Longtime ESPN baseball columnist Peter Gammons lifted a few lines Wednesday from a Steve Henson piece in the L.A. Times about Dodgers centerfielder-slash-reformed head case (and potential team leader?) Milton Bradley. Today, Gammons apologized and explained:

I thought Henson's piece was so poignant and interesting, I included a reference to it as a "sidebar" in my column. I was obviously referring to that newspaper piece, and commented on the exchange by writing, "Fascinating. Bradley is a very good person who has long dealt with demons, and this acceptance of responsibility may signal that he is on the right path. Everyone who knows him hopes so."

When I filed the column, however, I inadvertently and mistakenly omitted credit and sourcing to the Los Angeles Times. I thought I had sourced the Times as I wrote the column, and had not. Obviously, I should have. It was brought to my attention late Wednesday night by ESPN.com editors, who removed the "sidebar" while seeking clarification. I immediately admitted the mistake and asked that it be corrected.

I had intended to call attention to what I considered a very powerful story, and made an inexplicable oversight. I apologize to Steve Henson, the L.A. Times, and to ESPN.com readers.

Jon at Dodger Thoughts noticed the duplication and blogged about it early yesterday afternoon. By the way, the Bradley piece was good, and Gammons was right to give it more attention. Bradley might turn out to be a pretty good guy, and if he continues to grow as a hitter, an important part of the Dodgers lineup.