Bradley more trouble than he’s worth

Mariners outfielder never has had enough production to justify putting up with his antics

Albert Belle was one of the most anti-social players imaginable. He could divide a clubhouse and turn a great job into a nightmare for the people charged with supervising him or playing alongside him. He also could hit like very few others of his era.

Belle’s 1995 season was epic. His second half in 1998, with the White Sox far from a playoff race, was one of the most impressive displays of hitting, day in and day out, I ever have seen. There was no mystery to why multiple teams put up with his behavioral issues.

But Milton Bradley? Does his possible impact on a lineup really justify all of this?

The Mariners went to great links to assimilate Bradley, 32, into their clubhouse after bravely taking him off the Cubs’ hands over the winter. They did so even though he never has had more than 22 home runs or 77 RBIs.

And faced with their first crossroad, they are making him even more of an organizational project after he bolted the team in mid-game Tuesday and came Wednesday to general manager Jack Zduriencik asking for help with issues related to his emotional and psychological health.

This is in stark contrast to the way the Cubs dealt with Bradley last June when Lou Piniella sent him home during a game and chased him into the clubhouse screaming at him, and in September when Jim Hendry told him he would pay him to stay away from the ballpark.

Bradley, who was placed on the restricted list Thursday and cannot be in uniform or with the team for at least five days, is being praised in Seattle and other places for admitting he has a problem and seeking help.

He seemed to be continuing to whine about his unpleasant year in Chicago when he told ESPN’s Colleen Dominguez that he’s with “an organization of people that I trust have my best interest in mind and have never passed judgment.” He said he was “a human being first to them.”

This is intriguing psycho-babble, and that’s basically what the troubled Bradley’s career has been about. He’s paid to be a hitter, not just a human being, however, and when he stomped to the clubhouse in the sixth inning Tuesday (sources have said he was angry manager Don Wakamatsu didn’t argue ball-strike calls for him) he was batting .214. The Mariners entered play Thursday at 11-16 after taking a turn as sweethearts of the Cactus League.

A year ago, after Hendry gave him a three-year, $30 million contract, Bradley hit .257 with disappointing secondary numbers as a Cubs’ team expected to win 90-plus games came home 83-78, downhill from the Cardinals. He’s a certified team-wrecker.

So was Belle. But until an arthritic hip limited him, he didn’t let his issues get in the way of his production. He directed his anger at the baseball. Maybe the Mariners should bring him in to consult with Bradley.