From the Cubs Media Department comes Exhibit A in the case for firing Jim Hendry:
CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs today acquired right-handed pitcher Carlos Silva and cash from the Seattle Mariners for outfielder Milton Bradley.
Silva, 30, is 60-64 with two saves and a 4.72 ERA (592 ER/1128.2 IP) in 295 major league appearances (159 starts) with Philadelphia (2002-03), Minnesota (2004-07) and Seattle (2008-09). He has walked only 214 batters in 1128.2 innings pitched, an average of only 1.7 walks per nine innings. Silva is 15-7 with two saves and a 4.18 ERA (116 ER/250.0 IP) in 135 games (17 starts) in his career against the National League, including a 5-1 mark and a 3.71 ERA (26 ER/63.0 IP) in 33 games (four starts) against the National League Central.
The righthander won nine or more games in four consecutive seasons with the Twins from 2004-07, including three double digit win campaigns in 2004 (career-high 14 wins), 2006 (11 wins) and 2007 (13 wins). He made 27 or more starts in five-straight seasons from 2004-08.
Silva broke into the majors in 2002 and went 8-1 with a 3.83 ERA (73 ER/171.1 IP) in 130 appearances, all but one in relief, in his only two seasons in the National League with the Phillies. Acquired in a trade by the Twins prior to the 2004 campaign, Silva went 47-45 with a 4.42 ERA (380 ER/773.2 IP) in 129 appearances (124 starts) in Minnesota, compiling more than 180.0 innings in all four campaigns. In 2005, Silva walked only nine batters in 188.1 innings pitched, an average of one walk every 21.0 frames.
In 2009 with the Mariners, Silva was limited to eight appearances (six starts) due to a right shoulder impingement that landed him on the disabled list from May 9-September 15. He went 1-3 with an 8.60 ERA (29 ER/30.1 IP) in the eight outings. A native of Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela, Silva is currently pitching in the Venezuelan Winter League.
Bradley, 31, batted .257 (101-for-393) with 12 home runs and 40 RBI in 124 games with the Cubs last season.
Now that you know how I feel, let’s hear your thoughts on this trade.
We wanted rid of the board game. This is the price you must pay. Let’s hope this works out as well as the salary swap with the Dodgers that netted Karros and Grudz.
Hendry should be fired, but long before this deal.
Silva sucks, yes, but after seeing what clubhouse cancer will do to a team, I’ll take him over Bradley any day.
Silva is terrible. As in, really, really bad.
The Cubs would have been better off just cutting Bradley.
Oh… and the “clubhouse cancer” had little to do with most of the Cubs troubles last year. He didn’t cause Soto and Soriano to suck. Or every member of the starting rotation to get hurt. Or Hendry to sign Gregg.
Bradley underperformed – there is no questioning that. But to blame him for the Cubs troubles is just plain silly.
I’ll agree that he wasn’t the total issue, but this deal sucks. Hendry needs to go.
Now that Theriot claims they “can focus” on baseball (Waddle and Silvy interview), and not on Bradley, I’m putting the screws to this team. Put up, or SHUT UP. Win. Or else.
There’s a team ten miles south that seems to at least attempt to win. Get a F’in clue.
I don’t hate this. Any other team we would have traded Bradley to would have required US to give THEM cash. The owners have already said they aren’t going to increase payroll. So, the only way to get enough money to make additions was to shed salary via trade (not gonna happen with Bradley as, again, we’d be forced to pay a large portion of his salary while he played for another team) or a deal like this where we actually managed to talk another team into giving us money. How else were we going to get a center fielder? Let’s not tar and feather him yet until we see what he does with this suddenly available cash.
Also, Silva IS bad, but with the bump in numbers that almost always accompanies a pitcher’s move from the AL to the NL, he will hopefully improve to mediocre.
I’d advise calm. The fact that the Cubs are getting money back is astounding. Granted, Silva is awful, but better an awful pitcher (who can be buried in the bullpen) than an awful position player on the field everyday. Hendry has cleaned up his mess as best he could. And at least this whole debacle is over on Dec. 18.
i like this deal. having bradley gone will do a lot to eliminate distractions and having a bad contract with a pitcher that we can hold on the bullpen or maybe even hide on the DL is better than a position player we feel obligated to play every day. If we are able to use the extra money to sign Marlon Byrd or Matt Capps I will be happy with where we stand heading into 2010.
Ugh… so if the Cubs sign Byrd, they will replacing Bradley with Silva and Byrd.
That would be awful.
I like this deal and here’s why. It rids us of a clubhouse cancer that could have jeopardized the 2010 season before it started; even if Silva is horrible he can be like a potted plant and sit out in the bullpen and pitch when the Cubs are behind 10-0 in the third. This is basic addition by subtraction – besides the Cubs save $6 million compared to what they would have paid Bradley and this year that money is needed more than ever.
And Silva could surprise us, he has decent numbers in the National League. So I’m glad this happened and taking a wait and see attitude regarding what will happen with Silva. Perhaps the Cubs can assume some salary and send him somewhere for a AA prospect.
The $6 Million is offsetting Silva’s terrible contract for Milton’s terrbile contract.
From the way I read it, the cash makes Hendry break even over the next two years.
No MJ… the Mariners are sending $9M, and the Cubs are saving $6M in the deal. That is the ONLY redeeming factor of this trade.
Basically Bradley was owed $22M over the next two years, and the Cubs will “only” be paying Silva $16M.
Let’s hope Piniella uses Silva about as often as a Fransciscan monk uses his seminal vesicles.
A $16 million “might be crappy” player is better than a $22 million “we know he’s crappy” any day. It’s not a great deal, and Hendry should be fired, but the human tumor is gone, and that’s what’s important. It’s a miracle the Cubs got any, even an inkling of potential in dealing a guy with Bradley’s heinous track record of behavioral disorder.
If we are able to use the extra money to sign Marlon Byrd or Matt Capps I will be happy with where we stand heading into 2010.
Wow, that is a low expectation to be “happy”. If that’s all that happens this off season, the Cubs won’t be much better in 2010.
Let’s hope Piniella uses Silva about as often as a Fransciscan monk uses his seminal vesicles.
Are you talking daily?
I too have forgotten how to use the grey box
I like this deal much more than the Burrell idea. Even though it is a wash monetarily, Silva may be easier to jettison than Bradley should his suckage continue.
I wonder how thrilled people would have been had the Cubs done nothing about Bradley and carried him this year. Something had to be done and, given Bradley’s people problem we’re lucky that somebody would even take him. He would not have fared well in Wrigley this year, and we would have had continuous stories about him feeling hatred and racism as well as clubhouse incidents and explosions on the field.
Good riddance to bad rubbish, even if it means taking a guy that’s had two pretty bad years in a row. Bradley rates second on my all time Cubs punk list behind Turd Hundley.
In the past I have often given Hendry the benefit of the doubt on his decisions, but based on his decisions over the past two years I think it is time for him to be fired.
Last year the Cubs could have signed Bobby Abreu, Raul Ibanez, or Milton Bradley. Hendry signed Bradley — and traded DeRosa to free-up salary. (Also, somebody can correct me on this, but I don’t think Hendry even went after Abreu or Ibanez.)
After Bradley disappoints (and rants, raves, complains, etc.), Hendry trades him for a mediocre (at best) reliever.
The Cubs are rumored to be interested in Rick Ankiel, Marlon Byrd, and Scott Podseknik. Two of these guys are worse than Reed Johnson (this is based on statistics, not opinion). The other, Byrd has comparable statistics to Johnson (so comparable that Baseball Reference lists Johnson as the most similar player to Byrd). Of course, his price tag will likely be a lot higher, so that should no doubt attract Hendry.
Meanwhile, let’s examine two of the biggest weaknesses of the team after the 2009 season:
— Second base
— Center/right field (assuming Bradley would be gone)
Chone Figgins has speed, he has a high on-base percentage, and he plays well in the field. Hendry (to my knowledge) did not pursue him, he signs elsewhere.
Mike Cameron is getting older, but he can still play center and he can hit for power. Over the last 10 seasons, his OPS+ is 110 — and he is consistent. Piniella even commented that he would bring up Cameron in discussions. Cameron signs with the Red Sox.
Rich Harden. I know that many weren’t thrilled with Harden, but he would be our fourth starter and I would take Harden over any other fourth starter in baseball. He signed with the Rangers for less money than we paid him last year.
Finally, let’s think about where this team is headed after the 2010 season:
Derrek Lee is a free agent. Ted Lilly is a free agent. Aramis Ramirez can opt for free agency.
Color me pessimistic.
Hasbro is gone, pop the champagne. Silva, maybe he stunk because of his injury. There is hope he can be this years Jason Marquis. Hope and change, hope and change, I just hope the Cubs have some change left in there budget with all these bloated underperforming contract.
Will anyone be statistically and historically surprised if Bradley plays well in Seattle? Then you will hear the people drilling Hendry for letting Bradley go.
OK, some of the early reports made it sound like it was a break even deal.
Came here to see what you guys thought of this trade. Didn’t disappoint. At first I was happy, then reading the details and Silva’s recent history………ugh……At Least Bradley’s gone, I’ll take that as positive.
Hasbro could thrive in an environment which does not have a critical media. Like playing in Toronto- the players in Toronto always say the media goes pretty light on them, kinda like the Phoenix media is with the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes. No one in Phoenix including the media really knows much about hockey , akin to the baseball media in Toronto. They call umpires, refs, in Toronto. “Hey Ref, buy some spectacles, that ball was out of play over the boards!”
So if the Seattle media ignores Hasbro he may play well, but history says over the course of a 162 Hasbro will have a melt down.
I’m looking forward to seeing how he fares. I’ll be particularly interested in seeing how he does if indeed the Seattle media ignores him. Chicago media is tough, I think we all agree on that. But people with personalities like MB tend to self-destruct regardless of circumstances, even if the media/fans/etc. got the blame here. There’s always someone or something to blame with personalities like his. That’s what makes it interesting to me. Time will tell.