Bradley Goes to Jail for 3 Days

Dodger center fielder Milton Bradley began serving a three-day jail sentence Wednesday in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, that his agent said resolves two cases involving traffic stops that went awry.

Bradley, 26, exhausted appeals in a 2003 case when the Ohio Supreme Court last week ruled that the trial judge did not unfairly sentence him for refusing to sign a speeding ticket and driving away. He had pleaded guilty earlier this year to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing official business and was sentenced to the jail time, 40 hours of community service and a $250 fine.

Bradley also pleaded guilty to a fourth-degree misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct stemming from a Nov. 25 arrest for yelling at a police officer. He paid a $175 fine and had a jail sentence suspended, averting a scheduled Feb. 22 trial.

In a police report obtained by The Times, Copley Township officer Vito DeBona said that after pulling over a female driver in another car, Bradley stopped his car, screamed at DeBona from an off-ramp and “proceeded to put his hands behind his back, calling out profanity to me telling me to arrest him.”

Bradley’s agent met with Dodger officials Kim Ng and Roy Smith on Monday at the baseball winter meetings. Bradley, who made $1.73 million last season, is eligible for arbitration, but Dodger General Manager Paul DePodesta said he expected to negotiate a contract with Bradley before an arbitration hearing.

Bradley has had several on-field temper displays, and he is undergoing counseling for his anger problem.

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The Matt Clement derby is expected to reach the finish line today or Friday, when the free-agent pitcher decides among lucrative offers from at least seven teams, including the Angels and Dodgers.

Clement, who was 9-13 with a 3.68 earned-run average for the Chicago Cubs last season, and his agent, Barry Axelrod, spent several hours in Anaheim on Wednesday, meeting with Angel General Manager Bill Stoneman and Manager Mike Scioscia.

Clement met with Dodger co-owner Frank McCourt and DePodesta in Los Angeles on Tuesday night and with Arizona Diamondback officials in Phoenix on Tuesday.

Clement returned to his Pittsburgh-area home Wednesday night and planned to discuss his options with his wife before making a final decision.

“We’ve got all the information we needed,” Axelrod said. “We were trying to familiarize ourselves with the organizations as best we could. We liked Anaheim and Los Angeles very much.”

The Angels’ initial offer to Clement last week was believed to be for three years and about $21 million, but Axelrod said the team submitted its “final offer” Wednesday. It is believed the Angels bumped the offer into the $22.5-million to $24-million range.

The Toronto Blue Jays are believed to have offered three years and about $24 million, the Cleveland Indians have offered three years and $21 million, and the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Diamondbacks and Dodgers are believed to have made similar offers.

The addition of Clement would give the Angels six starting pitchers, including Bartolo Colon, Kelvim Escobar, Jarrod Washburn, John Lackey and Paul Byrd and probably would force the Angels to part with Washburn, who is due to make about $7 million through arbitration next season but could be traded or not tendered a contract next week.

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Tommy Hawkins is leaving as Dodger vice president to join the radio broadcast team and work on special projects. A broadcaster before joining the Dodgers, Hawkins will be a member of the pregame show on KFWB (980).

Hawkins, a former All-American basketball player at Notre Dame and longtime Laker player, was a Dodger executive for 18 years.