
I was in the car when I heard the news that Milton Bradley had been shipped off to Seattle in exchange for Carlos Silva, so I immediately turned over to sports talk radio to get the reaction of the fans. I just assumed that everyone would be elated that Bradley was finally gone. To my surprise, all I was hearing were people complaining about Carlos Silva and that Hendry should've received more in return.
I'm not sure how anyone can think that we should've received more in return. The Cubs have spent the last two months actively trying to get rid of Bradley and it was very apparent to everyone that Bradley would not be a Cub in 2010. That doesn't exactly help your bargaining power with other teams. That's not to say Hendry's not at fault, he created his own situation in this Bradley fiasco, but at this point it was better to just move him. We can discuss Carlos Silva's potential role with the Cubs, if he'll even have one, another day. Ultimately, if Hendry decides to cut Silva tomorrow it will generate a lot less reaction than it would have if he had given Bradley his outright release. Either way though, he's pissed good money away.
For those Bradley supporters out there, I really just don't get it. You can argue all you want that Bradley was good for OBP and you can tell me all the things that Bradley
could be if given another chance. On the other hand though, I can tell you everything that Bradley
was and it would kill all of your arguments. Basically, he was a giant turd. Bradley wasn't signed to be an OBP guy, he was signed to drive in runs which is something he failed at miserably. Add to that the fact that every person on the team is now happier that he is gone and it's no wonder that Hendry had to unload him for pennies on the dollar.
Carlos Silva doesn't make this team any better and I couldn't disagree with you if you argued that he makes this team even worse if the Cubs think he's going to be the 5th starter. But this was a trade that was all about addition by subtraction, and I'm a happier Cubs fan because of it. Besides, now Jim Hendry can concentrate on signing either Marlon Byrd, Rick Ankiel or Coco Crisp. Wait, what?