropped for a single. Bradley was told quietly by Wedge that he needed to be on second base. Bradley responded, and while it was not a shouting match, the disrespect he showed for his manager in front of his teammates forced management’s hand
Bradley proceeded to shower, leave the clubhouse and take a cab back home — leaving his own car at the stadium — all before the game ended. The real entertainment is rumored to have happened later, when Bradley wore an “(expletive) Eric Wedge” t-shirt into the clubhouse.
Needless to say the feelings between the two may not have cooled after their long time apart. With Bradley already falling out of favor with the Mariners, the odds that he’s with the team by the time Spring Training begins are hovering somewhere near zero at this point.