Dodgers and Angels Knew of the Risks

To learn how the Dodgers and Angels could find themselves in the thick of playoff races without two of their better hitters, let’s take a look at the real estate listings.

A couple of years ago I saw an ad for a nice-size house priced about $100,000 less than similar places on the Westside. Then I drove by and discovered why: It was close to the Santa Monica Freeway, so close you could hear not only the roaring engines and peeling rubber tires from the passing cars but their turn signals as well. The lesson: Discounts come for a reason.

Which brings us to how Milton Bradley and Jose Guillen came to be a Dodger and an Angel, respectively, and why they aren’t playing right now.

The teams got those players on the cheap. We’re talking sale rack.

And now, after various incidents of tossing baseballs, helmets and now a plastic bottle, we see why. Not that it wasn’t crystal clear before.

There’s a big risk in taking on the problems others will no longer accept. When their problems become your problems, you come up short.

Over the weekend the Angels decided they’d be better off without Guillen -- their second-best power producer this season -- by suspending him for showing up Manager Mike Scioscia after his removal for a pinch-runner.

And Wednesday the Dodgers found out they would be without Bradley -- fourth on the team in home runs and runs batted in -- for their final five games of the regular season. It was Major League Baseball’s punishment for his whacked-out behavior Tuesday night, when he angrily slammed a plastic bottle near the feet of a fan he thought had thrown it on the field, yelled at an umpire and made a scene after that umpire ejected him.

The Dodgers and Angels shouldn’t have worried about these breakdowns or hoped against them. They should have expected them.

“The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior,� said Marc Shatz, a sports psychologist based in Beverly Hills. “Particularly if a player has a history of being out of control, overly aggressive, particularly under stress, that behavior is going to be reverted to once again.

“It doesn’t mean that one can’t give one a second chance. But when provoked, the old personality is going to be manifest most of the time.�

Bradley couldn’t even keep his cool during the mellow days of spring training.

The Indians were so fed up with Bradley after he clashed with Cleveland Manager Eric Wedge, who confronted him for failing to run out a popup that wound up landing in the infield, that they shipped him off to the Dodgers on the eve of the regular season in exchange for a prospect and a player to be determined.

Guillen’s history included a bat-tossing clubhouse blowup in Cincinnati and some very public criticism of the manager in Oakland. That explains how a player with his talent made his way through five teams in his first seven seasons, why he could be had for only $6 million for two years while coming off a career season of a .311 average, 31 home runs and 86 RBIs. Ricky Gutierrez, riding Boston’s bench, makes more than Guillen this year, and Gutierrez has 38 home runs in his 12-year career. Temple basketball Coach John Chaney once used the Atlanta Hawks’ sudden dismissal of Isaiah Rider as a launching point to the topic of head cases. He concluded that you can’t end stupidity. Ever.

“If you see someone who’s stupid and crazy, run away,� he advised.

But instead pro sports teams will embrace anyone who can run fast, jump high or crush a fastball, no matter how nutty they might be. (After Rider wore out his welcome in Atlanta, the Lakers took a chance on him.)

Despite his talent, Guillen has played for six teams since 1997. And the Angels will surely find the next sucker to take him off their hands.

Now the Dodgers have to find somewhere to send Bradley. You can’t count on a player who’s this unpredictable, who’s liable to get himself kicked out at any moment.

You can’t acquire the problem without addressing the problem. On Wednesday, Bradley said he would seek anger management counseling, which is great news but no help to the Dodgers at the moment.

The Angels appear much better equipped to handle the loss of a key player than the Dodgers. Anaheim has Vladimir Guerrero looking MVP-ish again, Troy Glaus back in the lineup, Garret Anderson returning to form, Dallas McPherson living up to the hype and Chone Figgins doing everything else.

Fortunately for the Dodgers, they can probably reach the finish line without Bradley. But if they go on to the postseason, can they rely on him to finish it with them?

He’ll be an even bigger target when they go on the road. If the hometown fans can get under his skin, imagine what will happen in enemy territory.

Which brings us to the topic of fans. As wrong as Bradley was to return the bottle to the stands, the fan was an even worse offender to throw it on the field.

Fans around the league have chucked coins, batteries and even a cellphone at defenseless outfielders. It’s pathetic that so many losers live such miserable lives that they need to justify their existences with physical threats and taunts.

Neither side can win. No matter how much satisfaction you get from belittling a player, at the end of the night he still gets into a nicer car than yours and drives to a nicer home than yours.

And no player could survive the public backlash if he returned the fire on a fan. Ask Texas’ chair-throwing reliever Frank Francisco.

It’ll end badly every time. Just like a team that ignores the flammable outbursts of a player’s past and thinks it won’t get burned itself.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at [email protected]. To read previous columns by Adande, go to latimes.com/adande.

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The Fight Club

Some of the most infamous baseball altercations involving fans and major leaguers:

* Ty Cobb jumps into stands,1912: Yankee fans heckle Detroit’s Cobb daily until he loses his temper, jumps into stands and punches a fan, who had little defense since he had only one hand. Cobb was suspended but was back on the field in a week.

* Babe Ruth chases fan in stands, 1922: Fans boo Ruth after he was called out trying to stretch a single into a double and was ejected for complaining about the call. Ruth mocked the crowd with a bow before a fan called him a “bleeping� bum. Ruth jumped on the dugout roof and chased the heckler, who ran away. Ruth returned to the dugout roof and yelled to the stands: “Come on down and fight! Anyone who wants to fight, come down on the field! Ah, you’re all alike, you’re all yellow!� Ruth was given a short suspension and a $200 fine.

* Fans attack Jimmy Piersall, 1961: Two Yankee fans come out of the center field stands to attack Cleveland’s Piersall, who knocked down one with a punch, prompting the other to run away. No penalties were assessed. In fact, Yankee fans cheered Piersall as he left the field.

* Reggie Smith fights Giant fan, 1981: The Dodger outfielder takes abuse from Candlestick Park fans before he loses his temper, runs into the stands and begins fighting a fan. Adjacent fans help fight off Smith, prompting Dodgers to come to his rescue and escalate the incident into a Dodgers vs. Giant fans brawl. Smith was ejected, eight fans were charged with misdemeanors and the original heckler was hospitalized after a short jail stay.

* Atlanta fans join beanball war, 1984: A beanball war involving Atlanta and San Diego escalated into brawls in the second, fifth, eighth and ninth innings. A fan got into the act when he slammed a mug of beer on Kurt Bevacqua’s head, prompting the Padre to climb onto the dugout in pursuit before policemen stepped in the way. Braves Chris Chambliss and Jerry Royster tangled with another unruly fan, prompting more ruckuses in the stands. Five fans left the game in handcuffs, both managers were ejected and 12 players were ejected.

* Albert Belle hits fan with baseball, 1991: Fan yells out sarcastic invitation to Belle, “Hey, Joey, keg party at my place after the game.� Besides his displeasure for being called “Joey,� Belle had spent the off-season in an alcohol rehabilitation program. So Belle responded by picking up a ball and throwing it at the fan, sitting approximately 15 feet away. The ball struck the fan in the chest, leaving a huge welt. Belle was suspended for a week and fined.

* Brewer fan attacks Bill Spiers, 1999: Milwaukee fan runs out of right-field stands and attacks Houston’s Bill Spiers, a former Brewer. Teammates help to fight off the fan but not before Spiers was bloodied, bruised and suffered whiplash from the attack. The fan was arrested on charges of battery and disorderly conduct.

* Dodger bullpen rumbles with Cub fans, 2000: Cub fans were showering the Dodger bullpen with beer and tried to steal the cap of Chad Kreuter. The catcher retaliates by going into the stands, with coaches John Shelby and Rick Dempsey right behind. Nine days after the melee, 16 players and three coaches were suspended.

* Fans attack first-base coach, 2002: A man and his 15-year-old son attack Kansas City coach Tom Gamboa in the ninth inning. The two were charged with aggravated battery and mob action. The father was sentenced to 30 months probation and the son five years. Gamboa suffered permanent hearing loss from the beating.

* Fan goes after Brian Jordan, 2003: As team trainers tended to Eric Gagne, who had tried to bare hand a grounder up the middle, a fan rushed onto the Dodger Stadium field and headed toward left fielder Brian Jordan. Center fielder Jason Romano sprinted toward Jordan and intercepted the fan, punching and body-slamming the man as Dodger security personnel rushed to the scene. The fan was arrested and charged with trespassing.

* Texas Ranger throws chair at fan, 2004: Texas pitcher Frank Francisco throws a bullpen chair into the stands in response to heckling from Oakland fans, whose seats are only a few feet from the visitor bullpen. The chair struck two fans, breaking the nose of one. A ruckus ensued, causing a 19-minute delay of the game. No players were ejected and no fans arrested. Francisco was suspended for 15 games, a teammate was suspended for seven games and another teammate and a coach for five.

Researched by Athan Atsales