Bradley hears it from fans as Cubs drop one to Reds

Milton Bradley heard it from the remaining Cubs fans among the 38,738 who came out to Wrigley Field on Wednesday night.

When Bradley struck out for the third time to begin the ninth inning, the already restless crowd booed. The game ended a few minutes later, with the Cubs falling 3-0 to the Cincinnati Reds.

For Bradley, it was an inauspicious return to the starting lineup after he missed six straight starts because of a strained right groin. He was called out on strikes in the first inning. He grounded out to first in the fourth, and it appeared he slowed as he went down the line. In the sixth, he was called out again as his flipped his bat, thinking he had a walk.

The 0-for-4 game made Bradley 1-for-23 (. 043) on the season. After the game, he dressed in rapid fashion and left before reporters could talk to him. Manager Lou Piniella seemed perplexed as well. He spoked in clipped tones at first about Bradley before seeming to cut Bradley some slack.

When asked if Bradley was pressing, Piniella said: "I hope not. I don't know why he should be."

Asked if Bradley needed time to get his stroke down, Piniella responded: "He took some early batting practice today. Got to keep working."

About the groundout and whether Bradley seemed to slow down, Piniella had this take: "We'll talk to him tomorrow and see how he feels."

Bradley wasn't the only offensive player who had a rough night. The Reds' Johnny Cueto (1-1) allowed 4 hits in 7 innings to outduel Ted Lilly (2-1), whose throwing error on Alex Gonzalez's bunt in the third inning led to an unearned run.

Reliever Angel Guzman allowed a run in the eighth before Kevin Gregg gave up a leadoff homer to Jay Bruce in the ninth, bringing more boos.

Bradley, though, was the hot topic. In addition to making his return, Bradley also is fighting a suspension for allegedly making contact with an umpire last week. A controversial figure for much of his career, Bradley can't be making the first impression the Cubs were hoping he'd make.

As much as he seemed frustrated with his $30 million man, Piniella said he knows some players start slowly.

"Anybody's entitled to a slow start," Piniella said. "Let's not judge a player, whomever, because of a slow start. A lot of players get off to slow starts and they build (during) the year and end up with excellent years. I think it's too early to make judgments on anybody, truthfully."

First baseman Derrek Lee was booed in early 2004 after getting off to a slow start after his trade from the Florida Marlins. He empathized with Bradley.

"I struggled for a while making the adjustment coming here, and the fans let me know about it," Lee said. "Milton doesn't have very many at-bats, so he's going to be fine. He can just flat-out hit, so that's not even a concern for us. Once he starts hitting, the fans will be behind him."

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