BRADLEY CAUGHT WAY OFF BASE.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

ST. LOUIS - Milton in the Middle.

The good news for the Dodgers this time is Milton Bradley did not completely lose his cool. Did not scream, take off half his uniform in public or berate the fans in a profanity-filled tirade.

This time he played protagonist, offending a veteran team beat writer with a profoundly personal attack that led to a wild, emotional outburst from the reporter.

That caused an explosive scene in the clubhouse of a team that desperately needs to focus on winning Game 2 of their divisional playoff series tonight against the powerful Cardinals.

Instead, once more, it is Milton in the Middle.

Stirring it up, creating an ill-timed and completely unnecessary controversy, disrupting a team that should be finely honing its attention on a game it very badly needs to win.

But it's Milton in the Middle.

A distraction the Dodgers should not have to suffer.

One game back from his suspension after having a plastic beer bottle thrown in his direction in right field, picking up the bottle, confronting the fans and then firing it into the stands, he is once more at the center of a storm.

If the Dodgers had suspended him for the rest of the entire season, as they should have instead of taking the easy way out by allowing Major League Baseball to determine his discipline, none of this would have happened.

Bradley has a well-documented anger-control problem, and after the incident at Dodger Stadium, again said he will seek treatment.

Which is swell, and you wish him nothing but the best in dealing with his anger management, but until it happens and it takes, he should not be in a clubhouse.

Bradley should not be part of this, or any other team, while he remains so clearly troubled. While he remains a walking time bomb. The Dodgers did a disservice to themselves, their team, and probably to Bradley, by permitting him to so easily return.

Manager Jim Tracy is as kind a man as you could meet, and certainly his heart was in the right place in offering Bradley support after the outburst last week.

Yet he did himself no favors in his support by continually referring to Bradley's great talent, as if to unintentionally imply the fantastic ability demanded patience that a lesser talent might not receive.

Bradley's talent often has been obscured by his temper. There is much history here, and it goes well beyond the emotional fire his supporters claim the team desperately needs.

Somewhat ironically, it was not Bradley who lost his temper Wednesday, but Los Angeles Times reporter Jason Reid.

Reporters approached Bradley in the clubhouse after Wednesday's workout and Reid asked him if he had received any hostile treatment from the St. Louis fans in Tuesday's opener, his first game back since the five-game suspension.

It was a completely logical question, but Bradley took umbrage. Asked Reid why he would ask such a question, and then somewhat remarkably, turned it into a racial issue.

Both Bradley and Reid are black, and apparently in Bradley's view, that should cause him some great slack from Reid.

``I'm a brother, and you're a brother,'' Bradley said.

Bradley's appraisal spiraled darkly downward from here. He called Reid an ``Uncle Tom,'' said he was a ``sellout'' and then, walking away, added, ``Where's a bottle at?''

It was more than Reid could take, and he became outraged. Reid had to be held back by several players and coaches. At one point Reid was so upset, he got into it with Eric Gagne, who was telling him to leave the clubhouse.

After Reid did leave, Bradley claimed to the other reporters that the reference to the bottle was supposed to be humorous.

Alas, there is nothing even remotely humorous about the situation. There are few things, if anything, that a black person will find more offensive than to be called an Uncle Tom by another black.

The Dodgers look like a team turning a deaf ear to a very real and continuing problem, all for the sake of talent. It just sullies the organization.

If Bradley did not come with his lengthy history of outbursts and ejections and suspensions, Wednesday might be viewed as a one-time unsavory incident that could be worked out and mollified between the two.

Sadly, it is far from a one-time incident. Bradley seems to carry demons unknown to most, and he should successfully complete his anger management before ever again donning the Dodgers uniform.

The Dodgers must win tonight, and that should be their entire focus.

Not once more having Milton in the Middle.