Today we bring the first edition of King of the Castle. This week’s competitors are Cap’n Obvious and Koby, two frequent commentors on the site. The judging has already taken place by our fabulous panel of judges, and the winner will be announced tomorrow. The winner will stay on to challenge the next person. If you’re interested in participating in this, please let me know in the comment section and I’ll get up with you to put you on the list. Let’s get to this week’s question:

Q: This past off-season, Jim Hendry had the option of pursuing Milton Bradley, Raul Ibanez and Bobby Abreu to fill Lou’s need for a lefty bat in the middle of the order. Convince us why it was the right move to get Bradley.

Entry # 1 – Cap’n Obvious

Well, Bradley is younger. Whereas one might believe that the argument could end there, I will delve a little deeper in to the statistics in an attempt to make the argument for Milton. I am very happy that I did not have to defend against Adam Dunn, who has super-human powers and apparently some pictures of Sherm in compromising positions. I digress. Currently, Bradley has raised his average to .244 and has an OBP of .385, which is actually HIGHER than that bum Ibanez, who brings his OBP in at a pedestrian .368. Ibanez, whom a great many fools pushed into the all-star game, has 19 more homeruns and 49 more RBI than Bradley, but a look deeper inside these numbers shows that Ibanez has inflated power numbers due to having roughly 50 more plate appearances than Bradley. All Bradley needs to do is average an RBI per at bat and a homerun every 3 AB over the next 50 plate appearances, and he’s right there. Ibanez also has the luxury of hitting behind Rollins, Victorino, Utley, and Howard, which makes his job quite a bit easier than Bradley, who is forced to hit behind Lee and Ramirez, who we all know are crapola. Umpires league-wide routinely hold on-field love-in’s for Ibanez, complete with tie-dye blue uniforms, while we all know that they are all out to screw our dear Milton.

The Abreu argument is easier, as Abreu is closer to being completely washed up at 35. Abreu has had the good fortune to have played 9 games at DH so far this season, which Milton will tell you, can inflate one’s batting average by at least .100 points. Abreu’s age is listed at 35, but as a Venezuelan born player, I think we can all agree that he is really about 62. While I think that his 68 RBI and .414 OBP are really good for a guy 62, what happens when he turns 63? No way he can keep it up another year.

Where Bradley truly shines is in the clubhouse and as a teammate. He is injured every day, yet he makes his way to the ballpark and puts in at least a 60% effort every day out there. I mean, sure he is earning a couple million bucks more than Abreu this season, but Abreu made almost $16 mil last year, so it isn’t like he needs the dough. Ibanez actually will earn about $200k more than Milton. If that savings can be somehow attributed to the Cubs keeping Randy Wells, whose minimum salary of about $6.6 million less than Bradley this season, could have been offset by the extra dough the Phillies are wasting on Ibanez, it is money well saved. Seriously, where would the Cubs be without Wells? I am sure Bradley’s veteran leadership in showing younger players how to effectively deal with umpires and keep their wives in line is invaluable, certainly making up for any on-field deficiencies. While every umpire in the league is focused on screwing Bradley, who incidentally is second only to eagle-eyed Kosuke Fukudome on the Cubs in walks, they aren’t focused as much on screwing the Cubs productive hitters. Milton is a flawless baserunner, and his head is always in the game. He would never forget the number of outs or fail to run out a flyball. With all the trade rumors swirling about Bradley near the deadline, Hendry is free to shop younger and more talented Cubs players without the media nosing around and upsetting that apple cart. The guy has value beyond words.

It is my sincere hope that Hendry the Great can convince the 41 year old Gary Sheffield to stave off retirement for another year and become a Cub next season, which will assure us of a devastating right field platoon and make the Cubs a shoo-in to have a right fielder receive MLB Man of the Year honors.

Entry # 2 – Koby

Looking at the move today compared to where we were this offseason is not going to help here. So let’s go back to January, when the Cubs signed him (a full month before the Angels inked Abreu), and look at the stats.

I’m very much a stats guy. Offensively, they were comparable, but Bradley stood out over the other two. He was coming off a career year with a .999 OPS after working with Rudy Jaramillo, who turned Derosa into a good hitter during his time in Texas. Neither Abreu or Ibanez had ever had a year close to that. Defensively, he rates as better than both Abreu and Ibanez. Abreu had seen his RZR (thanks to Hardball Times) drop each of the past two years in RF. Ibanez saw a jump in his from 07 to 08, but that was in LF. As for arms, Abreu’s was below average three of the last four years, while Ibanez was just average for left (where arm strength is much less important) during the same time. Bradley had the best range of the bunch when playing (more to come later) and at least an average arm. This offseason saw the rebirth of thoughts of defense wins championships, as the Mariners and Tigers have both seen their fortunes bettered by defensive changes this year, much like the Rays the year before.

Another important point from the offseason is the age factor. Bradley was entering his age 31 season, while Abreu is 35 and Ibanez 37. This winter, the older players were not signing long-term deals on the whole, with Ibanez being one of the few exceptions. Baseball execs were looking to get their teams younger.

Ah, the when he was playing part, that’s what has many people up in arms. Bradley did have a reputation for being hurt a lot. With age figured in, you could think the other two were bound to break down soon too. Abreu had rarely missed a game, while Ibanez had missed some time twice over the past five years to injury. Bradley, well documented, played in over 100 games just twice from 2004-08. That did include 2008, but he spent all of 18 games in the field. While the other two were reliable, sometimes that takes more of a toll on you, especially in your later years.

The other major complaint against Milton was his temperament. He’d had run-ins with fans and umps before. The other two had never had problems outside, but the Phillies had questioned Abreu’s drive and leadership in his time there. I have no argument on Ibanez’s character though.

So with age and defensive thoughts surging during the offseason, not to mention the previous year’s offensive exploits, Bradley looked to be the best bet on the field. With Derrek Lee and Lou in the clubhouse, the Cubs made the bet they could keep his temper in check.