Until Saturday, Bradley had been on his best behavior. Of course, it’s easy to behave when you’re on the disabled list, which is where Bradley has been for most of the year.
And then came Saturday in Boston. On Friday, he came off the disabled list and put on the kind of show Beane bargained for, going 4-for-5 and making a sensational catch. On Saturday, he snapped. After screaming at Red Sox blowhard Curt Schilling for drilling Nick Swisher, Bradley turned his attention toward the fans behind the visitor’s dugout. There was much shouting and finger-pointing, and the next time Bradley came off the field, he subtly saluted said fans by grabbing his crotch.
A’s manager Ken Macha didn’t play him the next day, offering the lame reasoning that Bradley had been on the bases so much Friday that he needed to give his legs a rest. The truth is that Macha didn’t want Bradley to have to deal with the Boston fans again.
So on the A’s moved to Baltimore, where the Orioles fans aren’t exactly known for being harsh. But they certainly got under Bradley’s skin, and Bradley gave them plenty of material with one of the weakest acts seen since the World Cup ended.
After stumbling while rounding first base on Wednesday, Bradley appeared to be injured, and badly. So pronounced was his limp that he that he didn’t even try to get back to the base, so the throw from the outfield to shortstop to first base got there in plenty of time for Bradley to be tagged out.
As he was being carried off the field, it looked like Bradley was headed for another stint on the DL. But no. There must have been some kind of medical magician in the dugout, because Bradley was back out on defense the next inning, even diving for a ball.