Milton Bradley Won’t Appeal Suspension

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Milton Bradley has decided not to appeal his suspension for the remainder of the baseball season.

The decision came after Bradley formally apologized to the Chicago Cubs and the club told him it would suspend him with pay for the last 15 games of the regular season.

“I chose Chicago as a free agent because I wanted to be part of finally bringing a championship to the Cubs’ fans. I expected to have a great season and I am deeply disappointed by my performance and the team’s struggles,” said Bradley, who signed a $30 million, three-year contract during the offseason.

Bradley could have lost over $400,000 in pay had the Cubs chosen to suspend him without pay. But had they done so, the players’ union almost certainly would have filed a grievance challenging that discipline.

So indications were that Cubs management worked out a more informal resolution of the case with Bradley and his agents, Seth and Sam Levinson.

“We’re done,” Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said, according to the Chicago Sun Times. “MLB has notified the union and everybody has signed off and it’s done and Milton has made a statement.”

Bradley was suspended Sunday after he lashed out in a story in the Arlington Daily Herald at the “negativity” emanating from Cubs management and fans, and said: “You understand why they haven’t won for 100 years.”

Bradley said his frustration and disappointment caused him to act in a way he regrets.

“I wish that I handled certain things different and I apologize for those things that did not work out for the better,” he said in a statement. “The air has been cleared, and we all want to move on and look forward to better days.”

Cubs manager Lou Piniella said he appreciated Bradley’s comments.

“I’m happy to see that he issued the statement and apologized,” said Piniella, who clashed with Bradley several times this season. “You know — put that behind us and we just go forward.”

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