A rumor has been floating around for a week or two that says that the Cubs are going to keep Milton Bradley.  The rumor has gained some buzz in the last few days and seems to be getting stronger.

As best I can tell, there are two reasons for this rumor.  The first is obvious: Milton Bradley is owed $21 million over the next two years and few teams are interested in trading for him.  Worse yet, of those teams that are interested in trading for him, none are interested in picking up Bradley’s entire contract.  Can you blame the Cubs (and new owner Tom Ricketts) for thinking that keeping Bradley may be a good idea?

The second thing fueling the “Bradley is going to stay” rumor is the Cubs interest in hitting coach Rudy Jamarillo.  Bradley thrived under Jamarillo’s tutelage in Texas in 2008, so there could be a connection.  Also, the Cubs are reportedly offering Jaramillo $750,000 – $800,000 per year to be their hitting coach.  It would make Jaramillo the highest paid coach in MLB.  It’s a lot of money, but it’s a lot cheaper than eating a substantial portion of Bradley contract.

If I could, I would simply pick up the phone and ask Jim Hendry what he is thinking.  Of course, I can’t because we haven’t spoken ever since “Big Jim” stiffed me on a bet we made last year.  It still upsets me and I’d rather not talk about it.  Please stop asking.

Anyway, the next best thing is to ask one of the reporters that covers the team.  If I had my choice, that reporter would be Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Bruce Miles is the best thing going when it comes to reporters covering the Cubs.  Miles sat down recently for an interview with Dylan at AnotherCubsBlog.net.  Although they didn’t specifically cover the possibility of Bradley staying with the Cubs, Miles did say:

“All I’ve heard is that Hendry is talking with two or three teams, and I’m sure he’d like to create the perception of a market for Bradley so maybe he can get something decent in return or not have to eat all of the money. Some team is likely to take a chance on Bradley.”

That leads me to believe that Miles is either not hearing the rumors about Bradley staying with the Cubs or he doesn’t take them seriously.  If there was talk on the organizational level about Bradley remaining a Cub, Miles certainly would have mentioned it.

Depending on how you look at Milton Bradley, you either see a guy with a tremendous upside (based on his 2008 performance in Texas) or you see a guy who is a headcase and a clubhouse cancer.  Either way, the truth is that one can’t be separated from the other.  In 2009 the Cubs found out the negative impact one player can have in their clubhouse.  Do they really want to try it again in 2010?

I have no doubt that Tom Ricketts doesn’t want to start his reign as Cubs owner by paying $10 or $12 million (or whatever the final price might be) to make Milton go away.  I can understand.  But I hope he listens to his baseball people who tell him that paying Milty to go away is addition by subtraction.  I hope Ricketts understands that 2010 is going to be the fans first impression of the new Cubs owner.  First impressions are hard to overcome.  If the fans’ first impression of Ricketts is of a guy who gave Cubs fans a repeat of the 2009 experience in 2010 because he couldn’t bare the thought of paying someone else to take Bradley, then I’m afraid he’s in for a difficult tenure as head of the Cubs.