Piniella ready for Cubs to move on

MILWAUKEE - Cubs manager Lou Piniella says the team "is moving on" from the Milton Bradley suspension.

Piniella has done that and so have the players, whose mood in the clubhouse has been considerably lighter the last two days.

"Yeah, we're moving on from yesterday," Piniella said Monday, referring to general manager Jim Hendry suspending right fielder Bradley for the season Sunday for conduct detrimental to the team. "I fully support Jim's action. Now, it's time to look at the present and look ahead, not behind."

That may be easy for the players and manager to do, but the situation may not be solved from a legal standpoint.

ESPN.com reported Monday that the players association is considering filing a grievance against the Cubs, challenging the suspension. A formal challenge seems imminent.

Hendry, reached by phone, had no comment, and the Cubs say they have not been informed of any grievance. There also has been no answer on whether Bradley will be paid during the suspension, but it's likely that he will be paid.

The Cubs suspended Bradley on Sunday, citing several issues with Bradley over the course of the season, including comments critical of the organization.

Bradley reportedly also got into a confrontation with hitting coach Von Joshua on Saturday, with Bradley reportedly refusing to pinch hit. He was a late lineup scratch that day because of an inflamed left knee.

"When you manage a baseball team, what you want are the least distractions you can possibly have," Piniella said. "The more distractions, it makes it more difficult, not only for the manager and the coaching staff, but for the players and also for the organization. So you try to shy away from distractions.

"My job, basically, is to try to get guys to play and play as well as possible."

Hendry is accepting heat for signing Bradley to a three-year, $30 million contract last winter despite knowing of Bradley's history of behavioral problems involving teammates, managers and umpires, among others.

"Here's the thing," Piniella said. "You try things. You don't do things because you don't think they're going to work. And you do your homework.

"Do they work out all the time? I don't think anybody's a miracle man where things can work out all the time.

"In this business here, when things don't work, somebody's got to take some heat. It's unfortunate. The amazing thing is that when things don't work, you take more heat. When they work, you don't get as much credit.

"This guy (Hendry) is the same guy who put together the team that won 97 ballgames (last year). He did a (heck) of a job. When things don't work, well, you've got to point at somebody. It's unfortunate in this business, but that's the way it works."