Is trading Pat Burrell for Milton Bradley worth the headaches

The discussions about Pat Burrell being traded for Milton Bradley have run pretty rampant so far this off season. As is the case with every discussion there is two sides. In this instance, I am on the side of “no way should we do this” …but my counter part, Rays blogger Jason Collette of DockOfTheRays.com is for this move…read his reasons why here.

It seems like it was about this same time last year that I addressed this very same topic. The Rays were in the hunt to add a bat to the lineup, and were looking at several options.

Jason Giambi, Milton Bradley, Pat Burrell—they were all names that were tossed around as potential ‘final pieces’ to the Rays World Series puzzle.

Eventually, the team settled on Burrell, a former outfield for the Phillies. Burrell had a hard time adjusting to the AL, where he was just a DH, and battled nagging injuries all season. That equation could only lead to one answer…a horrible season for Burrell, statistically.

Burrell batted .221 with 14 dingers and 64 RBI’s for the Rays in 2009—hardly what the team expected when he signed a 2 year 16 million dollar contract.

With the lack in offensive pop last year, the Rays have decided to shop Burrell, and the name that most commonly comes up is Milton Bradley.

The addition of Bradley to the Rays already strong lineup is an image that makes me shudder to think about.

While Bradley may be an incredibly talented athletic specimen, the fact still remains that this guy has more than just a few screws loose.

Let’s take a look at what has happened to this guy over the last few years:

In 2007, Bradley tore his ACL while playing for the Padres. The injury did NOT occur while he was playing, but rather as he was being restrained by his manager Bud Black.

Why was Bradley being restrained you may ask? Well, he confronted first base umpire Mike Winter, who at the time, claimed Bradley had tossed his bat at home plate umpire Brian Runge earlier in the game.

That’s right folks. Bradley attempted to start a fight with an umpire over something that was allegedly said during a game. So, not only did Bradley look like an idiot, he rendered himself useless for the rest of the season by tearing a ligament in his knee.

So, if this incident was not enough to convince you that Bradley would be a bad choice for a team on the rise…let’s take a look at this.

In 2008, Bradley was playing DH for the Rangers. In a game versus the Royals, Bradley was watching the TV broadcast of the game while his teammates were in the field.—way to support your brothers in arms Milt—anyway, while watching the TV, Royals announcer Ryan Lefevrbe said someone on TV that turned Bradley into The Incredible Hulk. Bradley made a tear for the press box after the game in an attempt to confront Lefevrbe about the comments he made.

I only hope that if Bradley does end up with the Rays, and something like this happens, that DeWayne Staats cold cocks him right in the face.

So, now, let’s take a look at this last season. Bradley was sent to the Cubs, a team that has not had a World Series win in over 100 years.

Bradley was suspended by the team for the remainder of the season after making derogatory comments about the team, the city, and the supposed “negative aurora” that surrounds the club. Bradley said something along the lines of “No wonder this team never wins, the whole city and organization is surrounded by negativity.”

So looking at JUST the last three seasons, do you think it would still be a good idea to bring Bradley on board?

I would say no. Whereas, it would be really nice to have his bat in the lineup—Bradley is a career .277 average guy with 115 home runs and 439 RBI’s, with decent speed and a slick glove in the outfield—the bad off the field (and on the field) conduct make him a bad choice for the Rays.

But really, would Bradley be better at the plate than Burrell? While .277 with 115 dingers an 439 RBI’s may sound better than decent over the eight years Bradley has spent in the Bigs, Burrell has played 10 years, drilling 265 home runs and 891 RBI’s with a decent .254 average over that span.

I would take that from a DH over Bradley’s struggling power numbers and horrific attitude.

As I have said all along, one reason I like watching the Rays is the way the team handles themselves on and off the field.

A team full players with minimalistic ego’s,  players who came up through the farm system rather than hired hands to win a ring—that is the way baseball teams should be built. Calculated trades, player development and frugal free agent transactions, that is how baseball teams should be formed.

We need more players that contribute not only on the field, but give back to their community as well, not players that embarrass their franchise and complain when things don’t go their way.

If Major League Baseball was played on paper, I could see pulling the trigger on this, but the fact remains that there is a very human aspect to the game of baseball, and Bradley does many things that make him an unbearable human being to be around.

So here’s to hoping Andrew Friedman and Co. keep Burrell around for just one more year, and let him have a chance to rebound from a disappointing 2009.