Carrie Muskat has a short interview with Ryan Dempster over on her blog. Dempster addresses Milton Bradley’s recent statements about the Cubs. Here is what I wrote about the situation on Muskat’s site:
I cannot speak for other Cubs fans, but personally I gave Milton Bradley the benefit of the doubt when he came to Chicago, and even when he struggled early in the season. I really wanted the man to succeed. It would have been a wonderful story for him to have finally grown up and really contributed to the Cubs. Seriously, who would not have liked that outcome? People can change, and for him to have found a home in Chicago would have been a point of pride for him and the Cubs. But that isn’t what happened, and for me its obvious that its almost entirely Bradley’s fault.
I continued on comparing Bradley to Dempster, who struggled a few years back for the Cubs but handled it in a very different way:
Compare and contrast this with Dempster three years ago. He wasn’t a good closer. I wasn’t happy with the man at all. But I never, ever felt like he wasn’t trying. I never felt about him the way I felt about Bradley mid-season last year, even before Bradley started shooting off his mouth about the fans. Dempster’s talent and character have obviously shined through. He endured a tough situation and came through for the Cubs, for the fans, and for himself. Milton Bradley should study Ryan Dempster. This is the type of player Bradley should try to be.
