SOME LET’S-TAKE-A-DEEP-BREATH ANALYSIS OF THE BRADLEY-SILVA DEAL

Now which you’ve all had a day to demonstrate disgust, outrage, “FIREHENDRYNOW”, etc. over the traffic of Milton Bradley to the Mariners for Carlos Silva, let’s inspect how this really will start the 2010 Cubs on the field.

We do not have to rehash the reasons which Bradley had to be moved, but it was transparent after he was sent home in Sep which he would be, no have a difference what. And when which happened, it was additionally transparent which what the Cubs would get behind wasn’t going to be many — expected someone else’s bad contract. And which is precisely what we got.

All of you here know which I was opposite the signing from the commencement — but I’m not going to contend “told you so” here, given even I never illusory which Milton would warp down in the approach he would. Let’s usually contend he was never a great fit for the high-profile group which is the Chicago Cubs, and Jim Hendry should have well known that. Hendry took shortcoming for the complete debacle, and you can gamble which Tom Ricketts will have him on a flattering short control for the rest of this offseason and 2010. If the Cubs do not lapse to the playoffs in 2010, I’d design Hendry to be fired, and which banishment would be justified. Until then, I do think Hendry deserves a possibility to purify up the disaster which he made.

So what, really, do we right divided have here? There has been a little brawl over usually how many monetary service the Cubs got in this deal, but according to this cubs.com article, it’s $6 million. This essay has the same number. So until I listen to different, that’s the arrogance I’m going on for this post.

Let’s not fake this understanding is something it isn’t. In Dec 2009, in a vacuum, there is no approach any group deals for or signs Carlos Silva, formed on his opening the final dual years. He’s been horrific. And which competence be an insult to horrific players. I’ll cut Silva a little tardy for 2009, as he was harm many of the year. Could be, which contributed to his bad opening in 2008 also; may be he was harm afterwards and didn’t discuss it anyone.

Silva has had, given 2004 when he became a revolution starter for the Twins, at slightest 3 seasons where his opening would have done him a able fifth starter for many teams. In 2005, in twenty-seven starts, he put up an ERA+ of 126 and a 1.17 WHIP. In 2007, the year which got him the four-year understanding from the Mariners in giveaway agency, he had a 102 ERA+ and 1.31 WHIP; those numbers, along with a 4.19 ERA, aren’t as well opposite from what the Cubs got from Jason Marquis in 2007 and 2008.

Can Silva do this again? The answer is, we simply do not know until we see him pitch. The Cubs explain they have good reports on him from Venezuela:

The Cubs have had scouts examination Silva in Venezuela. He has appeared in 4 games, distinguished out dual and on foot 3 over 9 innings. The bar will send the strength and conditioning staff down there to get Silva on a program. The right-hander did inform to stay this year thirty pounds lighter.

“We’ll do all we can to get him as tighten to behind where he was a couple of years ago,” Hendry said.

There’s no disbelief which he needs to remove weight — usually demeanour at the print at the tip of this post, which was taken Apr 14, 2009. Get the man in shape, move him to camp, and see what he can do. There were a little here who suspicion the Cubs should usually recover Milton Bradley and eat the $21 million on his deal. If Silva unequivocally can’t representation any more, he could be expelled — but the Cubs would usually eat $15 million. Even trade for Pat Burrell would have done the Cubs eat $13 million (because the Rays weren’t expected going to take any of Bradley’s 2011 salary), and Burrell would have been a unequivocally costly pinch-hitter.

At his best, Silva was a decent ground-ball pitcher who didn’t travel anyone. There have been pitchers similar to him who have come from the AL to the NL and had success — Bronson Arroyo, for one, or even Glendon Rusch, who had one decent year for the Cubs (2004) as a prolonged reliever/spot starter. There were a little links upheld around here yesterday — helpfully total by Harry Pavlidis — which prove which Silva is a unequivocally heated player who has on arise called out his teammates in open for not performing. Clearly, this isn’t a great thing, and the usually thing I can goal for is which the Cubs transparent the air on this right away.

Again, this is patently not a player you would have selected to supplement to your group in a undiluted world. The Milton Bradley incident was about as far from “perfect world” as you could get. The $6 million in income relief, we hope, will concede Jim Hendry to supplement a little assistance in CF (hey, how about a Ryan Church/Reed Johnson platoon?), or an additional starting pitcher (paging Joel Pineiro!), or a reliever similar to Matt Capps.

About Bradley, this apportionment of Paul Sullivan’s essay sums him up:

Bradley referred to himself as a “quiet” guy, and pronounced people who impugn him or athletes in ubiquitous have been perplexing to have names for themselves.

“Pretty many for me, anybody low down on the inside, seeking out or seeking in, you assimilate how PR functions and media works, and how people have been promoted, and how you have a bad man and you can have a great guy,” he said. “And that’s usually the approach it is. And so I’m portrayed as however I am. It usually adds to the mystique, I guess.”

Yep, Milton, sure. It’s regularly everyone’s error but yours. Bruce Miles calls you “unrepentant” and I am 100% agreed. For me, this matter by Ryan Dempster sums up the Bradley “era” in Chicago:

“It’s unfortunate,” Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster pronounced in Sep after Bradley was suspended. “At the finish of the day, he was supposing a great event to come over here and be a partial of a unequivocally great classification with a lot of unequivocally great guys, and it usually didn’t appear to have him happy, anything.”

Somehow, I disbelief he’ll be happy in Seattle, either, but for now, I’m going to put the pitchforks down and haven visualisation compartment I see what else Hendry does this offseason. Let’s the rest of us try to do that, too. Finally, do not dont think about to opinion in the check I posted on the right sidebar, if you haven’t already, about this deal.