Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2010
Updated 11:03 PM
By Patrick Mooney
CSNChicago.com
The last time Carlos Silva pitched in a major-league game he left the stadium in an ambulance and was rushed to a hospital. He had trouble breathing, and would undergo a procedure to fix his abnormally high heart rate.
That was 37 days ago in Denver, and so much around the Cubs has changed since then, except this: They are still looking at their pitching staff for answers.
Jeff Samardzija was among five players promoted from Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday, though he is the only one working on a 10 million contract. He figures to get a look as a starter at some point this month.
That night Silva labored through a 7-3 loss to the Houston Astros in front of 31,596 fans at Wrigley Field, though he has given the Cubs more than they ever could have imagined when he was acquired in the Milton Bradley deal.
Silva lasted through five innings and 87 pitches, giving up six runs on nine hits. He doesnt quite look like an All-Star anymore, the way he did during the first half of the season. But remember that the Seattle Mariners got only 30 13 innings out of him last year, and that he went 4-15 with a 6.46 ERA in 2008.
MLB
Silva (10-6, 4.22) felt good Tuesday nightthe results just werent there. Hes not concerned about another episode, and felt comfortable against the Astros (65-73). After two minor-league rehab appearances, hes trying to build up arm strength and put together a good September.
Thats what Im looking for, Silva said, (to) try to finish very strong and come (in) next year ready to go. That means a lot for any playerthe way you finish.
The Cubs (60-79) demoted Samardzija on April 24, and the 25-year-old watched as the organization ran a shuttle for young pitchers between Des Moines and Chicago. It was hard at first, seeing so many of his teammates called up. Stuck at Triple-A, he went 11-3 with a 4.37 ERA in 35 games (15 starts).
I was going (to) get right and get some appearances. I went down and I pitched my ass off for awhile, Samardzija said. (But) its not in my hands. Im in no position to make those decisions or try (to) change their minds.
You get knocked down a little bit and then you kind of realize whats going on. And I was fine (with that).
Right now manager Mike Quade doesnt expect Tom Gorzelanny (bruised left hand) to be available to start this week. For the moment only Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster are scheduled to throw this weekend in Milwaukee.
Maybe Casey Coleman starts Sunday against the Brewers. Quade said he wasnt aware of any organizational discussions about shutting Silva down for the season after his health scare.
We think we have a surplus of arms, Quade said. But (Silva) felt so good about his heartno worries thereand if you can put that out of your mind, his arms always been fine. So lets go ahead and see if he can come back and help us some.
After that, where does Samardzija factor into the equation?
Jeffs still going to be a good major-league pitcher, general manager Jim Hendry said. What role he ends up in is not really something that we stress over now.
On Saturday Samardzijaonce an All-American wide receiver at the University of Notre Damewatched Brian Kellys debut as the Fighting Irish head coach. One 23-12 win over Purdue later, expectations seem to have changed.
Theyre already talking about a national championship, right? Samardzija said. Then well lose a game and theyll talk about firing him, right? Thats how it goes.
Same with the Cubs. Until they went all in on player development during the second half of this season, their games were covered as if there were only 12 on the schedule.
In the same way, it will be easy to make snap judgments after every Silva start or Samardzija appearance. But this winter the front office will take a look at the bigger picture to see how all the pieces fit.
Patrick Mooney is CSNChicago.com's Cubs beat writer. Follow Patrick on Twitter @CSNMooney for up-to-the-minute Cubs news and views.