The Chicago Cubs suspended volatile outfielder Milton Bradley for the rest of the season Sunday, one day after he criticized the team in a newspaper interview.

Bradley was disciplined for conduct detrimental to the team. General manager Jim Hendry said he decided to send Bradley home after learning of the player’s remarks in the (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald of Illinois. Bradley, scratched from Saturday’s lineup due to left knee soreness, was quoted as saying “you understand why they haven’t won in 100 years here.”

The Cubs, who haven’t won the World Series since 1908, began the day eight games out of the NL wild-card spot with 15 to play.

Bradley struggled this year throughout his first season with the Cubs and was booed vigorously by home fans at Wrigley Field. He was hitting .257 with 12 homers and 40 RBI.

Bradley has two years remaining on a three-year, $30 million contract that he signed as a free agent last offseason. Hendry said he didn’t know if the relationship was “fixable.”

“I just decided late last night that’s what I was going to do, and I didn’t give it a lot of thought what’s going to transpire moving forward,” Hendry said. “I just felt like it was time to do this.”

The oft-injured Bradley has a history of boorish behavior during 10 years in the majors with seven teams.

Giants prospect suspect in murder probe

A baseball prospect for the San Francisco Giants is the main suspect in the killing of a 25-year-old man in the Dominican Republic, police said.

Angel Villalona turned himself in 12 hours after the man was shot at a bar in the southern coastal city of La Romana.

Villalona was signed by the San Francisco Giants in 2006 and received a club-record $2.1 million signing bonus. He will appear in court today and could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty in the Saturday night killing of Mario Felix de Jesus Velete, police said.

Short hops

Texas right-hander Kevin Millwood expects to make his scheduled start tonight and have a chance to pitch the 4 innings needed to guarantee a $12 million contract next season. … Minnesota Twins third baseman Joe Crede, who already is out for the season, plans to have a third surgery on his injured back. The date will be finalized today.