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Bradley Impresses Rays' Management

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By MARC LANCASTER

mlancaster@tampatrib.com

Published: December 9, 2008

LAS VEGAS - The fact that Milton Bradley was the first item on the Rays' agenda as the winter meetings officially began Monday doesn't necessarily mean he's first on Tampa Bay's offseason priority list. But it certainly sounds as if Bradley is near the top.

The 30-year-old outfielder, who has posted eye-popping numbers in the past but also has drawn plenty of attention for his volatility on and off the field, apparently made a positive impression on Andrew Friedman and Joe Maddon during a lunch meeting Monday at the Bellagio Hotel.

"He was very impressive today," Friedman said. "We have a tremendous amount of respect for Milton as a player and felt it was a good opportunity to sit down and learn a little bit more. It was a great meeting."

Friedman cautioned against reading too much into the sitdown, which also included three agents representing Bradley, characterizing it as a "get-to-know-you session" that the Rays hope to repeat with two or three other unnamed players this week. But the fact that it happened the way it did said plenty about the Rays' interest level.

For one, Friedman said it was the first time since he took over the Rays' baseball operations that he had eaten a meal at the winter meetings anywhere besides his hotel suite. Friedman also said he had considered flying to California over the weekend to meet with Bradley, but changed those plans when he learned Bradley would be in Las Vegas anyway to take in the Oscar de la Hoya-Manny Pacquiao fight Saturday night.

It's also telling that both Friedman and Maddon spoke about the importance of sitting down face-to-face with Bradley to get a feel for him as a person. They already know plenty about him as a baseball player, and his skills in that department suit the Rays perfectly.

Playing for the Rangers in 2008 - his sixth team in nine big-league seasons - Bradley led the league in on-base percentage (.436) and on-base plus slugging percentage (a whopping .999).

"This guy, to me, works an at-bat as well as anybody in either league," Maddon said. "I have never seen him throw an at-bat away - never. I don't care what the score is, what the inning is, whatever, he has the same quality of at-bat every time up, and I've always respected him for that."

With Bradley, though, what happens outside the lines must be scrutinized just as closely. First, he has had trouble staying healthy, failing to reach 100 games played each year from 2005 top 2007 and missing nearly 40 games last season.

Beyond that, there is the matter of his temper. Among other incidents in his career, Bradley suffered a season-ending knee injury in September 2007 as his manager with the Padres, Bud Black, attempted to restrain him in the midst of a heated argument with an umpire. And in June of this year, Bradley raced from the clubhouse up the stairs to the press box in an effort to get to a Royals television announcer after hearing what he considered to be overly critical comments on the air.

The Rays, of course, made a concerted effort to foster a more positive clubhouse atmosphere last offseason by trading the occasionally disruptive Delmon Young and Elijah Dukes and adding the likes of Cliff Floyd and Troy Percival. But their snap judgment Monday was that they didn't anticipate Bradley's past being an impediment.

"People grow up, people change," Maddon said. "A lot of it, just from what I can gather talking to him today, is this guy's all about winning. He really wants to win. He truly does. He's an intense young man, and he's open and honest, which I can always appreciate."

Reporter Marc Lancaster can be reached at (813) 259-7227.

Keyword: Rays Trades, for a "Building the Rays" database. Keyword: Rays Trades, for a "Building the Rays" database.

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