Looking Back on the Silva-Bradley Trade

On December 18th of last year, Mariners and Cubs fans rejoiced, dancing in the streets together, as they both rid themselves of two clubhouse "cancers." I'm of course referring to the trade of Carlos Silva and cash for Milton Bradley. Quite possibly the first trade in MLB history where both fan bases were more excited about letting go of a player, rather than who they received in return.
Last year with Seattle, Silva started only 6 games, going 1-3 with a 8.61 ERA. The year before was even worse, in 28 starts, he went 4-15 with a 6.46 ERA.
In comparison, Bradley played in 124 games last year, batted .257, 12 HR and 40 RBI. However, he did have a .378 OBP and looked increasingly comfortable at the plate batting leadoff at the end of the season.
If anything, this trade appeared to favor the Mariners for the simple fact that Bradley has had some success in the past.
Well, here we are on May 24th and so far, this has been a one-sided trade, favoring the Cubs.
Silva is one of only four pitchers who have started 8 or more games, yet to record a loss. He's 6-0 with a 3.52 ERA, and the Cubs have won 8 of the 9 games he's started. He has however, allowed 54 H in 53 2/3 innings. This has been a cause for concern among Cubs fans, especially considering Silva has allowed many hits through out his career, resulting in very little success. His ERA is also the highest amongst the four pitchers who have yet to lose a game, the others are all under 3.00.
However, put Silva's early success in perspectvie. He is a number 4 starter, number 5 when Zambrano returns to the rotation. He's already greatly exceeded expectations and if he goes on to win 12 games it will be an extremely successful year.

To me, the best part about Silva is he's making hitters beat him. He's walked only 11 batters this year. I can live with hime giving up a lot of hits if he's not walking batters. But even then, he's found a way to get out of jams.
Obviously, Silva will eventually lose a game and could possibly get lit up as the Cubs head into a rough patch of their schedule. But for now, I'm enjoying the early season surprise.
As for Milton Bradley, he just recently rejoined the Mariners after receiving counseling. He was batting around .200 when he took his leave. Many stories have surfaced painting Bradley as a victim, someone who has been wronged, rather than the wrong doer. I'm in no position to comment on his personal life, or characteristics as a person, but baseball is a business. And from a business point of view, I'm very happy with the trade.