Storytime - You Could Call It "A Winters Tale"
The true story of Steve and Ned begins when they were classmates in Kindergarten. Steve had problems controlling his temper and Ned was a cunning little devil who liked to get others in trouble. As they went through Elementary school together, three things became strikingly evident: Steve was big, Steve was strong, and if you got him mad Steve would punch you before he knew what he done. Ned knew how to get under Steve’s skin better than anyone and Steve spent more than a few days at home for incidents Ned crafted. A sleeping lion, woken up, could be called “predictable”; Steve, at a private school, could be called “easy bait”.
One thing that really stood out about Steve was his absolute honesty. Very few kids, when confronted with a conflict, will be 100% truthful and thorough about the parts that make them look bad. But from Steve you always got an exact account of what happened. “Ned called me a freak, and I walked away because I don’t want to get suspended again, but Ned followed me, and I said ‘get away from me you b***’ (I know I shouldn’t have said that but I did), and then Ned got in my face and I punched him.” Ned would deny Steve’s version, and it took a while for his lies to catch up to him—Ned was clever and he was never caught, by an adult or a bystander, doing anything wrong.
All the teachers liked Steve, and all the administrators liked him. All the adults in Steve’s life were rooting for him, and yet you just can’t punch kids at our school and Steve punched kids—and he was the biggest, strongest kid in the class, by far. We also knew that Steve simply had to learn how to control his temper, somehow, or he was likely to land in jail someday. Steve’s teachers said, sincerely, that they really wanted him to succeed. All Steve said he wanted was the one thing he couldn’t get: He said he just wanted to be left alone.
Despite the school’s efforts to support him and keep giving him “one more one more chance,” by the middle of 5th grade Steve was on his 2.99999th strike—one more physically aggressive incident, he was told, and he would have to be expelled. Word spread among the 5th grade class. Just days later, Steve erupted again and knocked Ned to the ground in response to something Ned said or did. Ned bounced up and made a bee-line for the Headmaster. “That’s his third strike,” Ned said trimphantly. “He’s expelled, right?”
The Headmaster thought it over. “No,” he decided. “Ned, you know Steve is a ‘sleeping lion’ and you chose, willfully, to prod him with a stick. Steve may have difficulties controlling his temper but you did something far worse, because you baited him with full control of your actions. Now one thing I know about Steve is he is utterly honest. Steve will not be expelled and furthermore, if there is ever another incident where Steve loses his temper, if Steve tells me that you provoked him, you will be expelled.” Steve and Ned both graduated from 8th grade at our school and there was never another incident between them.
All of which is to say that the situation with Milton Bradley and Mike Winters is, if nothing else, undoubtedly full of many more complexities than meet the eye.
0 recs |
37 comments
Comments
The way I see it
three grown men missed their opportunities to behave like adults. Winters could have kept his mouth shut instead of tattling to the homeplate ump about the alleged "bat flip," since the time to react to it had passed. The homeplate ump could have kept his mouth shut since he obviously hadn't seen anything that offended him. Bradley could have kept his mouth shut about what Winters said to the homeplate ump (you're right, this does sound like playground nonsense) since the alleged "bat flip" was ancient history by then. But every one of these "adults" took the opportunity to escalate the situation. Disappointing but not surprising from guys who make a living playing a game.
by kkdaz on Sep 28, 2007 9:09 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
but mikeA/God *told* me to bait the lion!
by monkeyball on Sep 28, 2007 9:10 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Oh, THANK GOD!
Finally, a post where the Bradley/Winters incident can be discussed!
by Poppy on Sep 28, 2007 9:19 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Sure, but c'mon Poppy
Isn't it inappropriate to publish Ned and Steve's last names?
by AsFanInLA on Sep 28, 2007 10:03 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
HAHAHA
I never thought in a million year trading off Bradley would make Billy look good. Once again I was wrong.
MORE IMPORTANTLY!!! I can only hope for next years A's commercials to include Barton in some cheezy Bart add like.... What does Daric love about the Bay Area?! BART because it saves him a TON!!!!!!
sigh I miss the "Frat Clubhouse" days of the A's.
Can anyone else think of a good A's comercial for next year?
by asfan777 on Sep 28, 2007 10:32 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Donnie Murphy in an Amtrak "Capitol Corridor" ad
by Poppy on Sep 28, 2007 10:39 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Good one!
Or a remake of the introduction surgical scene in the "The Six Million Dollar Man" with various A's players starring as Steve Austin.
by alox on Sep 28, 2007 10:42 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
With the lead pipe
by oblique on Sep 28, 2007 11:58 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
more likely about the joys of
driving to a game on 880
by OaklandSi on Sep 28, 2007 10:51 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I suppose....
...one can dig around and find the complexities you speak of, and I might even agree, if someone could point them out. What I see, however, is a very talented man, probably well above average when he decides he can play, who is wasting his talents. The reasons are for him to figure out - with professional help if he needs it. All I know is that there are hundreds of other men in the major leagues with less talent that do have the self-discipline to behave themselves and the sense of responsibility to fulfill their contracts. I say it again. If he continues this path, he won't be in the major leagues much longer.
by doubleplayer on Sep 28, 2007 11:20 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Nico,
I mean I thought you had a job, a regular day job, but did they let you go? Its okay, it happens.
by ak_A on Sep 28, 2007 11:37 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Interesting way of putting it...
But there are also times when someone is just a bad guy, plain and simple.
by OaktownPower on Sep 28, 2007 11:37 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
The point that hit home for me...
...was that Ned and Steve were in elementary school.
Which was about the age that Winters and Bradley were acting.
Bottom line...if you have a reputation as a hot head with a temper, people ARE going to push your buttons. Sometimes accidentally, sometimes for fun, for spite, or just to get a reaction.
Somewhere along the line, they HAVE to learn self-control, or they will never be able to live a life free of strife.
Life Lesson: People are always going to be jerks. Your quality of life depends not on how nice people are to you, but by how you react to negative situations.
by baseballgirl on Sep 28, 2007 11:58 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
very nice, bbg....i always like what u say...
by littleA on Sep 28, 2007 12:56 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
that's true for Milton
now, what about the umpire?
by OaklandSi on Sep 28, 2007 1:27 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Fire him!
As a major league umpire, you can't just haul off and call players POS's...EVEN if you happen to think they are.
It's part of your job not to react, and certainly not to affect the game in a negative way. Winters was out of line and should be fired.
But that would have been clearer to see if Milton wasn't acting about six.
by baseballgirl on Sep 28, 2007 2:24 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Ok, forgive me if I'm just being dense
but is this a parable, or something that actually happened?
by PaulThomas on Sep 28, 2007 12:06 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
A true story from several years ago...
Interestingly enough, as fate would have it, both Ned and Steve were booked into jail last night. Steve for assault with a deadly weapon when he found his wife in bed with another woman. Ned got popped on securities violations for insider trading.
by alox on Sep 28, 2007 12:54 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
It's a true story
with the names changed (to protect the indolent).
by Nico on Sep 28, 2007 1:57 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Indolent?!?
Doesn't that mean "lazy or indifferent"?
I'm so confused right now.
by PaulThomas on Sep 28, 2007 5:16 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
If this one
starts to get as hyperbolic and thickheaded as the other 3 or 4... I don't care how much work I have to neglect until Monday, I will devote the next two and a half hours to hijacking the hell out of this thread.
by Poppy on Sep 28, 2007 12:12 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I was just about to
compare Ned to Hitler, lambaste AN for fearing what Steve represents, and criticize the Headmaster for trading Andre Ethier.
But in deference to your line in the sand, I'll let it go.
by 74mk on Sep 28, 2007 12:25 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
No, I agree wholeheartedly with all those points,
so it's okay. Go ahead.
by Poppy on Sep 28, 2007 12:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
somebody get Oz in here
by ArakSOT on Sep 28, 2007 12:49 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I love Barry Bonds and want him on the A's
by monkeyball on Sep 28, 2007 4:57 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
The first base coach
The one thing which makes me think Winters stepped over some line was the actions of the first base coach. The coach started going towards the umpire before even Bradley did.
by chri5 on Sep 28, 2007 1:24 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
So what do we think Principal Selig will do?
Sounds like our two boys figured stuff out but really, will we see any disciplinary action against the umpires? If nothing happens, you can imagine that Bradley won't be long for this league as he will be bated by all of "Ned's friends". But that would be a sad commentary as MB isn't the rottenest apple out of the bunch of bad characters in MLB.
by Gerard on Sep 28, 2007 1:39 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I think Bradley should be excused from the game
for one year and be forced to go for therapy. This will help him sign on with another team in 2009. Next year all of the umps will be so on him, and noone will sign him anyway, so why not? Save his life before he hurts someone besides himself and goes to prison for a long time. Just a counselors opinion. It really is incredible how Beane always comes up smelling like a rose in all of his deals. I'm glad he's ours!
by A'sfansince1970 on Sep 28, 2007 3:09 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
How do you figure
Beane "smells like a rose?" What, this happens if Bradley's on Oakland, too? Are we in the playoff chase as well? Nope, Beane still looks bad for giving away our best player for peanuts ... I don't care how he acts, or how often he plays.
And the "prison" reference? Ridiculous.
by Vacafan on Sep 28, 2007 3:48 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
OK, the "our best player" thing
needs to stop. Now.
There's no excuse for it. None. He has never been the best player on any team he's ever been on. Home runs, OPS, VORP, RBI, whatever whack statistic you come up with-- Milton Bradley has never led any team in anything other than DL visits. You could put him on literally any team in major league baseball and he would not be the best player. There are many AAA teams on which he would not be the best player. If he were on the A's right now, he would be worse than:
Swisher
Cust
Haren
Blanton
Street
Buck
Barton
Ellis
at least. Somehow "giving away our 9th best player for peanuts" doesn't sound nearly as impressive, does it? Not even to go into the fact that it wasn't peanuts.
Present some evidence for your farcical assertions or stop making them.
by PaulThomas on Sep 28, 2007 5:28 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Temper will get the best of me
Really, I just want to understand why this keeps being said. It doesn't add up for me.
by PaulThomas on Sep 28, 2007 5:56 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Agree with you on your point
I probably wouldn't have said anything near as factual or eloquent as you did though. But I have a major problem with anyone who doesn't play significantly (with a history of it) as the best player on the team. Before he went chronic, I felt Harden was our best pitcher, now he may be great when he plays, be he's far from our best.
by DMOAS on Sep 28, 2007 6:11 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
That cat is upset
..because even with that 20% off any single item coupon at Bed Bath & Beyond, everything's still insanely overpriced.
by JediLeroy on Sep 28, 2007 7:14 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs





















