Silva looking for 1st win.... - Revolution42's Blog

Revolution42's Blog

Silva looking for 1st win....

Posted on April 25, 2009 at 08:25 PM.

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Carlos Silva hasn't won an American League game since April 17, 2008.

To say things have not gone so well for him since last April, when he posted a 3-0 record during this first month of his first year with the team, would be a slight understatement. It's hard to imagine anyone in the Major Leagues needing a taste of victory more than Silva.
"It's hard going through a stretch like the one he has been on," manager Don Wakamatsu said. "His biggest problem is he cares too much. He really does. It really bothers him that he doesn't live up to that contract."
Perhaps a birthday will help.
Silva turned 30 on Thursday, and his pitching coach, Rick Adair, believes that all Silva needs to get on a roll is to wake up some morning, look at a box score and see a "W" behind his name.
"I feel very good about where he is right now," Adair said. "His [between starts] work has been good, he's made a few mechanical adjustments and his focus and concentration have been great."
Wakamatsu added: "I think he feels his stuff is better, and when he starts to believe that every day, then he'll have a good year."
Just as Silva proved in 2008, one month does not make a season.
Regardless of how well he has pitched for nearly 12 months now, it hasn't been good enough to win. But the law of averages should come into play at some point, and one would think that all the hard work Silva has put in should eventually pay off.
The last time he experienced the thrill of victory was June 28 against the Padres in San Diego. The last time he experienced the thrill of victory against an American League team was April 17 against the Athletics in Oakland.
"He is probably more anxious to get a win than we are, because we have a lot of confidence in him," Adair said. "He is doing some things real well, and we know it's just a matter of time before he wins."
Adair said Silva's exasperating struggles remind him of another former Mariners pitcher -- Matt Young.
Young, an All-Star with the Mariners in 1983 and an 18-game loser in '90 -- his final season in Seattle -- went nearly two seasons without a victory.
Young was winless from May 20, 1991, to June 12, '93, when he pitched 4 2/3 innings of relief against the Rangers to end the prolonged drought.
"That might have been the longest streak without a win in history," Adair said, "and it was stressful for him."
Silva knows the feeling all too well, but those around him are certain that his frustrations will soon end.

Pitching matchup
SEA: RHP Carlos Silva (0-2, 6.35 ERA)
The slimmed-down 2009 version of Silva is still struggling to return to form as the ground-ball machine the Mariners signed before the '08 season. His last start was another example. Silva gave up four runs on six hits in five innings against Detroit, and he was helped out by three Gold Glove-caliber plays by third baseman Adrian Beltre and another gem from shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt.
LAA: RHP Anthony Ortega (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Ortega, a 23-year-old right-hander from Venezuela, makes his Major League debut hoping to emulate Matt Palmer -- his teammate at Triple-A Salt Lake, who claimed his first Major League win Thursday night with six solid innings against the Tigers. Ortega has struggled in three outings at Salt Lake (1-1, 9.88 ERA), but he excelled there last season (5-0, 2.52 ERA in six starts) after going 9-7 with a 3.73 ERA at Double-A Arkansas. The organization's Minor League Pitcher of the Year for 2008, he showed up in Spring Training with fatigue in the forearm/elbow area after throwing in the Venezuelan Winter League and was limited to some impressive bullpen sessions. He throws in the low 90s with movement and has a quality breaking ball.
Misc.
The Mariners are tied with the Royals in shutouts this season, and one more will equal last season's total of four. ... Catcher Kenji Johjima, eligible to come off the disabled list on May 1, took pregame batting practice on Friday and should begin a running program this weekend. ... Left-handed pitcher Cesar Jimenez was sent to Triple-A Tacoma after Thursday's game to begin a rehab assignment. ... The 17 hits in Friday night's series opener were a season high for the Mariners, and Seattle improved to 6-1 against the AL West with Friday's win.