Cubs make strong move, cut Silva
You'll recall at the start of this month, I wrote a post about my enduring faith in Carlos Silva, the burly, oft-troubled pitcher who came to Chicago as a replacement for the clubhouse cancer known as Milton Bradley.
Well, I don't think I wrote about it way back when, but I held out hope that MB would get it together back when he was still a Cubbie and making life miserable for himself, his teammates, and the fans. (The only folks who made out in that business were the media, I suspect.) I only gave up on him shortly before he got the axe and was traded to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Silva.
The reason I mention this is, this past week, the Cubs released Carlos Silva from the team. I was writing about my hope for the guy something like 24 hours before he got cut. And you know what? It was a good decision. I wish him well, I really do, in spite of the bile he spewed on his way out the door about how it's the team's fault that he couldn't keep his springtime ERA under double digits, etc. Matter of fact, I'm glad he was like that -- it gave Coach Q a chance to defend his team and his coaches in a way that (I hope) could be very good for team bonding and such.
I've read many observers who think Silva won't net a contract for the MLB minimum (just over $400K) because of his volatility and unwillingness to accept a demotion to AAA, but we'll see about that. Meantime, he's still earning another $11.5 million from an insane contract that the Mariners created and the Cubs shouldered in order to remove the Milton Bradley cancer from their guts. Seattle gave the Cubs an additional $6 million at the time, so technically it's not that much dough, but still it hurts.
Some folks would make it out to be worse, since the Cubs spent that $6 mil on Marlon Byrd's contract at the time, but that's stupid math. Did anybody think that money was just sitting around in the meantime, waiting to be handed over to Silva? Durrr.
What's impressive is that the Cubs would let go of someone to whom they owed so much money. I truly didn't think they would -- not just because I thought Silva had more in the tank, but that it seemed more rational to try to win with the veteran and then call up the rookie (Andrew Cashner, who's taken the 5-spot in the rotation) if things went south. It's a long season. But the Cubs decided to further Cashner's development rather than hope for wins now.
I take exception to the idea that this was a win-first approach. It's hardly win-first when you tab the rookie to pitch unless he's a phenom, especially after the final start that Silva laid down. The guy has problems, to be sure, but so does Cashner. This approach gives up an option, and you never give up options if you want to win. I know many would say Silva was no option because he couldn't pitch, couldn't win, but I just keep coming back, again and again, to that 8-0 start... and that final spring game, where he finally had his stuff again. Dude put down 17 of the last 18 batters he faced!
This isn't to say it was the wrong choice. It's just not a choice that aims at winning this year -- not necessarily, anyway. I see it as a development choice. As much as many people in the organization and in the sports media have argued that the Cubs have a dark horse chance of winning the division this year, I'm much happier seeing a team that's building for 2012. Sure, maybe Aramis has a massive contract year, Garza is dominant in his switch to the NL, while Zambrano and Soriano return to career-best form, while Pena clobbers 40+ homers, and everybody else gets better from here. It's possible.
It's also possible that you flip all of those possibilities on their heads, and the Cubs end the season in the cellar.
But what I definitely see happening is growth. Starlin Castro grows at the plate, grows as a shortstop. Darwin Barney grows into the second base position. Tyler Colvin grows into a full-time player in right. That's three critical spots that will almost assuredly be better in 2012, barring injury.
Next year, the Cubs re-sign Aramis (probably), replace Kosuke (sorry, dude), and more than likely make a massive deal with one of the top first basemen free agents to hit the market -- not incidentally stealing him from one of our biggest competitors in the division, the Brewers (Prince Fielder) or the Cardinals (Albert "MVP" Pujols).
Hold on a moment. I gotta catch my breath. Every time I think that the Cubs could land Pujols, images of World Series titles dance in my head and I get a little dizzy. Yes, titleS. (That said, it takes pitching to win Championships. So the Cubs need to land another ace. Where's that going to come from, I wonder?)
Anyway. This past week marks the end of the Milton Bradley saga in Chicago. Surprisingly, Bradley is still playing, tearing it up in spring training after last year's debacle regarding arrests and domestic violence. Up until I discovered that article just now, I would have sworn the Cubs got the best part of that trade. Now...
Okay, no. The Cubs still got the best part of that trade. Keep MB? Hells no.
Goodbye, Silva. Good luck. Goodbye, MB's shadow. Uh, yeah, just goodbye.
Well, I don't think I wrote about it way back when, but I held out hope that MB would get it together back when he was still a Cubbie and making life miserable for himself, his teammates, and the fans. (The only folks who made out in that business were the media, I suspect.) I only gave up on him shortly before he got the axe and was traded to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Silva.
The reason I mention this is, this past week, the Cubs released Carlos Silva from the team. I was writing about my hope for the guy something like 24 hours before he got cut. And you know what? It was a good decision. I wish him well, I really do, in spite of the bile he spewed on his way out the door about how it's the team's fault that he couldn't keep his springtime ERA under double digits, etc. Matter of fact, I'm glad he was like that -- it gave Coach Q a chance to defend his team and his coaches in a way that (I hope) could be very good for team bonding and such.
I've read many observers who think Silva won't net a contract for the MLB minimum (just over $400K) because of his volatility and unwillingness to accept a demotion to AAA, but we'll see about that. Meantime, he's still earning another $11.5 million from an insane contract that the Mariners created and the Cubs shouldered in order to remove the Milton Bradley cancer from their guts. Seattle gave the Cubs an additional $6 million at the time, so technically it's not that much dough, but still it hurts.
Some folks would make it out to be worse, since the Cubs spent that $6 mil on Marlon Byrd's contract at the time, but that's stupid math. Did anybody think that money was just sitting around in the meantime, waiting to be handed over to Silva? Durrr.
What's impressive is that the Cubs would let go of someone to whom they owed so much money. I truly didn't think they would -- not just because I thought Silva had more in the tank, but that it seemed more rational to try to win with the veteran and then call up the rookie (Andrew Cashner, who's taken the 5-spot in the rotation) if things went south. It's a long season. But the Cubs decided to further Cashner's development rather than hope for wins now.
I take exception to the idea that this was a win-first approach. It's hardly win-first when you tab the rookie to pitch unless he's a phenom, especially after the final start that Silva laid down. The guy has problems, to be sure, but so does Cashner. This approach gives up an option, and you never give up options if you want to win. I know many would say Silva was no option because he couldn't pitch, couldn't win, but I just keep coming back, again and again, to that 8-0 start... and that final spring game, where he finally had his stuff again. Dude put down 17 of the last 18 batters he faced!
This isn't to say it was the wrong choice. It's just not a choice that aims at winning this year -- not necessarily, anyway. I see it as a development choice. As much as many people in the organization and in the sports media have argued that the Cubs have a dark horse chance of winning the division this year, I'm much happier seeing a team that's building for 2012. Sure, maybe Aramis has a massive contract year, Garza is dominant in his switch to the NL, while Zambrano and Soriano return to career-best form, while Pena clobbers 40+ homers, and everybody else gets better from here. It's possible.
It's also possible that you flip all of those possibilities on their heads, and the Cubs end the season in the cellar.
But what I definitely see happening is growth. Starlin Castro grows at the plate, grows as a shortstop. Darwin Barney grows into the second base position. Tyler Colvin grows into a full-time player in right. That's three critical spots that will almost assuredly be better in 2012, barring injury.
Next year, the Cubs re-sign Aramis (probably), replace Kosuke (sorry, dude), and more than likely make a massive deal with one of the top first basemen free agents to hit the market -- not incidentally stealing him from one of our biggest competitors in the division, the Brewers (Prince Fielder) or the Cardinals (Albert "MVP" Pujols).
Hold on a moment. I gotta catch my breath. Every time I think that the Cubs could land Pujols, images of World Series titles dance in my head and I get a little dizzy. Yes, titleS. (That said, it takes pitching to win Championships. So the Cubs need to land another ace. Where's that going to come from, I wonder?)
Anyway. This past week marks the end of the Milton Bradley saga in Chicago. Surprisingly, Bradley is still playing, tearing it up in spring training after last year's debacle regarding arrests and domestic violence. Up until I discovered that article just now, I would have sworn the Cubs got the best part of that trade. Now...
Okay, no. The Cubs still got the best part of that trade. Keep MB? Hells no.
Goodbye, Silva. Good luck. Goodbye, MB's shadow. Uh, yeah, just goodbye.