Silva to start Game #3.... - Revolution42's Blog

Revolution42's Blog

Silva to start Game #3....

Posted on April 8, 2009 at 04:02 PM.

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A "taller" Carlos Silva will take the mound in his first start of the regular season Wednesday.

Posture has been one of the things Mariners pitching coach Rick Adair worked on with Silva during the latter stages of Spring Training, and it seemed to work wonders in the righty's final tuneup for Wednesday night's 5:10 p.m. PT game against the Twins at the Metrodome.
Silva held the Padres scoreless for four innings on April 2 before surrendering two runs in the fifth inning. He departed feeling good about himself.
"He controlled his effort a lot better, and the plane of his fastball was working downhill better," Adair said. "That makes everything else work better."
Silva relies on a sinker, and when he stands upright and gets "on top" of the ball when he throws it, the ball has a natural sink.
"Instead of seeing fly balls or hard-hit grounders, you start seeing balls chopped on the ground," Adair said.
Silva hopes to start the 2009 season the way he began in '08, when he was unbeaten (3-0) in five starts. The remainder of the season was a royal bummer, as Silva went 1-15 with a 6.46 ERA.
His pain was felt all the way back in the Twin Cities.

"You always root for the guys that leave here and have been here," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He's one of our favorites. He was a lot of fun to have around here on the team -- a good teammate, rooted for everybody and very intense when he's on the mound.
"We know how hard it is for him. It's no fun for anyone. He cares, and anytime you have a person that cares about going out there and helping the team and you see them struggling, it's not fun.
"Hopefully he really struggles tomorrow night, and he'll rebound after that and go from there. But he's easy to root for because he was such a good teammate here."
Silva, who faced the Twins twice last season, was 0-1 with a 20.25 ERA while surrendering 12 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings in those outings. He compiled a 47-45 record during his four seasons with Minnesota.
Silva still lives in the Twin Cities during the offseason and has been able to sleep in his own bed for a few days.
"I'm sure he'll be excited about pitching here again," Adair said.

Pitching matchup
SEA: RHP Carlos Silva (4-15, 6.46 ERA in 2008)
Silva begins pursuit of a comeback season in his old stomping grounds. He had his best years with the Twins, from 2004-07, reaching double digits in wins three times and pitching at least 200 innings twice. He finished the spring strong, tossing four shutout innings before surrendering a two-run home run in the fifth in his final tuneup.
MIN: RHP Kevin Slowey (12-11, 3.99 ERA in 2008)
The Twins starter who possesses the best command of his pitches, Slowey showed this spring why he's considered to be on the verge of a breakout season. Having averaged just 1.4 walks per nine innings in his career, Slowey continued that trend this spring. Heading into his final spring start, Slowey had issued just one walk in 20 1/3 innings. Another reason for optimism is that Slowey continues to improve his offspeed pitches as he starts the season in the rotation for the second consecutive year. Tidbits:
Endy Chavez is the 22nd different player in the past 33 years to start the season in left field for the Mariners. Raul Ibanez leads with four starts, followed by Phil Bradley, who made three. Others to have more than one Opening Day start in left are Mark McLemore, Darren Bragg, Greg Briley, Bruce Bochy, Tom Paciorek and Randy Winn, all with two. ... Change can be a good thing. The Mariners' roster includes nine players that did not appear in a game last season. ... The Mariners lead the Majors in foreign-born players with 15, representing seven countries. ... The next home run Ken Griffey Jr. hits will be his 400th with the Mariners, and he would become the 22nd player in MLB history to hit that many with one organization