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Former MLB outfielder Milton Bradley has reportedly been sentenced to almost three years in jail and 400 hours of community service for abuse of his estranged wife. 

The Associated Press, per CBS Sports’ Matt Snyder, has some of the details of his crimes:

Prosecutors say Bradley threatened and attacked his wife five times in 2011 and 2012. In one incident, Bradley pushed his wife against a wall and choked her after she asked him to stop smoking marijuana in front of their children and wanted his friends to leave their home.

According to ABC News, he was found guilty of nine misdemeanor counts, including four for spousal battery and one for assault with a deadly weapon. He is currently free on $250,000 bond but is due back in court next month. 

Anger isn’t exactly a new defining characteristic for the former talented-yet-controversial ballplayer. 

In June of 2004, after being ejected from the game for arguing balls and strikes, he responded by returning to the dugout and throwing a bag of baseballs onto the field, thus resulting in a four-game suspension. 

In September of 2007, he tore his right ACL while arguing with umpire Mike Winters, an untimely injury that seriously hindered the San Diego Padres’ postseason hopes. 

Those are the two incidents that likely initially stick out in the heads of most people, but he constantly made headlines for altercations with players, managers, fans and umpires alike. He broke bats on his knee, gave “the finger,” threw objects into the stands, and was seemingly always in trouble with the league. 

Bradley has always had talent. He led the league in both on-base percentage and OPS during an All-Star season with the Texas Rangers in 2008, and he delivered other productive (albeit, usually short) stints with the Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers and Cleveland Indians. 

Sadly, his anger always got the best of him, leading to on- and off-the-field antics that were, in the end, always simply too much for teams to put up with. 

Although it’s too late for the 35-year-old to return to professional baseball, hopefully (for the sake of both him and his family,) jail time and community service can serve as an avenue to help get his life back on track. 

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During his 12-year career in Major League Baseball, former outfielder Milton Bradley developed a reputation for getting into trouble on the field for his hot temper.

Well, it looks as if those anger issues have followed Bradley off the field in an unfortunate way. According to an Associated Press report (via Yahoo! Sports), Bradley now faces up to 13 years in prison after being arrested on charges of spousal abuse in Los Angeles:

Former Los Angeles Dodgers and Seattle Mariners outfielder Milton Bradley has been charged with abusing his estranged wife and faces up to 13 years in jail if convicted. Los Angeles city prosecutors charged Bradley on Thursday with 13 misdemeanour counts, including assault with a deadly weapon.

Per the report, Bradley allegedly threatened and assaulted his wife no fewer than five times over the past two years. Though the charges have been filed, Bradley, 34, will remain free until he’s arraigned on Jan. 24.

An oft-troubled player on the field, Bradley spent 12 seasons vacillating between major league clubs. He made one All-Star appearance in 2008, but he seemed to wear out his welcome with his penchant for temper tantrums. Perhaps the most notable instance of Bradley’s legendary temper was when he injured his knee in 2007 while arguing with umpire Mike Winters. 

This is also not the first time Bradley’s anger has followed him off the field with a domestic abuse charge. In 2005, there were three separate domestic calls to Bradley’s home over the course of a couple months, but no charges were filed against either party in any instance. 

Six years later, while Bradley was with the Seattle Mariners, he was once again arrested in January 2011 after making a threat. Again, however, Bradley escaped being charged with the crime and was reportedly still living with his wife.

With the charges already filed, it looks like Bradley won’t be able to escape seeing the courtroom this time.

Follow @tylerconway22 

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How do you fix a team that has lost 100 games twice in three seasons?

That’s the glaring question that general manager Jack Zduriencik and manager Eric Wedge are tasked with in 2011.

After a few nice trades and additions propelled the team a giant step forward in 2009, they took another giant step back in 2010. Though most assumed that ’09 team overachieved, the additions to the club last season led those same pundits to believe we’d at least see a similar outcome, perhaps even a better one.

With pitchers and catchers doing bullpen sessions and position players trickling in ahead of the mandatory report date this Friday, the team is getting a chance to have a hard, long look at their squad early.

It’s a good thing, too, because there are questions that must be answered post-haste.

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It’s fair to say that on the diamond Milton Bradley has been given his fair share of chances. Bradley has worn out his welcome with the Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs already. Anyone with knowledge of Bradley’s career would safely assume that he is a ticking time bomb, waiting to destroy the Seattle Mariners and their clubhouse.

Entering Spring Training, Bradley was expected to compete for the starting job in left field for the Seattle Mariners. Bradley has been a productive hitter throughout his career when he is healthy, and he appears healthy so far in spring games this year.

The negative attention that follows Bradley, and the huge distraction that will hang over his head for the duration of the 2011 season as he deals with legal proceedings and his pending divorce are too much to justify keeping Bradley on the 25-man roster for the Mariners however.

Too many red flags have popped up to reasonably think that Bradley will make it through the entire season without any incidents that would be a detriment to a Seattle clubhouse that could post multiple young impressionable prospects by mid-season.

New manager Eric Wedge and Bradley have a history of conflict dating back to their time together in Cleveland. The situation became so bad between the two that Cleveland was forced to make a decision between the two, eventually sending Bradley to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Bradley claims the feud is behind him and he is ready to move on.

On January 18, Bradley was arrested in Los Angeles on charges that he made felony threats to his wife Monique. The Marines responded at the time with the standard team response that they were still learning all the facts, and take the matter very seriously. Although he was served with a restraining order on January 24, it did not appear that Bradley would wind up facing criminal charges in the matter, and would remain with the Mariners for the 2011 season to play out his contract.

Radaronline.com reported earlier this morning more details of the events that transpired leading up to the January 18 arrest. While in New York for New Year’s Eve, Bradley and his wife apparently began an argument that quickly escalated into a case of spousal abuse.

Regarding the event, Monique Bradley says, “Milton cursed and yelled at me for approximately five minutes and then he grabbed a glass from off the coffee table and threw it directly at my head from across the room.”

“The glass shattered on my head and I started to bleed. As soon as Milton saw me bleeding, he started crying and begging me to forgive him. He stated that he lost it and that he would kill himself if I left him. I did not know what to do.”

According to the documents, Monique was in the bathroom attempting to stop the bleeding when hotel security reported to the room. Milton opened the door and informed them that everything was alright, and Monique never went to a hospital.

Monique Bradley filed for divorce from Milton on February 16 citing irreconcilable differences.

Bradley has a meeting with the Los Angeles city attorney on March 9. The Los Angeles city attorney will have no jurisdiction over the incidents in New York, however the meeting is a result of the domestic case between Bradley and his wife. No reports of pending charges in the New Year’s eve have come forward, with the exception of his wife’s divorce filing.

This is just the most recent in a string of run-ins with the law though.

In 2004 Bradley was arrested for allegedly confronting a police officer in Ohio. Bradley pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was sentenced to three days in jail for the incident. Later that same year he was charged with failure to comply after driving away from police after failing to sign a speeding ticket.

While with the Dodgers in 2005 Bradley threw a plastic water bottle at a fan, and also confronted a Los Angeles Times reporter in the clubhouse.

Bradley had run-ins with his managers in Cleveland, Oakland and Chicago, wearing out his welcome each time. His frequent clashes with Chicago manager Lou Piniella led to him being traded to Seattle before the beginning of the 2010 season.

Bradley has never been able to control his emotions on the field and has found himself to be a distraction at every stop. Presumably his personal life never factored into his emotional outbursts.

Any baseball implications aside, this is a terrible situation for Milton Bradley’s family. It would be hard to argue in Bradley’s defense were his wife seeking sole custody without visitation, however this is not the case. In her filing she is asking for spousal support, as well as legal and physical custody of the children, however she is granting Milton visitation rights.

How will Bradley deal with the mental strain that will result from losing his marriage and everyday interaction with his children?

With an existing history of problems between himself and new manager Eric Wedge and his history of past incidents in every city where he has played; the situation appears to be a ticking time bomb with his ex-wife now pouring lighter fluid around the perimeter.

$12 million is a large check to write to tell a player to go home, or in this case go find another home, but it is a small price to pay to avoid the damage that Bradley can cause when he finally does explode.

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Update, 2/12: According to John Hickey via Twitter, Bradley won’t be charged for threats that he allegedly made against his wife in January. Apparently, he and his wife will work things out of court.

Bradley is in the last year of his three-year, $30 million contract he signed with the Chicago Cubs before the 2009 season. He should enjoy this season in Seattle because it will be his last in a Major League uniform.

I can’t see any team signing him to a contract after this season. He has too much baggage for any team to deal with.

Update, 1/31: In an interview with KJR-AM 950 in Seattle, Mariners’ GM Jack Zduriencik said that Bradley will come into spring training and compete for a job.

“Obviously, there’s a legal process that Milton has to go through,” Zduriencik said. “As of right now, he’s a part of the organization, and we’re planning on him coming into spring training and competing for a job.”

It’s not surprising Zduriencik would have this answer. Bradley hasn’t been charged with anything yet and perhaps more importantly, he has $12 million coming to him in 2011 by hook or by crook.

Bradley has a court hearing set for Feb. 8. We should know more about this situation after that date.

Original Post: According to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, Seattle Mariners’ OF/DH Milton Bradley was arrested on Wednesday morning for violating California penal code section 422, which involves making a “criminal threat.” The details of the arrest are not yet known, but Bradley was released on $50,000 bail.

It looks like it’s game over for Bradley in Seattle.

And yes, it’s also game over for the 2011 “Cheesy Line of the Year by a Blogger” award, which I just won with the above sentence. It always feels good to run away with an award so early in the year.

In all seriousness, since we don’t know yet exactly what Bradley did, I am not going to comment on that. What I will comment on is that Bradley has most likely played his last game in a Mariners’ uniform.

Bradley has seemingly had issues with every team he has been throughout his Major League career and now it appears the Mariners are no different.

Considering that Bradley and new manager Eric Wedge had issues in the past during their time in Cleveland together, I can’t possibly see how he can be on the Mariners’ Opening Day roster.

GM Jack Zduriencik said he is going through process in determining the full circumstances of what occurred. In laymen terms, he means that he is figuring out contractually if he can get rid of Bradley so he doesn’t have to pay him the $12 million he is owed in 2011.

And speaking of Zduriencik, has a GM gone from chicken salad to chicken sh%t quicker than him? Last year he was the darling of baseball. He was the trendiest guy in all the land. Now he is running a mess in Seattle.

More on this story as it develops.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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After 103 years of failure and disappointment, there have to be some excuses as to why the Chicago Cubs cannot win a World Series, let alone make it to one. Cubs fans have suffered, but remained loyal for inexplicable circumstances, including injuries and blunders. It has been a highlight reel of misfortune. This will discuss the top five reasons as to why the Cubs cannot win.

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Milton Bradley must have found the challenge of getting into trouble on the field too simple.

On Tuesday night, it was reported by KING5 News that Bradley had been arrested and charged with a felony in Los Angeles.

Full details aren’t yet available, but according to Mike Ferreri of KOMO News, he was in violation of penal code 422 which translates to some sort of bodily harm threat. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions, but this could be as serious as a death threat.

Bradley has posted $50,000 bond and has been released from police custody.

What does this mean for his Mariners future? Well, there was a pretty good chance that Milton would be out of the picture. Considering his history with new manager Eric Wedge, a couple bad years statistically, and his continued issues, it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see him let go.

This pretty much just gives the Mariners every reason they need to move on.

The question will surely be asked about what this means for the Mariners having to pay Bradley. The CBA is very much in favor of the player in these incidents. Unless he does significant jail time, the Mariners are most likely on the hook for all of his remaining salary.

Let the “get out of jail free” card jokes commence.

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Hey, did you hear? The Mariners were lousy in 2010. Terrible. Awful. Dreadful.

Ah, heck. I’ll just link you so you can see all the synonyms for “bad.”

That poor, poor dead horse.

Much has been ballyhooed about the shortcomings of the most recent episode of Mariners’ baseball. Especially due to the predicted success placed on them entering the season. No one had delusions of an express lane to the division title, but it was widely thought they could duke it out and hang in there in a weak AL West.

A knockout in round one is hardly hanging in there.

So, let’s all agree to officially move on. We’ll start by focusing on the immediate future to see how we can expect some of those let downs to turn around, becoming 2011 success stories.

When your baseline is so low, a relative term like “much” doesn’t seem so far-fetched, right?

However, I believe the improvement from certain players next season will unquestionably be seen as a large step forward.

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One of the major themes of the Seattle blogosphere this offseason, at least as it pertains to any potential managerial hiring, is quite simply that we don’t have enough information as fans to form a quantitative opinion of the guy they hired.

The Mariners hired Eric Wedge to be their new manager, and the move was met with a mass consensus of indifference among Mariners fans.

I’d be willing to bet that only Wedge’s close relatives are sitting at home going “Hell Yeah! Eric Wedge is the Mariners new manager!” By the same rationale, there are likely very few fans contemplating jumping off the Narrows ridge as a result of Wedge being put in charge of their favorite ballclub.

As fans, we have a very limited arsenal for evaluation of managers, in reality. While many sabermetricians may break down win probably gains compared to probability risked based on in-game strategic decisions, typical perception is that managing a baseball team requires a lot more than sound sacrifice bunt strategy.

So what do we know about Wedge?

He’s got a near-.500 record (slightly below), managed one of the most physically talented young teams in baseball through the mid-2000s, and came within a game of the World Series in 2007.

Wedge oversaw the development of guys like Grady Sizemore, Asdrubal Cabrera, Shin-Shoo Choo, Travis Hafner, Cliff Lee, CC Sabathia, Fausto Carmona, Victor Martinez and countless other once-or-current Indians farmhands.

Many of those guys he managed at multiple levels, as Wedge got his start coaching in the Indians farm system.

We know that in the year since Wedge left, the Indians have been pretty awful. We also know that in 2008 and 2009, the team dealt two consecutive former Cy Young Award winners.

So, how much credit do we give Wedge for those players development? How much do we give him credit for their continued success? How much do we blame him for their failures?

The real answer is that we don’t know.

We do know that Milton Bradley hasn’t always had the highest opinion of Eric Wedge; we also know that Milton Bradley has made himself look like quite the asshole on several occasions. And we know that both of them are saying the right things right now.

We also know that at his press conference, Eric Wedge looked like a door to door vacuum salesman who moonlights at your local dive bar hitting on girls half his age.

We know that Eric Wedge was a catcher during his playing career, as was Don Wakamatsu, as were Mike Sciocia, Joe Torre, and Joe Girardi.

Catchers, by virtue of their involvement of so many aspects of the game are often regarded highly as managerial candidates; we also know that Lou Piniella was an outfielder, Terry Francona was a first baseman, and Ozzie Guillen played shortstop.

We also know that apart from Wedge and Wakamatsu, every one of those managers has won a World Series.

We know that former Indians general manager Mark Shapiro came out in support of the Mariners hiring of Wedge. We also know that Shapiro fired Wedge.

Wedge isn’t Wakamatsu, we know that. We don’t know if he will yield better results as a manager either.

We know that there is a common perception that Wakamatsu’s handling of Ken Griffey Jr. led to some discontent in the Mariners locker room, but we don’t know how much better Wedge’s managing style will gel with Mariners players or how it will manifest itself into results.

One thing that we can have faith in, however, is that Jack Zduriencik is adaptable when it comes to personnel acquisition.

He seemed enamored with high level physical tools at the plate and on the mound in Milwaukee. Zduriencik drafted several players with high-90s fastballs and off-the-charts power.

In Seattle, when building a team for Safeco Field and Wakamatsu, Zduriencik acquired good defensive players and finesse left-handed pitchers who could use the cavernous ballpark to their advantage.

Wedge had a ton of talent at his disposal when he was successful in Cleveland, and he hasn’t managed anywhere else. We don’t know what was really at work when Cleveland had its success under Wedge, but we know that his boss will work to give him a deep arsenal.

If Eric Wedge is in fact a good manager, he’ll have success in Seattle. If he’s a bad-mediocre manager and the Mariners young prospects are as talented as we think, Wedge may still have success in Seattle.

But until he steps into the dugout in 2011, we won’t really know.

Fixing the 2011 Mariners player profiles:

Ted Lilly, Ramon Hernandez, Michael Saunders, Colby Rasmus, Adam Dunn, Chone Figgins, Dustin Ackley, Felipe Lopez, Willy Aybar, Jack/Josh Wilson, Yu Darvish

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Although cloudless days continue to appear in Seattle’s summer sky, locals are still advised to carry umbrellas… because Jack Zduriencik is quickly plummeting downwards.

Just months after being hailed as a hero in the Emerald City for his roster overhaul filled with top-flight players, the Mariners general manager is now being scrutinized for not meeting his team’s needs in the off-season. Much of the blame is being pointed towards Zduriencik for the lost 2010 season, which carried in high expectations but has completely faltered.

However, the atrocious 35-53 record should be linked to the under-performance of the players, especially those acquired last winter, not the man that signed them.

The All-Star Break is the perfect time to evaluate how the season has gone thus far. Similar to the end of first semester, it’s time to handout report cards and grade the newest Mariners based on their first-half play.

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