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Another one slips away
Silva questions Mariners’ effort after fifth straight loss
RYAN DIVISH; ryan.divish@thenewstribune.com
Published: May 25th, 2008 01:00 AM
NEW YORK – On a day when the general manager questioned the lack of leadership and accountability of the players, the Seattle Mariners showed hints of both – well, at least one player did.
It doesn’t change the fact the Mariners lost, 12-6, to the New York Yankees on Saturday at Yankee Stadium, and have dropped all five games they’ve played on this road trip and 12 of their past 17 to fall to 18-32.
But the fact starter Carlos Silva stood up and questioned the team’s recent efforts shows that impatience isn’t limited to fans and front-office personnel.
“If people played hard no matter what, you’re going to see a different game,” said Silva, who took the loss Saturday after giving up seven runs and 11 hits. “If you strike out or miss a play and you keep playing the game, you’re going to see a different game.”
Without naming names, Silva asked for some accountability from players.
“I hope they have that in mind – play hard no matter what,” he said. “If you have a bad at-bat, go out and play hard in the field. Some guys do and some guys don’t.”
There’s a level of acceptance on the team he finds troubling.
“It’s like guys in here have a bad game or whatever, and it’s great that you stay positive and stay with good attitude, but man, feel embarrassed, too,” he said. “I’d feel embarrassed. If you don’t feel embarrassed in this game when you’re struggling bad like this, it’s because you don’t care about it.”
Silva pointed to his last outing, a loss at Detroit in which he was rocked by the Tigers. He was ashamed to look his teammates in the eye the next day.
“The other day when I pitched against Detroit, I felt embarrassed,” he said. “I walked through clubhouse with no smile on my face. How could I smile in front of my teammates after that?”
Silva managed to go six innings Saturday, despite a marathon second inning. No other Mariners starter has lasted as long on this trip.
It’s a minor victory, to be sure, but that’s about the only kind the Mariners can find right now.
“After that inning, I said this isn’t going to get me out of the game. I kept fighting and kept battling and it was good,” Silva said. “And after that I had some success.”
And it allowed the Mariners to crawl back into the game. Seattle tied the score an inning later as Jose Vidro hit a three-run homer to right field and Adrian Beltre hit a sole homer to left.
“We got those runs back and we showed some life with our bats,” manager John McLaren said, clearly searching for positives.
The Yankees (24-25) regained the lead in the bottom of third when Melky Cabrera dropped in an RBI single to make it 5-4. But Silva held the Yankees in check until the sixth.
With two outs and nobody on, second baseman Jose Lopez booted a routine ground ball off the bat of Derek Jeter. Three pitches later, Bobby Abreu knocked Silva’s high change-up over the wall in left for a two-run homer.
Silva flashed his nasty side, stomping around the mound and wearing the look of crazed man. He wasn’t angry at Lopez; he was upset at himself.
“I didn’t pick my team up,” Silva said. “I got mad because I should have got out of that inning no matter what. …
“And I gave up the homer, he comes to me and says, ‘My bad.’ That’s why you always want to pick up your teammates.”
Silva finished off the inning, and his day was done.
“I said to myself today, no matter what happens, I’m going to fight today,” Silva said. “I wish that everybody had that in mind, too.”
McLaren appreciated the effort.
“That’s Silva,” McLaren said. “He battles and gives it everything he’s got.”
Not that it mattered. The game got out of hand as the Yankees tacked on five runs in the seventh, rendering Richie Sexson’s two-run homer in the eighth meaningless.
“It’s a very, very difficult, trying time,” Raul Ibañez said. “This is when you find out what you’re made of. This is a time when you dig deep and find out what the hell you’re made of.”
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SOURCE: The Tacoma NEWS TRIBUNE