L.A. Clubhouse Confidential

Wabberjocky · **Posted:** Wed Aug 24, 2005 1:25 am

LOS ANGELES (AP) â€” The clubhouse feud between Milton Bradley and Jeff Kent could end up doing more good than harm to the underachieving Los Angeles Dodgers.

Jeff Weaver won his fifth straight decision and went 3-for-4 with a career-high three RBIs, leading the Dodgers to an 8-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night.

"It's no distraction at all," Weaver said of the pregame words between his teammates. "Maybe it forced a little bit more adrenaline in each of us and got us a little riled up. Every game is extremely important for us right now. Hopefully, we'll catch a little momentum and keep moving up in the standings."

Oscar Robles, filling in for injured shortstop Cesar Izturis, had a career-high four RBIs for Los Angeles, which is five games behind first-place San Diego in the NL West.

Before batting practice, Bradley charged that Kent "doesn't know how to deal with African-American people," and that the former NL MVP "has no clue about leadership."

"He's in his own world,' said Bradley, who was criticized by Kent on Saturday for not scoring from first base on a double. "If you're going to be the leader of the team, then you need to mingle with the team and associate with the team. I mean, you can't have your locker in the corner, put your headphones on and sit in the corner reading a motocross magazine."

Kent, who leads the team with 22 home runs and 83 RBIs, was visibly upset after hearing about Bradley's remarks.

"That's a shame, and I take offense to that," the five-time All-Star said. "That's just absolutely pathetic if it comes from his mouth. If you think that I've got a problem with African-Americans, then go talk to Dusty Baker. Go talk to Dave Winfield, who took me under his wing. Go talk to Joe Carter â€” all the guys that I idolized in this game and all the veteran players who taught me how to play this game.

"I will not get into this anymore, and that's all I've got to say."

Edit2Eat · **Posted:** Wed Aug 24, 2005 1:41 am

*** underachieving ***

Is it the rule that teams who aren't in first place must be referred to as underachieving? The Dodgers have been flawed ever since they traded away LoDuca and let Beltre move to the Northwest. If Barry had been playing this year they'd be in fourth place in their sorry division.

Yes, they'll sweep the Rockies this week. They always do at the Ravine. But the feud is an unlikely catalyst.

BTW, check out the T.J. Simers column on this in the Times. I don't know if the link is available yet.

"Kent, as Bradley noted correctly, is in his own world. He prepares for a game like live ammo is being used, maintaining he learned how to conduct himself watching the grizzled veterans before him. He believes he leads by example, and if sitting alone in front of a locker looking like someone has just run over your cat ever catches on, Iâ€™ll have to find Lasorda and ask him to tell me a few stories."

wordygurdy · **Posted:** Wed Aug 24, 2005 10:10 am

Again, I don't follow the NL too closely (even though Kent has played for a few American League teams), but I think the consensus is that he's pretty much a lock for the Hall of Fame, isn't it? Aside from Joe Morgan, not too many second basemen have put up the numbers Kent has. And Kent was doing so even before the Steroids Era.

Of course, for Bradley to be maligning anyone for not being a leader is pretty laughable. Bradley's lucky he's not in jail on any of myriad charges resulting from his on- and off-field antics over the past few years.

Wayne Countryman · **Posted:** Wed Aug 24, 2005 11:04 am

Yes, Milton Bradley is the last person who should be criticizing anyone's commitment to the team and personality.

If you stick to batting, Jeff Kent comes out ahead of Lou Whittaker as a second baseman. Whittaker was a far better fielder and base stealer. He's not in the Hall of Fame and probably never will be.

Kent's power puts him slightly ahead of Ryne Sandberg as a hitter. Sandberg was a far better fielder and base stealer. He went into the Hall this summer. Many people thought he didn't belong there.

Kent has spent most of his career at second base. He's more suited for first base: sort of a Steve Garvey type--not big like a traditional slugging first baseman, but lacking the talent to play other infield positions well.

If he were an outfielder, his career hitting would be comparable to that of contemporaries Moises Alou and Luis Gonzalez.

I guess we give players a lot more credit for hitting with power if they're a middle infielder.

I never liked Kent because of his attitude. He tends to not get along with teammates--a modern-day Rogers Hornsby, drifting from club to club despite his talent.

If I remember correctly, he was accused of missing much of one season because he got hurt riding a motorcycle--a violation of his contract. His explanation ranked with the-dog-ate-my-homework.

Oeditpus Rex · **Posted:** Wed Aug 24, 2005 12:10 pm

Edit2Eat wrote:

The Dodgers have been flawed ever since they traded away LoDuca and let Beltre move to the Northwest. If Barry had been playing this year they'd be in fourth place in their sorry division.

Those were highly unpopular moves, but even as a Dodgers fan for 40 years, I'm not qualified to judge their merit. This, however, is obvious:

Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

I don't recall a ball club so affected by the injury insect. It's been absolutely devastating. "Barry" or not, that's the reason the Dodgers are "underachievers."

Kent's won a few games for them this season, and Bradley's won two or three in the short time he's been off the DL. I wish both of them would just knock off this crap and play ball.

Oeditpus Rex · **Posted:** Wed Aug 24, 2005 9:54 pm

Well, it appears to be a moot point. Bradley was diagnosed today by Dr. Frank Jobe with an 80-percent tear of a patellar tendon in his left knee.

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