New York Yankees’ Desperation: Big Apple’s Other Team Signs Carlos Silva
April 10, 2011 · Harold Friend · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
On March 3, 2011, I expressed the belief that the Chicago Cubs must release Carlos Silva. About three weeks later, the Cubs released him.
When Silva learned that he had been released, he laced into pitching coach Mark Riggins and blasted the Cubs.
The pitcher that the desperate New York Yankees signed yesterday claimed that Riggins hadn’t been honest with him about his “role.” Silva felt the competition for the fifth starting position had been stacked against him.
General manager Jim Hendry didn’t mince words.
“Obviously we’re dealing with a man at this stage of his career who’s not willing to face the facts. What he’s done for the last few years in his career, except for a two-month period, is way below major league standards. And he seems to have the continual problem [of] blaming everybody but himself.”
In 2010, Silva was 10-6, but as we all know, a pitcher’s win-loss record can be deceiving (see Cy Young Award winner and ERA leader Felix Hernandez). Silva had a 103 ERA+, which is slightly above average, but that’s where it ends.
Silva averaged only 5.4 innings over 21 starts. He worked 113 innings and allowed 120 hits and 24 walks for a 1.274 WHIP.
Today, managers and pitching coaches love pitchers who can “eat up innings.” Forget about effectiveness, he can give us innings.
Silva has trouble doing even that.
Now 32 years old, Silva is in his eighth full season. He has had an ERA below 4.19 only twice in his career: The first time was during his rookie season with the Philadelphia Phillies in limited duty and the second time was in 2005 with the Twins.
The fact that the Yankees have signed Silva to a minor league contract confirms their desperation. New York’s other team and their pitching coach, Larry Rothschild, who was with Cubs last season, are deluding themselves.
Rothschild told the media “He’s had a little time off and I don’t know what he’s done. I haven’t talked to him. He’s a strike thrower and that’s not a bad thing to have.”
Yes, throwing strikes can be good, but Silva isn’t good enough to allow a lot of hitter contact. His problem is that batters tee off on him because they know he’s always around the strike zone.
The Yankees now have retreads, Freddie Garcia and Bartolo Colon on the roster, and Kevin Millwood and Silva in the minors. They hope that they will, to quote Rothschild, “…catch lightning in a bottle with one or two,”
Garcia, Colon and Millwood have all been successful major league hurlers. At one time, Colon and Millwood were the aces of their teams. The same cannot be said of Silva.
Phil Hughes has now been belted around in his first two starts. His fastball is no longer of major league caliber, and he is not a good enough pitcher to get by without it.
The prediction here is that team president Randy Levine will tell general manager Brian Cashman to pick up a top-flight pitcher in July, if not sooner, especially the Boston Red Sox can straighten themselves out, and if Buck Showalter’s Baltimore Orioles are for real.
References:
Cubs Must Get Rid of Carlos Silva
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