Former Mariners problem Carlos Silva has revived career with Cubs

CHICAGO — Carlos Silva hears the buzz around the Cubs' locker room when teammates see his name on the lineup card. P "They say, 'Silva's pitching. We'll win today.' That makes me feel so good," Silva said.

Silva is talking to a Seattle reporter in the Cubs' clubhouse at Wrigley Field before a recent game against Oakland. His contentment is evident — a stark contrast from the anguish that marked his two down-and-out seasons with the Mariners. When his name was on the Seattle lineup card, let's just say the buzz was a little different.

"It was very, very tough," Silva said. "Maybe I was trying too much, trying to show people why they gave me so much money."

The Mariners gave him $48 million, to be exact, when Silva signed a four-year deal as a free agent before the 2008 season. But he lasted just two seasons with the Mariners, good for a combined 5-18 record and 6.81 earned-run average before they consummated a classic "your problem for our problem" deal with the Cubs. The Mariners took Milton Bradley, and even gave the Cubs an extra $6 million to square the deal.

Silva came to camp needing to beat out four pitchers for a spot in the rotation. Not only did he do that, but now, in the words of Cubs manager Lou Piniella, "He's been our best pitcher."

On Tuesday, in fact, Silva returns to Seattle as the de facto ace of the Cubs staff. He's scheduled to start Thursday's interleague game at Safeco Field.

Silva won his first eight decisions this year before dropping his last two, but even in the defeats, he turned in quality starts. The Cubs are 10-3 in his 13 starts, 21-35 in all other games. Silva is being mentioned as a likely All-Star.

It's a stunning turnaround, one that no one — not even the Cubs — saw coming.

"We're not going to sit here and act like we knew he'd be (8-2) and pitching this good," Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said. "It was the classic change of scenery and hope both guys benefit from the trade. Jack (Zduriencik) and I have a real good relationship, and we had very honest, open dialogue. We're not gloating at someone having success that didn't have it there."

When Silva searches for the reasons that his Seattle disaster — which affected him so profoundly he began to see a counselor — has turned into a Chicago triumph, he goes in numerous directions.

But Silva starts in January, when he showed up for the Cubs Convention, and what he thought would be a perfunctory workout with pitching coach Larry Rothschild at Northwestern University.

But Rothschild kept Silva for two hours, and began instigating changes he felt would help Silva. That has included some mechanical tweaks, as well as a change in philosophy.

"I began to get my confidence back, and started to trust myself more," he said.

Whereas last year Silva threw his fastball 82.5 percent of the time, according to STATS Inc., this year he's throwing heat with just 56 percent of his pitches. His changeup usage is at 30 percent, his slider almost 15 percent.

"I think it's because his stuff is worth using," said Cubs catcher Koyie Hill. "I don't know what it was like in Seattle. I didn't see him pitch. All I know is that this year, when I ask him to throw a pitch to a certain spot, he executes it beautifully. To me, it would seem like a waste of his stuff if we weren't using it."

To Silva, it boils down to feeling more comfortable in Chicago than in Seattle, where he believes the Mariners organization dwelled too much on his girth.

"In Seattle, people were worried more about my weight than anything else," he said. "Here, people were worried about how to get me back on track. Since I got to spring training, they don't even talk about my weight. They say, 'You've got to do this and this to get you ready for the season.'

"In Seattle, the only thing I hear is my weight. 'You're out of shape.' Even when I was on the DL, they say, 'Don't go on the road trip because you're out of shape.' What do you mean, out of shape? I'm not even pitching right now. How do you know if I'm in shape? Stuff like that makes you mad, angry."

Another key factor in his turnaround, Silva said, came during spring training, when his mother, Zulay, received a visa and came to Arizona from their native Venezuela to visit. She hadn't seen him pitch since his days with the Twins, but her presence has been hugely comforting, he said.

"My mom is such a special person to me," Silva said. "She always gives that positive word exactly when you need to hear it. It makes a big difference."

Silva said he keeps in close contact with numerous ex-Mariners, including fellow Venezuelan Felix Hernandez.

"I always talk to Felix, especially when he has bad games," Silva said. "I try to boost him up."

Mention of Hernandez's name, however, triggers another sour Seattle memory for Silva.

"There was one thing that made me so crazy in Seattle," he said. "Pretty much they wanted me out of Seattle. It was very clear they were saying I was a bad influence on Felix.

"I'd say Felix needs a bad influence, because if I was a bad influence — Felix won 19 games. I don't know how he didn't win the Cy Young. To me, he was the best pitcher and the most consistent pitcher in the whole league last year. And they say I was bad influence?"

Asked to specify who "they" was, Silva said, "I don't say names. Some people on the team. That was driving me crazy. If Felix had someone who was always trying to keep him on line, that was me. I feel I was a good influence."

As he prepared to return to Seattle for the first time since the December trade, Silva said he feels badly it didn't work out with the Mariners.

"People think I am so happy now because I am doing good, and they traded me," he said. "No, no. Not at all. I wish I could have done this kind of job for them, too. They were the team that showed so much interest in me when I was a free agent."

But Silva can't deny that he comes back a new man.

"I feel different," he said. "I feel more free. Like the only thing I have to worry about is my pitching, you know what I mean?"

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com