Some Let's-Take-A-Deep-Breath Analysis Of The Bradley-Silva Deal

That Hendry couldn’t have signed Bradley for a 1-year, incentive-laden deal with an option for a 2nd year. He bid against himself, there was no other team out there willing to go 3 years on him.

In the end, I don’t care about Carlos Silva. If he helps the team and is a serviceable 5th starter, that’s fine. If he sucks, then release him and move on with the additional few million we saved. Let’s focus on the real issues with the 2010 team: getting Soriano and Soto back on track, keeping Aramis healthy, getting Lilly healthy, making sure Marmol can close and not walk the world, and figuring out CF.

I honestly think he’ll have a monster year with Seattle, or close to a monster year anyway. He’s now two years removed from surgery, he’s in a lower profile market, there won’t be as much pressure on him with the M’s because expectations aren’t as high as they would be for the Cubs, he could play in the outfield or as a DH, and he has a lot of people to shut up. There are a ton of motivating factors for him, and if he can use that to boost his talent up a notch, I think he’ll help the M’s challenge the Angels.

And, if he just does nothing, he may be the biggest baby and laziest player of the modern era.

And we should look at this as the Cubs limiting the damage of the Bradley contract…

Bradley was not going to play for the Cubs…and had $21 left on his contract. Now that mistake will only cost the Cubs $16 ($11.5 million * 2 years + $2 million buy out – $9 million from Seattle) for a player the will probably not play for them.

I can’t see how this is not an improvement. Bradley was never going to play for the Cubs again…especially after he public ripped on the organization in September.

Putting Pat Burrell on this team would have meant that the Cubs would have had to send money to TB and the Cubs would be stuck with 2 right fielders and still need a center fielder. That would have been financially much worse unless they were somehow able to unload Fukudome as well. ($13 million for Fukudome + $9 for Burrell + $5 to $7 million of Bradley’s contract…all for right field before we even had a center fielder!)

The Cubs are better off right now.

beyond Ted Lilly’s return. Maybe occasionally from the pen, but knowing Lou, he won’t figure out how to use him, he’ll enter the doghouse, and will be released.

The quote from Hendry doesn’t sound really confident, either:

“We’ll do everything we can to get him as close to back where he was a few years ago,” Hendry said.

Alas, there is no magic time machine. I believe it was hidden inside the Gatorade dispenser, and was destroyed by accident. Count your cash saved and move on.

Has MB been better in the AL? Yep. Is Seattle comparable to market size as the Rangers? Yep. Does Safeco field play to MB’s ability? Yep. So do I think that, for MB, the trade worked out? Yep. MB is a smaller market, less emphasis will be placed on him there. He will be able to work as the DH there, of course this will result in unhappy Marnier fans since this will displace Griffey. For MB, he can talk all the crap he wants but the Cubs did him a favor by trading him to Seattle.

As for Silva, let’s hope it truly was an injury that resulted in his performance in Seattle. Worst case, we have a long relief guy that sits on the end of the bench (ala David Patton) with $6M in salary relief. Best case, we have a #5 pitcher that can eat innings and keep his ERA under 5 with $6M in salary relief. Let’s plan on the worst and hope for the best.

is that Silva won’t be given a chance. Ironically, it will be by the same people who whined that Bradley wasn’t given a fair chance.

If he has anything left it would be nice, but he can be stashed on the DL or Patton deep in the bullpen.

I agree with what Al said above. Hendry should have seen what most saw coming. I was glad to see him admit this yesterday.

Bradley was his usual fun self in his interview. What an ass…..

He may succeed in Seattle where there is less pressure and not so much media. It seems like another San Francisco type area where players like Bradley and Bonds are left alone. You would think he would have the mindset to stick it to the Cubs and have a great year to show them how wrong they were. But I wonder if Bradley has it in him to do this. What will it take this year to set him off? An umpire’s bad call? An idiot saying something really bad in the stands? This will happen on the road all the time. He has burnt alot of bridges along the way. Maybe a pitch coming to close to him will set him off. Who knows with him? What if any media asks him the wrong question?

I will not miss any of this crap and I am guessing most of his teamates and manager will not either.

Goodbye Milton. You were just about everything Cubs fans feared you would be and more.

I just can’t see any way where he comes in and pitches well. It’s like Sean Estes all over again.

As for Bradley, I don’t wish him well. A guy like that, he’s had enough success in his life. He doesn’t deserve success. I hope he flames out and gets cut from the roster.

Evidence? Here: “…[N]o one could have predicted how it turned out.”

Some people believe climate change is a lie. Others believe ghosts walk among us. There are still those who believe the Earth is flat.

And Hungry Jim Hendry believes no one could have guessed that the Milton Bradley experience would turn out badly.

Please, please please, Tom Ricketts — fire Jim Hendry!

Granted, it took about 6 strong Seven and Sevens last night, and i’m far higher now than i’d care to admit, but here’s how i talked myself in to this:

On one side, there was the “trade bradley at any cost, cut him, whatever it takes” crew. On the other, the “keep him” guys. I was somewhere in the middle, wishing him gone, but for a healthy return. No handicapping the team financially, no crappy useless players in return for a guy who is, personality deficiency aside, fairly decent at baseball.

I do not believe this trade made the team better. I do not believe the team this morning has a better chance of reaching the playoffs than it did yesterday morning. This was not addition by subtraction, and Silva is not a player that is likely to snap back to being something that he’s rarely shown himself to be – a good pitcher… at least not any more likely than it is that Bradley would snap back to being something he’s rarely show himself to be – a reasonable dude.

All that being said, i got half of what i wanted. We got that crappy player i feared, to the point that many are suggesting simply cutting him. BUT, the team is financially better off. It may be slight ($6 million doesn’t buy what it used to on the FA market), but at least Hendry didn’t take on a Miguel Cabrera contract, right?

Anyways, at first i was skeptical. We don’t need Silva, and the $6 million probably isn’t enough to replace the production of the guy we got rid of. As i said, the team got worse. But then, epiphany! Sure, Hendry didn’t manage to meet both my criteria for a good solution to the Bradley situation… but he half met it! He got that crappy player, but the team’s financial situation actually slightly improved! He’s batting .500! Most of the previously rumored trades wouldn’t have allowed for that! Burell? Please. He’d have been sitting on the bench where Silva will be this season, but he wouldn’t have come with them dolla bills!

Again, i’m really high, so it isn’t impossible that i’ll go back to lamenting the fact that the rotation has lost Harden and added Silva, and the fact that offense has quite significantly fallen off in terms of talent unless Hendry pulls some sort of trade miracle for a CF, but in light of the “batting .500” revelation, i’m willing to withhold judgment and criticism until we see how this plays out.

So far this off season, we’ve ditched:

Miles (a good thing)
Fox (a wash, Grinch’s objections aside)
Bradley (open to interpretation)

And gained:

Silva (crap)
Rule 5’er (eh…)
$6 million (sweet)

The team is worse, but in a better position, now, to make some moves. I can wait and see.

As I have said from the start to deal Bradley ( and I thought keeping was a better option but I realized it was not going to happen) the Cubs should simply find out who would offer to pick up as much of the contract as possible ( which I actually guessed at 5 million so close). Silva is a warm body , albeit a big one. Is there a remote chance he could be useful, I suppose but I would put that at the level of inviting Rusch or Mike Hampton ( Ok minus the fact Hampton is again out for 2010) to Spring Training. He had one and half good seasons a few years ago and has been the single worst pitcher in the MLB since then and is doing poorly in winter ball. He is window dressing for Hendry but I don’t have a problem with that. Again let’s not pretend that Silva is likely to be any good at all but accept that 6 million in savings was about as good as the Cubs could get.

Yes.

then the savings is only $2 million not the $6 million that people are mentioning. People seem to be missing the extra $2 million owed Silva to buyout 2012.