The Cubs need Milton Bradley to stay on the field and out of trouble

He attributes some past blowups to being "young and dumb.'' He said, "I was never violent.'' Rather, he said, the rep came from a string of childish temper tantrums.

"If anyone was hurt by it, it was me,'' he said..

Physically, he's had a few hurts, too. Few have suffered as wide a variety of injuries as Bradley, and it can't be comforting to see him laid up by two separate, albeit slight, infirmities this early. Cubs GM Jim Hendry maintained he isn't going to worry so early in spring, not with so many games to go, and besides, Hendry said, "We're not expecting him to play 150 games. We have other good outfielders.'' (The Cubs can move Kosuke Fukudome to right field and employ Reed Johnson or Joey Gathright in center on days Bradley can't play.) For his part, Bradley, says, "I'm feeling fine, and taking the necessary steps to prepare myself for playing the season.''

The Cubs are the class of the National League, but absences by Bradley could hurt the team as well as Bradley himself (his $20 million, two-year contract only becomes a $30 million, three-year deal if he plays at least 75 games in 2009, according to the contract filing). However many games he plays, Bradley is the most interesting addition to a clubhouse that already contains some notably temperamental talents, such as star pitcher Carlos Zambrano and three-time Manager of the Year Lou Piniella, who just might be great for Bradley.

The Cubs have long loved Bradley's talent, and felt that with the offensively-oriented Alfonso Soriano in left field, they needed to target the best defensive player among the many great offensive outfield options, and Bradley blows away Adam Dunn, Raul Ibanez and even Bobby Abreu in terms of defensive ability. But the question always comes back to whether he can stay healthy enough to show it.

Bradley said he loved the Cubs because he wants to win ("my focus is on winning, and I'm looking to make a difference,'' he said), and also because many of his other opportunities involved being a DH in the American League. He did that last year. "Texas served a purpose,'' is the way Bradley put it. He is anxious to show that he can be a complete player.

"I don't understand why I'd be better-suited to do something else,'' Bradley said. "When I was an outfielder, I was always too valuable to DH. After hurting my knee, I came back pretty much instantly and became an All-Star. And now people are saying I'm better suited to DH. That's why I didn't consider American League teams. They all wanted me to DH.''

Hendry was eyeing Bradley from a distance for quite a while, and Bradley was impressed by the GM's forthrightness. Hendry told him right away that he was their guy, but that he had to clear up a couple questions related to the ownership change before making an offer. Just like Hendry said, once those questions were cleared up, he called Bradley.

"Jim Hendry's an honest, fair guy," Bradley said. "You don't meet too many like that in this business. He told me it would take some time with the ownership situation but that we'd get it done. I believed him.''

And thus maybe the most interesting marriage in baseball was made.