Larry Stone presents: Carlos Silva

"In Seattle, people were worried more about my weight than anything else," he said. "Here, people were worried about how to get me back on track. Since I got to spring training, they don't even talk about my weight. They say, 'You've got to do this and this to get you ready for the season.'

"In Seattle, the only thing I hear is my weight. 'You're out of shape.' Even when I was on the DL, they say, 'Don't go on the road trip because you're out of shape.' What do you mean, out of shape? I'm not even pitching right now. How do you know if I'm in shape? Stuff like that makes you mad, angry."

--------------------------

"There was one thing that made me so crazy in Seattle," he said. "Pretty much they wanted me out of Seattle. It was very clear they were saying I was a bad influence on Felix.

"I'd say Felix needs a bad influence, because if I was a bad influence — Felix won 19 games. I don't know how he didn't win the Cy Young. To me, he was the best pitcher and the most consistent pitcher in the whole league last year. And they say I was bad influence?"

Asked to specify who "they" was, Silva said, "I don't say names. Some people on the team. That was driving me crazy. If Felix had someone who was always trying to keep him on line, that was me. I feel I was a good influence."