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Living in a modern society where the viable threat of terror is an unfortunate reality, it creates a solid barrier, that the small everyday problems we as human beings have to deal with are not such a big deal.

The harmful reality is, there are issues out there, that are thousands of times worse, than certain problems such as a batting slump, a outside ball that the umpire counts as a strike, or an ejection from a baseball game. Yet, someone forgot to mention this to Los Angeles Dodgers centerfielder Milton Bradley.

I'm not here to harp and moan about the problems we face in the world today. This is a sports column, on a sports website. To me, sports serves as a recreation or escape from our everyday lives. It is always fun to cheer and harp about our favorite teams or players, yet when any issue from sports becomes such an issue that it makes you lose all sense of reality, whether you are a fan or player, then that certainly would be out of line.

The nonsense that Milton Bradley displayed on the field Tuesday night in Milwaukee was embarrassing and utterly stupid on his part. Bradley was to lead-off the bottom of the sixth inning on Tuesday night when home plate umpire, Terry Craft, warned Bradley not to argue his calls from the dugout.

Bradley took exception, and began to argue with the umpire once again, which resulted in his ejection from the game. Following this incident, Bradley storms to the dugout, picks up a bag of baseballs, recklessly empties the balls from the bag onto the field, and throws a ball towards the leftfield warning track.

Bob Watson, the vice president of discipline for MLB, suspended Bradley for only four games. What I would love to know is, why only four games? Why not six or seven ... or eight? The conduct displayed on the field Tuesday night certainly must not be acceptable. While the actions of Bradley alone did not seem to pose any threat to the safety of the fans or players, it did cause for fans from left field to throw debris onto the field, which is not safe. The game was further delayed because of this.

I do not condone under any circumstance, in which any fan or group of fans throw debris onto the field, court, or rink. Being as that may, the actions of Bradley caused that outbreak of debris to be thrown onto the field. Young children, watching the game at home, see this by Bradley, and perhaps begin to think this type of conduct is acceptable.

To further stir up the heat, Dodgers manager Jim Tracy came out afterwards and started arguing with umpire crew chief, Joe West, for provoking Bradley. Tracy also was ejected, and later suspended one game and fined for his involvement.

The Dodgers' front office is defending the actions of Bradley and Tracy, and will not issue any further punishment. Dodgers general manager, Paul DePodesta, expresses no anger on the tirade that his centerfielder had. DePodesta, certainly aware of Bradley's mood problems, was quoted as saying that he would take nine Milton Bradleys if he could.

Bradley has shown signs of mood signs in the past, one of which prompted a pre-season trade this year, from Cleveland to Los Angeles. Bradley had a run-in with Indians manager Eric Wedge, which prompted Bradley to demand a trade.

Bradley has been an okay acquisition for the Dodgers this season, and when thinking back on it, the Dodger front office must be thinking if Bradley was worth the risk. Bradley has been playing semi-hurt the past five weeks suffering from a sprained ankle. Despite that minor setback, Bradley is hitting. 271 with 7 HRs, and 22 RBIs, and 25 runs scored.

Bradley is expected to appeal the suspension, and probably get one game knocked off. Three or four games are not enough.

As I stated at my opening, there are far worse occurrences in life than to get so worked up about an occurrence from a ballgame. If Bradley and Tracy believed the umpires were only out to provoke him, then there are other alternatives to do something about it. I'm not excusing the umpires, if they indeed were out to provoke Bradley, as I myself believe there are some umpires who hold grudges, and are out not in the fairness of the game.

I think Watson could have really sent out a strong message to the entire league, that this behavior by Bradley will not be tolerated. I would have suspended Bradley for six games. That would make Bradley miss a week worth of baseball, assuming the Dodger's have at least one off day. Even with only a three- or four-game suspension, perhaps, Bradley will simmer down and realize there are worse things in life to worry about. In the mean time, it's game over for Milton Bradley.

On a personal note, this is my debut article at this website. I would like to thank Marc James for giving me this opportunity, and I really look forward to being a part of this great website. I will be browsing through the message boards often, interacting with the readers of this website. Feedback, whether positive or negative, is welcomed and appreciated.

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