Hmm - Seattle Seems to Not Hate Carlos Silva

I’m not going to say that Chicago, collectively, hates Milton Bradley. But as we’ve all seen, the city does have trouble getting past the Bradley experience - you can scarcely pick up a local paper without seeing a story about him. Bradley, of course, brings most of it on himself, but he’s never discussed without mention of the troubles he brought with him.

Carlos Silva was also a troubled guy in Seattle, and he was also a massive underachiever - dramatically worse in that latter regard than was Bradley in Chicago. So you’d think that, when the Seattle media discusses Silva, they’d mention something about his two years in Seattle.

Um, nope.

Carlos Silva is telling everyone - including his mother - that he is back to being an effective major-league pitcher.

“I talk to my mother before and after (every) game, and the message I sent to her said: ‘The way that I feel today, I don’t feel for a long, long time. Today, I feel like it was me,’ ” said Silva, whose four shutout innings Tuesday led the Chicago Cubs to a 4-1 victory over the Texas Rangers.

When the Cubs wanted to send Milton Bradley to Seattle, Silva was the high-priced underachiever the Mariners insisted Chicago take in the deal.

The Cubs hoped he’d pitch as he did during his four seasons in Minnesota and not his two years in Seattle - where at 5-18 with a 7.01 ERA, Silva was one of the worst starters in baseball.

After getting pounded in his first spring outing, he has pitched seven straight scoreless innings. Silva, who has two years and $25 million left on his contract, was especially strong Tuesday, limiting Texas to two hits and striking out three.

“You can’t throw the ball better than he did today,” manager Lou Piniella said. “Boy, he made it look relatively easy.”

Now Silva is closing in on a spot in the Cubs’ rotation.

“I’m very competitive. I want to make the rotation. But the only thing I want to do is help this team,” Silva said. “Deep inside, I want to say I feel good about the way I pitch.” Seattle Times.

That’s actually just a nice article. Sure, they mention that he was an “high-priced underachiever,” but the overall tone is not one of oh-God-these-Chicag0-people-think-Silva-might-not-suck-just-watch-out, which you might expect based on how the Chicago media speaks of Bradley.

And that includes Bleacher Nation.

So, is Seattle just a better place? Are they just nicer there? Shrug. I’m inclined to think the Chicago experience with Bradley was worse than the Seattle experience with Silva, but maybe that’s just self-absorption (an ironic, self-loathing kind of self-absorption). One thing is for sure: if Bradley finds success in Seattle, the stream of articles inserting pokes about his reign of terror in Chicago will be unending.

If Silva finds success in Chicago? I guess those articles will be harder to find.

Share

Watch More Chicago Cubs Spring Training Games

That headline feels like it should be followed with “or else.” But no, I don’t intend it to be threatening. That’s just your insecurity talking.

The MLB Network is going to air a crap ton of Spring games this year, so in addition to the handful of games on WGN, you’ll be able to catch a few more Chicago Cubs Spring Training games on TV.

The full list is available at that link, but the Cubs games include March 19 against the White Sox, March 22 against the Indians, March 23 against the Royals, March 26 against the A’s, March 28 against the Mariners, and April 1 against the Rockies.

Share

Obsessive Carlos Silva Fat Watch: He’s Workin’ On It

Not all obsessive watches have to be intense.

Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella mentioned earlier this week that pitcher Carlos Silva - received in trade/dump for Milton Bradley - showed up to camp out of shape, which is a euphemism for “planet-like.” The good news is that Silva is at least working on it.

“Silva is a hard worker, there’s no question about it,” Piniella said yesterday. “He might be a hard eater. I’m only joking. He comes out here and works hard. I’m not surprised but very encouraged from what I see.”

That’s good, I suppose, but there’s only so much a guy can do in a few weeks.

Share

Here’s Something Scary: Carlos Silva Was Really Trying in Seattle

Whenever the Chicago Cubs bring a reclamation project on board, there are certain things that can inspire optimism. The guy was playing through pain or with a lingering injury the last couple of years. The guy was having family issues that distracted him. The guy had signed a huge contract and became complacent.

Any of these things would allow Cubs fans to have just the tiniest shade of optimism about new arrival, Carlos Silva. Silva, acquired in a crap-in, crap-out swap with the Mariners for Milton Bradley, was absolutely horrible in his two seasons in Seattle. Sure, he was hurt last year, but he was awful in 2008, long before the injury. But, he had signed a huge contract before 2008, so maybe, for those first two years, he had let himself go a little bit. Maybe he let himself get comfortable - and we can cling to the hope that he will rededicate himself now. Yes. Yes. I’m starting to feel the optimism.

The only thing that could bring me down would be to learn that Silva was really committed to being the best he could be when he arrived in Seattle.

Silva now is battling not only for a spot in the Cubs rotation but also to redeem himself.

“To be honest, for me, my last two years have been very disappointing, and not for Seattle, but for myself,” Silva said Friday. “It was disappointing because I worked very hard for my numbers and to have a good season.

“But here [with the Cubs], I’m coming with a clear mind. This is my first year in the big leagues, know what I mean? I don’t care how long I’ve been in the big leagues.”

Actually, his first season was 2002. Silva made his Major League debut on April 1 that year for Philadelphia. But he’s decided to make a fresh start. Forget the two seasons with the Phillies or the four with the Twins, although his success in Minnesota helped him get a four-year, $48 million contract with the Mariners in December 2007.

Now, Silva joins Jeff Samardzija, Tom Gorzelanny and Sean Marshall as candidates for a spot in the Cubs rotation.

“We’ll just let ‘em pitch,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. “We have a lot of split-squad games early, so we’ll need some innings. There’s some jobs to be won here right now, not only in the rotation but in our bullpen.”

That’s fine with Silva.

“I like to have competition, I like to be fighting for my job, I like to own my spot,” Silva said. “When I signed the contract with Seattle, my mind changed so much. I wanted to maybe impress everybody. I wanted to show people why they paid me so much money — I don’t know why, but I think that’s how I felt. cubs.com.

Son of a crap. If that’s what Silva pitches like when he’s really trying, when he’s committed to being all he can be, what’s he going to look like for the Cubs? Throw in the fact that he’s reportedly out of shape, and it’s probably absurd for us to hope for anything more than Silva taking up space in the bullpen.

Then again, maybe he was saying that, after signing that big contract, he put too much pressure on himself to perform. Maybe he got out of his usual routine, and tried too hard. Maybe now that the expectations could not possibly be any lower, Silva will be able to get back to what made him a (moderately) successful pitcher in the first place - throwing strikes, using his defense, keeping the ball down. Maybe he really can pull it together enough to be a 4.30ish ERA, fifth starting innings eater for the Cubs. Maybe.

Aw crap. Look at me getting optimistic again.

Share

Carlos Silva is Out of Shape, You Say? Outstanding!

When you sign a big time contract - let’s say, 4 years and $40 million - I can understand complacency kicking in. After all, you’re set for life, and in baseball, those contracts are guaranteed. You get that money whether you dominate, or whether you, say, go 5-18 with an ERA near seven in the first two years of that deal.

But you’d think that if you did fall into the trap of sloth, and did play so poorly those first two years, you’d be energized to try and do better the last two years - even if it was just to try and get another contract at the end of the four-year deal. Further, you’d think that, if you were traded after the two terrible years, that you’d be really energized to step up an perform. You’d do everything you could to be ready to go that next season.

You’d think.

[Carlos] Silva, acquired from the Mariners for Milton Bradley, has some work to do.

“We have to get him in a little better shape here,” Piniella said of the right-hander. “Let’s hope we get him back to where he was in Minnesota when he had that good hard sinker working, nice little breaking ball.”

In Minnesota, Silva finished with double-digit wins in 2004, ‘06 and ‘07, but went 5-18 the last two seasons in Seattle.

“I don’t know what happened in Seattle,” Piniella said. “Seattle is a really good park to pitch in. They tell me his ball straightened up a little bit last year and he got it up a little more. He was good enough to get himself a real nice contract for four years with the Mariners. Let’s hope we can get him back to where he was.”

Silva may need to do a little more cardio work… cubs.com.

That’s just spectacular. Silva was never a particularly fit individual, but coming to camp out of shape after the crapfest he’s put up the last two years is just unfathomable to me. If that is indicative of the attitude he’s bringing to the Cubs - recall that he, like Bradley, has a somewhat checkered behavioral past - the team might as well release him now, because he isn’t going to contribute anything but drama and distractions.

Let’s hope he does get into shape, does get down to business, and does contribute more than simply being a repository for post-game buffet leftovers.

Share

Jim Hendry is All Kinds of Reactionary

I suspect that if Jim Hendry were an avid investor in the stock market, he probably wouldn’t have too much success. You see, in the market, you have to anticipate moves. You need to see where the market is going to be in 6, 12 months, not where it is right now. You can’t simply react to every latest craze (though you can sometimes ride the wave for a little bit, but I digress).

The reason I say this is because being a reactionary has been Jim Hendry’s MO for the last several years with the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs lacked a leadoff hitter one year, so Hendry hastily signed a poor fit leadoff hitter to a gigantic contract (Alfonso Soriano). The Cubs had a few games of bad luck against right-handed pitching, so Hendry decided he had to dump a righty or two and get a lefty in the lineup (Milton Bradley (switch hitter)). Then the Cubs had a bad clubhouse guy, so Hendry decided to go out and grab as many “good” clubhouse guys he could find.

That’s all fine, but it reflects a guy who is merely reacting to the needs of his club, and not anticipating them before they percolate to the surface. And when it comes to Milton Bradley, Hendry should have anticipated what happened - but to hear it from him, nothing would have gone wrong if Bradley had just hit better in April.

“Offensively, he was the right guy. It wasn’t like we didn’t do our homework,” Hendry said Thursday on “The Waddle & Silvy Show” on ESPN 1000. “If he’d have hit like he normally did the first couple of months probably a lot of the issues wouldn’t have come out. He was probably our best player in spring training.

“I remember having some chats with Derrek Lee and Aramis [Ramirez] during camp, and they were thrilled to have him. He just got out of the gate so poorly and just didn’t handle that lack of success well. He had always been a good hitter and really good the couple years before we got him.”

Bradley was coming off the best season of his 10-year career after batting .321 with 22 home runs and 77 runs batted in for the Texas Rangers in 2008. He signed a three-year, $30 million contract before the 2009 season, giving the Cubs’ lineup a left-handed bat. His volatile temper was even thought to be a good thing, bringing some energy to the Cubs clubhouse.

But Bradley got off to a rough start, batting .118 in April. The Cubs suspended him for the rest of the season in September for his conduct. He finished his only season as a Cub batting .257 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs.

The Cubs traded him to the Seattle Mariners for pitcher Carlos Silva and cash in December. They have added several players with reputations as good clubhouse guys such as outfielders Marlon Byrd and Xavier Nady, Silva and Kevin Millar, but Hendry said that is the norm while Bradley was the exception.

“Until Milton we had always had [good character players] so it wasn’t like a U-turn in philosophy,” Hendry said. “We’ve had a great bunch of guys here for a long time, and we still do. Obviously, I made the mistake of trying to fit in the perfect type of offensive player. Obviously when that didn’t work the other issues came out. It was fortunate we put it behind us but [signing good character guys] wasn’t a conscious effort.” ESPN Chicago.

Bradley was a disaster waiting to happen no matter how he hit in the early season. The guy hasn’t lasted more than a full season anywhere he’s been in the last half decade. There’s a reason for that, and it has nothing to do with how he hit early in the season.

I’m sorry if it seems like I’m continuously ragging on Jim Hendry, but it frustrates me to hear him espousing this kind of revisionist history in an obvious effort to stump for continued employment after 2010. I hope the Cubs win in 2010, I truly and painfully do. But it’s becoming more and more clear that, if they should win this year, it will be in spite of Jim Hendry’s recent efforts, not because of them.

Share

Bryan LaHair is a Chicago Cub

Today the Chicago Cubs signed first-baseman Bryan LaHair to a minor league deal, and invited him to spring training.

LaHair, 27, had spent his entire professional career with Seattle. He didn’t appear in the majors last year, and the Mariners removed him from their 40-man roster in October.

But he has experience in the majors: 45 games in 2008, during which he batted .250 with three home runs and 10 RBIs. LaHair, a left-handed hitter, posted a .289/.354/.530 line at Class AAA Tacoma in 2009. FOX Sports on MSN.

LaHair will compete for a spot on the Cubs’ bench, after falling off as a big-time prospect with the Mariners as recently as a few years ago.

Share

The End of the Milton Bradley Era: A Portrait of the Player as a Young Man

There’s a story about Milton Bradley as a young man that pops up from time to time.