BRADLEY GETS A GAME DODGERS DEAL OUTFIELDER AND ANTONIO PEREZ TO OAKLAND.

Byline: Tony Jackson  Staff Writer

In what appeared to be a bold statement by new Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti of what kind of image the organization will have under his regime, the club traded controversial outfielder Milton Bradley and defensively challenged utilityman Antonio Perez to Oakland on Tuesday for top outfield prospect Andre Ethier.

In doing so, Colletti rid the Dodgers clubhouse of not one, but two reputed bad eggs. In return, he further bolstered what might be the deepest farm system in all of baseball, adding the reigning Double-A Texas League Player of the Year to a list of prospects that was long on pitchers and infielders but short on outfielders.

Colletti, hired a month ago, wasn't around during the past two seasons, when Bradley was ejected from four games, hurled a bag of balls onto the field, slammed a plastic beer bottle into the front row of the stands, served a three-day jail sentence on a traffic violation that took place while he was with Cleveland in 2003, agreed to undergo anger-management counseling and implied that teammate Jeff Kent was a racist.

But Colletti did enough homework - talking to several people in both the pro- and anti-Bradley camps - to decide Bradley had to go.

And, according to Colletti, that Bradley wanted to go.

``In talking to the people close to him, they thought another club, another place, was the only way to go,'' Colletti said. ``I was looking for any indication, any reason to keep him. But at every turn, I just got stopped. I asked once, twice, three times. But it was clear there was no way this was going to work.

``There was no glimmer of hope.''

Colletti declined to address whether that lack of hope stemmed from the presence of Kent, the respected clubhouse veteran who tried to call Bradley on what Kent perceived as a lack of hustle after an Aug. 20 game at Florida, only to have Bradley react with hostility and a public tirade against an unnamed teammate who clearly was Kent.

``That would be a question for (Bradley),'' Colletti said.

And it was asked, on a conference call arranged by the A's.

``I don't know anything about Ned Colletti,'' Bradley said. ``I wish the Dodgers well, and I wish Jeff Kent well. ... As far as dealing with Jeff Kent, we got along as well as we could. But he's a guy who doesn't really take to people too much. He just goes about everything very structured, and you can't fault him for that, because he has been successful with that approach. But for me, it didn't work.''

Bradley then took one final shot at the Dodgers, who acquired him on the eve of Opening Day two years ago and gave him a chance to play near his hometown of Long Beach.

``When I feel disrespected or feel someone in a position of authority is abusing that authority, I don't react well to that,'' Bradley said. ``I want people to be honest and straightforward, and I didn't ever receive any of that from the Dodgers.''

As for Bradley's two-year stint playing at home, during which he batted .275 with 32 homers and 105 RBI, Colletti was sorry to see it end.

``It's very disappointing, and it's sad,'' Colletti said. ``The kid has great talent, and he was home. It could have been a match made in heaven. But it didn't work out.''

In Ethier, the Dodgers get a former second-round draft pick from Arizona State who has tremendous potential but probably is a year away from being major-league ready.

``It could be halfway through (next) year, or it could be 2007,'' Colletti said.

The left-handed-hitting Ethier, 23, has a career average of .312 in three professional seasons. He hit 18 homers and drove in 80 runs for Modesto in 2005 before a late-season promotion to Triple-A Sacramento and will open next season at Triple-A Las Vegas. He is projected either as a left or right fielder.

It isn't clear how the Dodgers will replace Bradley, although the tentative plan is for J.D. Drew to move to center and Jose Cruz Jr. to become the regular right fielder unless an acquisition changes that. The Dodgers have had discussions with the representatives for free-agent outfielders Johnny Damon and Jacque Jones - a USC product - but Colletti didn't sound especially optimistic about his chances of landing either of them.

Perez has a career major-league average of .280, and while he can play three positions, he doesn't play any of them particularly well. Although he won't turn 26 until January, he now has been traded five times in eight professional seasons - including once as part of the deal that sent Ken Griffey Jr. from Seattle to Cincinnati. There were whispers emanating from the Dodgers' clubhouse all season that his attitude was questionable at times.

Former Dodgers first-base coach John Shelby also worked extensively with Perez late in the season to teach him to play the outfield and possibly create more opportunities to get his bat into the lineup, but Perez never came close to developing adequate skills there.

``I'm not going to make any comments about anybody past or present,'' Colletti said. ``But I think (character) is important. It's one of the staples of a good clubhouse. I love guys with great makeup, who play hard and put the team ahead of themselves. Is my goal to have as many high-character guys in that room as possible? The answer to that would be yes.''

Tony Jackson,[phone]

tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

7 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Milton Bradley storms off the field in September 2004 after a fan hurled a plastic bottle at him at Dodger Stadium.

(2) The Dodgers traded Milton Bradley in part because of outbursts such as these, when he hurled a bag full of baseballs onto the field in June 2004.

Hans Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer

(3) Antonio Perez, who was included with Milton Bradley in the trade to Oakland on Tuesday, apparently had a questionable attitude during his stay with the Dodgers.

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

(4 -- color) Jeff Kent

Photo by Andy Holzman/Daily News

(5 -- color) no caption (Milton Bradley)

Getty Images

(6 -- color) ETHER

(7 -- color) PEREZ

Box:

MILT-DOWNS

Associated Press