The Heckler: I read somewhere that you kind of put Milton Bradley on the spot after a game last year and it led to his best rant as a Cub. Is there any truth to that? And if so, can you tell me how it went?
Wittenmyer: Me? I honestly don't remember if I did that. He had so many good rants, it's hard to say which was his best. The only thing I can think of is the one in September when he took himself out of the game and caused all that confusion. I told him I thought it looked strange, and he reacted strongly, but he was already about 15 "What else you got?"-s into a rant by then.

It seemed like everybody had a turn at pissing him off with a question or a comment last summer. The other beat writers told me at the Winter Meetings they thought he disliked me the most, so maybe that's what you're hearing. But Bradley told Sully he tricked him after a story from a one-on-one interview ran in the Trib, and Bruce Miles had the final-straw interview that coincided with the Von Joshua dustup and led to his season-ending suspension. So, clearly, as I'm sure Bradley would tell you himself, it was the entire Chicago media that was out to get him.

TH: What percentage of the blame for last season falls on Bradley? And where do you put the rest of the blame?
GW: I think Carlos Zambrano's mediocre season and the way he handled his back spasm injury in August was the single biggest reason the Cubs couldn't get over 90 wins and back in the playoffs. Second to that was the lineup's overall face plant, with Geovany Soto and Alfonso Soriano the biggest offenders.

But all that said, Bradley's negative influence was palpable. I've never seen one guy's approach and personality have so much impact on a team's bottom line in 13 seasons covering four Major League teams. By approach, I mean things like looking for walks in RBI situations with less than two outs, when putting the ball in play should  have been the objective. Think back to all those one-run and extra-inning losses the first half of the season. At one point late in the summer, he came up in one of those situations, and I bet Miles a buck the bat wouldn't leave his shoulder. I lost the bet, but only because he took five straight before swinging at a 3-2 pitch and grounding out.

Teammates noticed and privately talked about the same thing. Teammates also got tired of trying to befriend him, encourage him, kick him in the ass, only to have him do things like eat his pregame meals by himself in the trainer's room. None of that probably makes a difference if the rest of the team's healthy and hitting and pitching. But with the team struggling, he became just one more exhausting hassle to overcome.

On second thought, blame it all on Bradley.

TH: Prior to the Cubs, you were a beat writer for the Twins and Mariners. Compare those teams and experiences with your time in Chicago thus far.
GW: Other than the whole Kingdome/Metrodome vs. Wrigley thing, it was pretty much the same, even down to the manager in Seattle. Of course, I never had to worry about the Mariners (in 1997-98) or Twins being involved much in the free agent markets when I covered them. And the Cubs draw 3 million fans a year and that every time they sneeze or grunt it's national news. And their road games usually have more Cubs fans than home fans in the stadium.

And the Mariners would never acquire a player like Bradley ...

TH:Were you surprised he wound up in Seattle? Did you give any advice to any baseball people there you still keep in touch with?
GW: The surprising thing was that somebody was willing to include a reasonable amount of money in the deal. But I figured somebody in the ALwould think that Bradley would be a fit if he came cheaply enough.

I talked a little bit to Mariners president] Chuck Armstrong at the Winter Meetings about him, and at the time he wanted no part of Bradley. But haven't talked to the M's people since the trade.

I did tell a couple of the Seattle writers to have fun with Milton. And tell him I said hi.

TH: A lot of people who work often at Wrigley (like Ozzie Guillen) dog on the conditions. What's it like in the press box and clubhouse? Any funny stories relating to the cramped quarters?
GW: I look at it kind of like the first day I worked an Indy 500 qualifying round years ago when I covered auto racing. I was the last one at the Speedway when I finished that night and took a few minutes to walk across the bricks at the start-finish line and then sit on the wall, soaking in the scene. Wrigley's the same kind of place, and I've had several of the same kind of moments there since I started covering the Cubs. But that's not to say the place isn't a dump. I have one of the best seats in the press box, and it's still cramped and outdated. There's no convenient, reliably quick way to get from the press box to the clubhouse level, and you have to leave before the final out to avoid getting stuck in the crowd.

My shit gets wet when it rains. My fingers get stiff in the cold during the first homestand every season. I'm out of breath from the ramps and stairs by the time I get to my computer before a game (OK, that one's on me). But I hope the team never changes any of it.

TH: What do you think is in store for the 2010 Cubs?
GW: They'll catch the ball better. They'll hit the ball better (they can't hit it worse). And, if they're lucky, they'll pitch about the same; maybe a little better in the ninth. The over-under is probably 90 wins. And I think the players who will have the most to say about whether the Cubs are back in the playoffs are Carlos Zambrano and Matt Holliday.

TH: If you were a Cubs fan, what would have you excited for the upcoming season?
GW: Carlos Silva's campaign for Comeback Player of the Year? Ted Lilly's shoulder rehab? The team's efforts to replace Aaron Miles? There's obviously a lot to look forward to in 2010.

But the two most exciting things to watch this season could be how Carlos Marmol handles the closer role (not to mention how many save chances he gets, especially early) and whether minor-league phenom Starlin Castro makes his big-league debut this year (not to mention whether he's any better than the Pattersons and Pies before him).

TH: What do you make of their off-season so far? Do you anticipate any more big news?
GW: You dump Milton Bradley and get somebody to kick in $6 million over the salary differences in the trade? That's more impressive than the Soriano and Fukudome signings combined.

Obviously, there wasn't going to be a big splash (besides pushing Bradley overboard) this winter with the limited payroll flexibility. But to get the second-choice center fielder available (basically for the money, in 2010, that Seattle included in the Bradley-Silva deal) wasn't bad. And signing hitting guru Rudy Jaramillo and new GM assistant Greg Maddux won't hurt.

I expect Hendry to add another veteran reliever, probably in a trade, before spring training. But unless he gets a bargain on a starting pitcher, what you've seen is probably what you get. Regardless, consider it this way: Whether the Cubs win or lose this season will have little to do with what Hendry and his boys did this winter and almost everything to do with what's been done the past three.

TH: Who have been your most and least favorite players or coaches to interview and work with?
GW: I'm told by the other writers that I missed the tough-clubhouse era, which supposedly hit its peak in '04. I had Prior briefly in '07, and he was prickly. But most of the guys since then (with one notable '09 exception) have been great. Especially Soriano, who not only is good to work with for reporters but who also is an upbeat tone-setter in the clubhouse.

I also like Theriot a lot; Dempster and Lee are in a class by themselves; Marmol has a great sense of humor and personality that started to break through last season; and Lilly and Ramirez are unsung leaders and go-to guys. Zambrano seems to conduct himself by his own set of rules, and that sometimes spills over into petulance when he's publicly criticized.

My favorites who aren't with the team anymore nclude Henry Blanco and Jacque Jones--both of whom I also covered in Minnesota--along with Scott Eyre, Cliff Floyd, Jason Marquis and everybody's favorite, Mark DeRosa. Torii Hunter and Johan Santana top the list of favorite players I've covered with other teams for any length of time.

And Tom Kelly tops all players, coaches and managers I've covered on the "Bite-me"-list.

TH: What's the mood like among your cohorts at the Sun-Times? Think the Sun-Times and newspapers in general will be able to right the ship? What do you think the future holds for all the talented and hard-working newspaper men and women out there?
GW: The mood improved a lot with our sale a few months ago. But nobody's doing handstands over the continuation of pay cuts, unpaid vacation or the possibility of more job cuts in our beleaguered industry. But we still have a newspaper, and colleagues at two of my former papers (King County Journal, Seattle Post-Intelligencer) can't say the same thing. My son Spencer is 15, a sports nut and a two-sport athlete who, outside of baseball, knows more about what's going on in sports than I do. And yet even though his dad's a
newspaper writer, he doesn't read the paper, which makes him just like the other kids he goes to school with.That worries me. But I still believe we can right the ship. People still like to read. They buy books. They like to take something tangible with them on the train or in the bathroom (can't take your computer in there). They use coupons. We still provide daily content that's unique to our media form. Maybe I don't have much choice, but I have faith. I also still listen to cassette tapes.

TH: If you were to write your own Heckler article, what would the headline be?
GW: Sources: Bradley to blame for recession, war in Iraq.

From the January 2010 issue by Brad Zibung