BRADLEY CONFRONTS WRITER CONTROVERSIAL OUTFIELDER, REPORTER MUST BE SEPARATED.

Byline: Tony Jackson  Staff Writer

ST. LOUIS - Twice-suspended Dodgers right fielder Milton Bradley found himself in another controversy Wednesday when he got into confrontation with a Los Angeles Times reporter who had to be restrained physically after being called a ``sellout.''

Both the Dodgers and the Times said the conflict should be settled by Bradley and reporter Jason Reid. No discipline was contemplated against either of them.

Dodgers executive vice president Lon Rosen issued the following statement: ``Ultimately, this is an issue that needs to be settled between the two individuals, and we will work with them toward that end.''

Bill Dwyre, the Times' sports editor, issued his own statement: ``We are terribly unhappy with how and why this happened. We back our reporter from every angle on this. We also agree with the Dodgers in the sense that this is something that can be and will be worked out between these two people.''

Dwyre said Reid won't be disciplined and will continue covering the Dodgers for the remainder of their postseason run. Bradley also isn't likely to be suspended by the club because he didn't raise his voice and attempted to walk away from Reid during the incident.

Bradley began an interview session with reporters near his locker in the visiting clubhouse at Busch Stadium in St. Louis by responding angrily to a question from Reid about treatment by fans. Bradley, whose most recent suspension was for throwing a plastic bottle into the stands at Dodger Stadium on Sept. 28 after the bottle had been thrown at him from the stands, suggested Reid should ask the same question of other players.

When Reid responded he already had asked other players, Bradley launched into a measured but heated tirade about Reid's coverage of the bottle-throwing incident.

At one point, Bradley, who is black, said to Reid, who also is black: ``I'm a brother, and you're a brother. Take a look around. How many of you (reporters) are brothers? How many of us are brothers? Just two, me and (pitcher Edwin) Jackson.''

Reid, angered by the suggestion he should soften his coverage of black players, reminded Bradley of an occasion several weeks ago when Bradley snapped at another black reporter.

From there, the exchange escalated with Bradley telling Reid, ``You're an Uncle Tom. You're a sellout.'' Finally, Bradley said, ``Get out of my face. This is our clubhouse, not yours.''

Then, Bradley walked away. But when Reid followed him, Bradley said, ``Where's a bottle at?''

At that, several players and coaches stepped in front of Reid as Bradley walked into the trainer's room.

Reid left the clubhouse and soon left the ballpark.

``(Reid) got upset. He needs anger management,'' said Bradley, who promised to seek anger management counseling after the bottle-throwing incident, which earned him a five-game suspension from Major League Baseball.

``I was very much in control of myself. He asked a question, and I answered it. That's exactly how I feel. I have got to try to keep it real.''

Tony Jackson,[phone]

tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com

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The Dodgers' Milton Bradley, suspended Sept. 28 after a confrontation with a fan, had a heated argument with a writer Wednesday.

J.B. Forbes/Associated Press