Choakland dumps Boardgame

This comes a bit as surprise...then again, maybe not. The Oakland A's have designated Milton Bradley for assignment and called up infielder Kevin Melillo from Triple-A Sacramento.

This move strikes me as interesting because, on the infrequent occasions when he is healthy, Bradley can be a very productive player. His line of 276/370/447 was second-best on the 2006 team only to Frank "Big Hurt" Thomas, and Bradley's 14 HR and 52 RBI was fourth behind Eric "I used to be compared to Barry Bonds" Chavez, Frank Thomas, and Nick Swisher.

There could be two reasons why the A's would go so far as the DFA Bradley:

1. The three trips Bradley has had on the disabled list this season.

2. Bradley finally became a clubhouse poison he had the potential to be. Boardgame has a long history of "altercations" with his teammates and managers. The Indians traded him to the Dodgers after he fought with manager Eric Wedge. In 2004, he threw back a beer bottle that had been thrown at him from the stands. In 2005, he accused Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent of discriminating against African-Americans.

The A's clubhouse is famously low-key. The closest Boardgame has previously come to an incident in Oakland is an argument with hitting coach Gerald Perry, after Boardgame spilled coffee on starting pitcher Esteban Loaiza. If there had been an incident in the clubhouse, odds are that the press would have caught wind of it.

However, according to the San Jose Mercury News, Bradley was involved in an incident on-field just yesterday. In his final at-bat, Boardgame argued balls and strikes with home plate umpire Tim Timmons after taking a called third strike. After A's manager Bob Geren came onto the field to take up the discussion, Boardgame went back into the clubhouse, throwing chairs down the stairs leading to the dugout while serving up a storm of swear-words.

It's possible that Billy Beane and the A's front office intended to keep Bradley on a short-leash, planning on dumping him soon after he provoked some sort of incident.

What has likely made the A's more willing to dump Bradley, however, is the introduction of catching prospect Kurt Suzuki to the show. Recently, Bob Geren has been putting the well-hitting Suzuki behind the plate while putting erstwhile catcher Jason Kendall in the outfield. With Mike Piazza coming back from the DL in the near future, Kendall will have to play in the outfield so long as he continues to have his own hitting streak. Between Kendall, Jack Cust, Mark Kotsay and Nick Swisher, there is little room left for Bradley.

Billy Beane is supposed to have a press conference in an hour to discuss Boardgame's designation. We'll have to see what line he takes on the matter.

Update (Hat tip to Rotoworld): Milton Bradley was designated for assignment Thursday after expressing his discontent Tuesday that the A's waited a couple of extra days to activate him from the DL.

The A's apparently didn't think Bradley would respond well to sitting two or three times per week to accomodate their crowded outfield and decided to act now rather than wait for any further blowups. The A's have until the end of the month to trade Bradley after dropping him from the roster. If they can't find a deal, he can decline a minor league assignment and become a free agent. Expect a trade to get done.