Kirby Arnold fans the flames of justifiable contempt:
SEATTLE -- Reports of the pounds Carlos Silva put on this year might not have been as exaggerated as his weight itself.
...
The Mariners won't say what the man nicknamed "Buffalo" weighed at the end of the season, although it clearly wasn't a four-pound difference. It was more like 30.
The Mariners are taking special steps this winter to make sure he isn't super-sized again.
It's funny to read over the Silva press conference article from last December and see how completely wrong everybody was. Maybe not so much ha-ha funny as hey-that-blood-spatter-on-the-wall-from-my-chest-kind-of-looks-like-Jerry Lewis funny. There are different kinds of funny.
The Mariners signed Carlos Silva for four main reasons:
1) to add a league-average arm to the rotation
2) to add an innings eater to the rotation
3) to add a veteran leader to the clubhouse
4) to be a good mentor for Felix
What they got in return:
1) the 16th-worst tRA and the 19th-worst tRA* of 130 qualified starters
2) 153.1 innings, a DL stint, constant back problems, and a 5.5 IP/start ratio that was below the AL average of 5.9
3) threats to throw teammates into walls and a stubborn reluctance to acknowledge his own shortcomings
4) substantial in-season weight gain from a guy who called out others for not showing enough commitment or drive to win
Carlos Silva didn't do a single thing right in 2008. Not a single thing. Remember how during the 06/07 offseason, a huge deal was made over how Felix had worked out really hard and lost so much weight? The big guy the organization brought in as a role model for their blossoming ace just gained 30 more pounds in six months. While playing games.
I'm not going to say this team would be better off were Silva to be rendered paraplegic in a traffic accident. But it wouldn't not be better off.
0 recs | 68 comments
Silva's lack of self reflection is impressive
too bad his contract doesn’t have a Lopez clause (doesn’t Loafie’s contract depend on him passing some athletic tests at the start of each season?)
Bearskin Rugburn - November 23, 2008
Indeed it does
But Silva’s contract does promise him a suite for all road games. So that’s something.
Jeff Sullivan - November 23, 2008
Does that include Room Service?
That could be the problem.
Fin - November 23, 2008
With a free minibar?
Kirsten Schlewitz - November 24, 2008
yes.
tacobar, to be precise.
Bearskin Rugburn - November 24, 2008
It would be a waste of a free suite otherwise, now wouldn't it?
JI - November 24, 2008
I am also going to blame silva
for the fact that a couple of different site are saying felix pitched 200.7 innings while others say its 200.2
wadswerth - November 23, 2008
How do you pitch 200.7 innings?
.Taylor - November 23, 2008
I think what you are trying to say is how do you pitch 200.2 innings
Nick S - November 23, 2008
200.2 innings makes sense.
he pitched 200 innnings plus 2 outs to make it a 200.2… the 200.7 confused me
wadswerth - November 23, 2008
I'm guessing.
200.7 → 0.7 ~= 0.666666667 = 2/3 = 2 of 3 Outs.
ThundaPC - November 23, 2008
Yep, that does make sense now
wadswerth - November 23, 2008
more properly 200.6666...667 IP
Corco - November 23, 2008
They both mean 2/3rds of an inning.
Some sites use .1 and .2, some use .3 and .7.
Aaron Campeau - November 23, 2008
The .1 and .2 make zero sense to me IMO
But that’s just me.
Blicks - November 23, 2008
I just look at it as outs instead of a decimal.
Teej - November 23, 2008
Mmm yeah.
Blicks - November 23, 2008
It's stupid when you want to calculate outs though.
Graham MacAree - November 23, 2008
Understandable.
Teej - November 23, 2008
You can't do math
Edgar for Pres - November 24, 2008
0.1 and 0.2 make no sense to me either
I don’t think in trinary
Graham MacAree - November 25, 2008
Agreed.
The Ancient Mariner - November 25, 2008
Start.
Llewdor - November 25, 2008
I love this comment.
JI - November 27, 2008
It depends on your convention for identifying partial innings.
Two outs is two-thirds of an inning. Two-thirds in decimal notation is 0.666,,,,, which rounds to 0.7
By other convention, one-third inning is designated as 0.1, two-thirds by 0.2. 200.2 innings in this convention is the same as 200.7 innings in a true decimal convention.
Steve Nelson - November 23, 2008
It's still Silva's fault
Bearskin Rugburn - November 23, 2008
Totally
Aaron Campeau - November 23, 2008
Carlos Silva is on the path to overtake Player A as my least favorite Mariner ever
Corco - November 23, 2008
He needs to blame the fans for his weightgain first
Bearskin Rugburn - November 23, 2008
That's all that's left
Corco - November 23, 2008
Well his April was pretty good
but thats like saying “Oh isn’t that an interesting fly on that pile of shit”
Scrupio - November 23, 2008
Wait-don't players usually lose weight over the course of the season?
Zonis - November 23, 2008
Yes; that's the cause of all the "OMGWTFBBQ" about him gaining 30 pounds in that time frame.
Inkara1 - November 24, 2008
This also means that Silva gained more than a pound per start he made...
Scrupio - November 23, 2008
But hey, there's good news.
At least three teams have contacted Willie Bloomquist, the longtime M’s utility player who is a free agent, including one from the AL West (no, it’s not the Mariners). …eponymous_coward - November 23, 2008
Plus it looks like the Dodgers, Mets and Cubs are interested in Raul
Raul in the NL should be, uh, interesting. Wonder if they like lawn darts.
eponymous_coward - November 23, 2008
What?
I don’t see why the Dodgers need an OFer, and an outfield of Kemp/Ethier/Ibanez could be hilarious
Corco - November 23, 2008
Needs more flailing Manny.
BrianL - November 23, 2008
true
Corco - November 23, 2008
Because Ned Colletti is not really the pinnacle of intelligence.
Blicks - November 23, 2008
Lets think a sec
a team in the AL West who would be interested in a guy who has no power, and tons of speed…. and is a gamer… grinder… a ballplayer… a ….
Your Starting Short Stop for YOUR 2009 Anahiem Angels: WILLY BALLGAME!
Zonis - November 23, 2008
Yes plz.
Blicks - November 23, 2008
Oh please take him, Anaheim
Pretty please.
Gomez - November 23, 2008
I like to hear Morrow is working out already.
Nice to know he doesn’t need Silva’s leadership to be prepared for next season.
dpseadv - November 23, 2008
I need to bulk up
Silva should donate about say…20 pounds of that weight to me.
Or just his personal taco chef.
Blicks - November 23, 2008
thought it was interesting
that not only did they send Silva home with a diet & exercise plan, but that they feel they have to send Rick Griffith along mid-winter to make sure he is actually following the plan…
msb - November 23, 2008
Hey, another visit to the pitcher by trainer Rick Griffith.
This guy has to have a limit, one of these days I keep thinking he’ll just flip out on the mound.
dpseadv - November 23, 2008
Actually, Silva did his job and then some
He’s the Anti-Felix!
Silva took a hit for the team by absorbing all of Felix’s cockiness, smart mouth, and extra weight. In the infamous “throw someone against a wall” interview, if you look closely, you can actually see wisps of Felix’s potential negativity streaming out of him and into Silva. This season had the potential to tank Felix’s career by letting all his worst tendencies and temptations finally become habits, but Silva bravely threw himself in front of that bus and transferred all of it to himself, keeping King Felix on the pure path to superstardom. .
It’s kinda like the picture of Dorian Gray, if Dorian Gray was an obese #5 starter.
Spoomeister - November 23, 2008
I'm waiting for Baker to title a post
“Silva Lining turns out to be Blubber”
Bearskin Rugburn - November 24, 2008
Hehehe, soooo rec'd for awesome pun.
joof - November 24, 2008
Silva's complete lack of self reflection
is also probably helped by the fact that he has a toadie “reporter” (Baker) egging him on trying to stir up trouble.
Sam Regens - November 24, 2008
That'a a pretty gross mischaracterization of Baker
I mean, I don’t like everything he writes but as beat writers go he’s easily in the top 20 percentile. And he certainly wasn’t supporting Silva’s lashing out against his teammates.
Bearskin Rugburn - November 24, 2008
Baker deserves all the grief that he gets for peddling trash.
Sam Regens - November 24, 2008
Well, let's agree to disagree
cause you’re wrong
Bearskin Rugburn - November 24, 2008
How do you gain 30 opunds in a year while working as a professional athlete.
I was appalled that I gained 10 (probably 15) pounds in one year, but here’s what I did in that year.
I’d just moved to a new city for a new job, and I didn’t know anyone, so I never went out. When I was at home I literally spent all of my time sitting at my computer playing EverQuest (this was 2000-2001). I rode a train to work, and got maybe 4 blocks worth of walking all day. And I ate at a mall food court every single day – usually a place called Perogy King – they served sausages as a side dish. And I was 25, so my childhood metabolism had just gone away.
And I gained 15 pounds, max. How did Silva gain 30? Does he have a thyroid condition?
Llewdor - November 24, 2008
fatty
Bearskin Rugburn - November 24, 2008
The bigger you are, the easier it is to gain weight.
Aaron Campeau - November 24, 2008
If you eat to excess with every meal, sure.
But who’s that dumb?
Llewdor - November 24, 2008
Eating disorders!=dumb
Aaron Campeau - November 24, 2008
If you lack the capactiy for rational thought
I’ll agree there’s something wrong with you.
Llewdor - November 24, 2008
Eating disorders involve a suspension of the capacity for rational thought.
Aaron Campeau - November 24, 2008
Part of the problem is...
eat tacos until you’re full. As time goes on, you need more tacos to feel full because your stomach expands. If you figure 400 calories a taco, if it takes three to get full at the start of the year, that’s 1,200 calories… five tacos a year later to get full is 2,000 calories at one sitting.
Weight has been an issue for me as far back as I can remember and lately as I’ve tried to deal with it, the single biggest issue I’ve had is that I can eat a 300-calorie Lean Cuisine and it won’t make a dent in the hunger pangs at all. A footlong sandwich at Subway makes the hunger pangs go away but I don’t feel really full, either. A six-inch sandwich there and when I’m done, I’m just as hungry as when I started.
Inkara1 - November 24, 2008
Feeling full shouldn't be your objective.
Llewdor - November 24, 2008
It's not, but it sucks to still feel hungry after dinner.
Inkara1 - November 24, 2008
There's a difference between feeling full and not feeling hungry.
Being hungry is unpleasant. Not being hungry is your default. Feeling full means not only that you’re not hungry, but you’ve eaten as much as you can.
There’s little need ever to feel full.
Llewdor - November 25, 2008
Your body also takes a good 30 minutes-1 hour to fully digest the food
so you probably won’t feel satiated right away.
Blicks - November 24, 2008
Alcohol also factors in.
You don’t feel full, and a lot of alcoholic drinks are full of empty calories.
I can safely make the claim that the majority of my caloric intake comes from alcohol. It’s sad.
Blicks - November 24, 2008
You also didn't have catered meals and $12 million to burn
Gomez - November 24, 2008
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