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Bradley Out For Season After Freak ACL Tear

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The Associated Press

Published: September 25, 2007

SAN DIEGO - Padres left fielder Milton Bradley will miss the rest of the season after he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee when he was spun to the ground by his manager during a blowup with an umpire.

Bradley, who helped spark the wild card-leading Padres during the season's second half, was ejected from Sunday's game by first base umpire Mike Winters, then hurt his knee during a bizarre scene when Manager Bud Black spun him to the ground to keep him from going after the ump in the eighth inning of a 7-3 loss to Colorado.

Not only will the Padres be without Bradley for the final week and a possible playoff appearance, but they'll get little if any contribution from center fielder Mike Cameron, who has a torn ligament in his right thumb.

Cameron was hurt when he made a sliding attempt at Garrett Atkins' inside-the-park home run, then had Bradley step on his hand. Black said before Monday night's game at San Francisco that Cameron might be able to pinch-run this week, but that would be it.

The Padres, trying to reach the playoffs for the third straight year, entered Monday night's game with a half-game lead over Philadelphia in the wild-card race. San Diego was 2 1/2 games behind first-place Arizona in the NL West with seven to play.

The Padres had won seven straight against last-place teams San Francisco and Pittsburgh before their offense went flat and they lost three straight to the streaking Rockies.

As Bradley walked to the plate in the eighth, umpire Brian Runge asked the player if he had flipped his bat in the ump's direction after taking a called third strike to end the fifth.

'I said, 'Are you kidding me? That's ridiculous,'' Bradley said. 'He said, 'Well, it was reported to me by the other umpires that you threw your bat at me.' And I said, 'That's completely ridiculous. I've done a lot of things. I'm trying to turn it around. I would never harm anybody.''

Bradley singled, then asked Winters if he told Runge he threw his bat. 'He goes, 'Yeah, you did.' I go, 'Are you kidding me? That's completely ridiculous. If I strike out and the inning's over, why are you looking at me? Everything's always about me.''

Then, a fan heckled Winters.

'I pointed to the guy in the crowd, affirming it,' Bradley said.

Bradley said Winters responded with a string of expletives.

'That's when I went at him, and he kicked me out,' Bradley said.

First base coach Bobby Meacham began to restrain Bradley, and Black came running out. Bradley got away from Meacham, but Black grabbed him by the jersey.

Bradley tried to get free and, after a few seconds, Black spun Bradley around and the player collapsed. Bradley immediately grabbed his right knee and eventually had to be helped off the field.

'I was trying to pull Milton away from the argument,' Black said.

Baseball spokesman Rich Levin said the commissioner's office is looking into whether Bradley was baited by Winters. The investigation is headed by Mike Port, Major League Baseball's vice president of umpiring.

ATHLETICS: Picked up contract options for Manager Bob Geren and second baseman Mark Ellis, locking up Geren through 2009 and Ellis for the 2008 season.

CARDINALS: Catcher Yadier Molina and pitcher Mark Mulder had season-ending surgery Monday.

Molina underwent surgery for torn cartilage in his right knee. Mulder, who struggled in three September starts, also had arthroscopic surgery on his previously repaired rotator cuff.

METS: Pitcher Orlando Hernandez threw on flat ground Monday after the boot protecting his sore right foot was removed.

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