Fed-up Piniella tells Bradley to 'go home'

Lou Piniella said he had seen enough.

So the Cubs' manager acted.

After right fielder Milton Bradley flied out in the sixth inning of the Cubs' 5-4 victory over the White Sox on Friday at U.S. Cellular Field, Bradley came into the dugout and pitched a fit, among other things.

He tossed his helmet down and grabbed one of the water or Gatorade jugs and threw it down.

At that point Piniella threw Bradley off the premises.

"I told him to take his uniform off," Piniella said. "He threw his helmet and smashed a water cooler, water flying all over. I just told him to take his uniform off and go home. I followed him up into the clubhouse, and we exchanged some words.

"I don't like those things to happen, but I'm just tired of watching it."

Bradley, who was suspended by Major League Baseball for two games in April after a confrontation with an umpire, has been a bust at the plate in this, the first year of a three-year, $30 million contract.

He's batting .237 with 5 homers and 16 RBI. Friday, he was called out on strikes in the first inning before he struck out swinging in the third and flied out in the sixth.

Originally, Piniella had planned to bench Bradley, as he did Thursday in Detroit, and start him Saturday and Sunday against the Sox.

"This has been a common occurrence, and I've looked the other way a lot," said Piniella, who did not specify Bradley as one making this a common occurrence, but the implication was there. Earlier this year pitcher Ryan Dempster punched a Gatorade machine in the Cubs' Wrigley Field dugout, and pitcher Carlos Zambrano took a bat to the same machine.

"I'm done with it," Piniella said. "I'm not into discipline, I'm really not. I'm going to put his name in the lineup tomorrow, and that's it."

Bradley came to the Cubs last off-season with a reputation as a player with an explosive temper. He has battled fans, umpires and broadcasters in the past.

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said he researched Bradley's past and was satisfied that with a multiyear contract and a team that wanted him Bradley would behave just fine.

Hendry backed his manager Friday and implied that Bradley was putting himself and his struggles ahead of the team.

"We obviously feel like we're going to get back and contend and be in the race, and you certainly don't want actions that aren't conducive to somebody being all in every day," said Hendry, who added that he would speak with Bradley on Friday night or early Saturday.

Hendry used the term "all in" several times and was asked to explain what he meant.

"If you're going to play here, you're going to be all in," he said. "I mean all in for the good of the club. Everybody is going to have problems.

"Mike Fontenot's probably never dreamed he'd hit .220. It happens. You get through it, and you have to keep the team goals focused first. We've had a lot of players struggle, come out of it."

If Piniella has seen enough of Bradley's act, that act may be wearing thin on some of Bradley's teammates.

"I've never seen something like that in my nine years in the league," left fielder Alfonso Soriano said. "Lou is a great manager, and I have a lot of respect for him. We'll see what happens."

At the same time he supported Bradley, Soriano added that he doesn't want Bradley back until Bradley is "100 percent ready" to play.

"Sometimes you can show the frustration, but sometimes you have to be careful how you do it," Soriano said. "Sometimes it's too much, and I think Lou sees that.

"I hope he comes back, and when he comes back, he can help the team to win. If it's not that way, we don't need him. We have 25 players, and we have to be on the same page, everybody.

"If he's not 100 percent to help the team to win, we don't need him. If he's 100 and he comes and he wants to play, he's more than welcome."

Asked to assess Bradley as a teammate, Soriano was blunt.

"He's a great guy; the only problem is his attitude sometimes in the game," he said. "I think a lot of people don't like that, but that's him."