Another Despiser Classic: Do It George! Get Milton Bradley!

With the Yankees in need of another bat and Bradley having just been dumped by the A's, the guy is once again a perfect fit. And even though many of the facts below have changed, I don't really need a new post for it.

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November 7, 2005

One of the rumors swirling around is the Yankees trading for Dodger CF Milton Bradley. There are also rumors about Brian Giles, though I would be surprised if the Junkees go there. The guy is 35, and, while getting out of Petco will help his numbers improve, the Yanks would probably want to go young. There's always Johnny Damon, too, but Boston is gonna try hard to keep him. And he's no youngster, either. So that means Bradley is more of a possibility.

Additionally, I think that George will try to get Bradley, for two reasons: he loves troubled people. Darryl and Doc? The Yanks were ready and willing to take them, with all their baggage. Now granted, Bradley has different issues than those guys (attitude as opposed to drugs), but George loves the idea of taking a troubled player and having him turn his career around in pinstripes. It makes for great PR. Remember Doc Gooden's no-hitter? If his 15 minutes of comeback fame wouldn't have ended so soon, they probably would have made a movie about that.

I also think that George likes to tweak Torre by bringing in clubhouse problems. Heck, that was one of the reasons that Ruben Sierra got a second go-round for the Junkees (although Sierra, to his credit, has matured and toned it down since '96). But even guys like Weaver and Brown: I think George was partly motivated by the fact that he knew Snorre wouldn't go for those guys. And while Sheff, A-Rod, and Johnson are players any GM would get if they could afford it, I'm sure George liked their attitudes, too. And so Milton Bradley might be the ultimate tweak.

Besides, he'd be a great fit with the Yankees. Too bad Brown is done, because I'd love to see him and Bradley try to get along. But the Yanks still have A-Rod, Sheff, and the Big Unit. And Jorge Posada, who didn't talk to Tino for a few months after one of their tiffs.

So for all those Yankee despisers out there, go for it George! Get Milton Bradley! And after that, try to convince Terrell Owens to try baseball.