The Ugliest Side During The Happiest Time

This point of the year is the best time for baseball. Best for the fans who get to see divison and wildcard races played out during the final week, and also get the October fever going as we keep soaring towards the postseason. It is the best time for the players who get to see all of their hard work come to fruition and play for a World Series title. The players that are on teams going to the playoffs, that is.

The players who are not going to the playoffs could be dragging through the final week knowing that they are going home no matter what they do on the field these next few days. With that in their minds, it becomes very difficult to get that cranky body moving for the final six days if one does not have a great amount of pride in their work.

Regardless, this is the time to celebrate our passion for baseball. It is unfortunate that there are two cases evolving out west that are showing the uglier side of sports when we should be pumped for postseason baseball to appear on our television screens and in front of our eyes for an entire month. This is what we have waited for since Spring Training.

For the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers, this is exactly what they weren't waiting for since Spring Training.

The Dodgers are officially a mess. A team that showed much promise and hope of pulling through in their divison and leading a solid core of players into the postseason, has made a complete turnaround, resulting in a season down the drain and the embarrassment of veterans pointing fingers.

The Dodgers are one of the most storied franchises in baseball, and yet its players are representing it in one of the most classless ways possible. Jeff Kent has officially took of the gloves and started swinging at the young players on the team claiming, "They just don't get it", referring to the postseason and the limited time he has left in his career.

It is one thing for a veteran who has been in the postseason to make some comments and get a young group of players fired up. But it is entirely different to throw your teammates under the bus and take absolutely no responsiblity for the team's failure. This looks much worse for Kent due to the fact that Russell Martin, James Loney, Matt Kemp, Chad Billingsley, amound other youngsters, have been carrying this team for the better part of the year. Maybe it is time for Kent to reevaluate his contributions to the team and bring a little humilty to the ballpark.

In fact, it is probably safe to say that if this young core of players were in the everyday lineup since Opening Day, the Dodgers would have won the National League West. Winning and putting up huge numbers really show nothing about a player as a person. It is easy to love the group of guys you are with and praise everyone when you are on a divison leader and look like a World Series. But that is not what being a teammate is about.

What happens when the ship sinks and things turn for the worse? Does one start blaming others and making excuses and saying how the other players, who were the real producers, aren't getting it done? A good teammate, and more importantly, a winner, admits what went wrong and then steps up and recognizes that he did a poor job at leading. That doesn't mean others can't except some blame, but a veteran especially should have a little more class than that. I guess this is just great evidence as to what type of character certain guys have. It all comes out in the end.

As for the Padres, their playoff hopes are not dead, but they sure are slipping away. What happened in San Diego Sunday afternoon was one of the most freakish, and rather embarrasing, moments that I have ever witnessed. Milton Bradley tore his ACL because his manager was trying to restrain him from going after an umpire. Not sure I have ever seen that one before.

In all seriousness, it is simply unfortunate what happened to Bradley's knee. This was a freak accident, and one that has escalated the situation to new heights. If it wasn't for the season-ending injury, this would of been just like countless other times we have seen Bradley, or any other player, have a heated arguement with an umpire.


In reality, that is not the case. I just find it amazing that when an event occurs, like the knee injury, some will use it as fuel to prove that they have been completely abused.

Bradley is saying that he will take action because he lost his season because of the umpire. No it is not the umpire's fault that he tore his ACL. That just happened at a very inopportune time. The point being, the injury should be completely thrown out in the whatever investigation of this situation Major League Baseball embarks on.

If umpire Mike Winters did use profane and abusive language towards Bradley, then he should be reprimanded as that is unacceptable behavior in a professional environment. Umpires are suppossed to rise above situations on the field and settle them, not turn them into personal wars.

That being said, I don't buy Bradley's argument whatsoever. It is laughable how he would bring up the fact that the umpire used profanity and try to use that against him in this situation simply because he is realizing he hurt his team now that his season is over.

How many times do players go off and use profanity directed at umpires during an argument? That is never brought up and used against them when their suspensions are handed down from MLB. Granted, players are there to perform and win and are therefore emotionally attached to everything that happens in the ballgame. I just find it hard to believe that umpires should be held to more "professional" standards than players are.

The situation is being handled like a sand-throwing fight in a pre-school playground. He-said-she-said and tattle taling is taking its place between two prossionals and it is ridiculous.

Major League Baseball needs to order a swift investigation and if there is probable cause to suspend Mike Winters, then fine, punish him according to the situation. If there isn't much behind this story, then it is too bad for Bradley that his knee was injured. But make no mistake about it; his temper cost him the season, not the umpire.

It is time to enjoy the best part of the baseball season and appreciate the dramatic nights this great games provides during the postseason. This is not the time to bicker about childish happenings.