Larry, whatever it is you did, nice work on that Silva guy

One of the great mysteries in sports - in all of life - is what exactly a major-league pitching coach does.

It ranks right up there with what cocker spaniels are thinking, why anybody would need 100 satellite radio stations, and what an MLB hitting coach does.

But let's wait until later to address those other questions and stick to the pitching coach, because today's subject is Carlos Silva.

Until the Cubs acquired the right-hander last winter, Silva also was known as Hapless Silva, Carlos the Bust and One of the Worst Free-Agent Signings in Baseball History.

Then Silva arrived in Arizona for spring training and Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild placed his index and middle fingers on his new pupil's throwing arm, shut his eyes, tilted his head upward and mumbled some sort of ancient prayer.

Nobody is saying so but rumor has it that magic potions, voodoo mumbo jumbo and the spirit of all deceased Hall of Fame pitchers were involved.

Anyway, from March on Carlos Silva inexplicably has been one of the National League's best pitchers.

Reputed phenom Stephen Strasburg is scheduled to make his big-league debut Tuesday night for the Nationals and can only hope to be the next Carlos Silva.

Reports out of Colorado are that Rockies pitcher Ubaldo Jiminez, with his 11-1 record and 0.93 ERA, channeled the heart and soul of Señor Silva.

The past two seasons in Seattle, Silva went a combined 5-18 with ERAs of 6.46 and 8.60 over 36 starts. An injury rehab stint in the minor leagues was the sole reprieve from his struggles.

Silva was so bad that the only thing the Mariners could do with him was ship him to the Cubs for Milton Bradley.

Now, that's like trading a player for a package of Icelandic volcano dust and a couple of oil spills to be named later.

In other words, Cubs general manager Jim Hendry essentially exchanged his pile of dung for a heap of Seattle poop.

Yet after beating the Pirates on Monday afternoon in Pittsburgh, Silva's record is 8-0 with a 2.93 ERA and a top-five ratio of superlatives to innings pitched. Like, the Cubs are 10-1 in his 11 starts.

So Silva somehow is eight games over .500 on a team that is 14 under in games he didn't pitch.

"It's a beautiful thing to watch him out there," Cubs center fielder Marlon Byrd said on Comcast Sports Net after Silva limited the Pirates to 1 run and 4 hits over 7 innings.

How did this transformation happen? What did Rothschild do with Silva? Again, what does any pitching coach do with any pitcher?

The Cubs have an alleged No. 1 starter in Carlos Zambrano whom Rothschild apparently couldn't teach how to get me out if I went up to the plate waving a white flag.

But Rothschild has helped Silva become a candidate to start the All-Star Game and dare we say win the Cy Young Award?

Heck, if Silva reaps those benefits, Rothschild should receive the Nobel Prize for science for going into the lab with him and coming out with Greg freakin' Maddux.

Seriously, I don't know what Larry Rothschild did with Carlos Silva because I don't know what any pitching coach does.

It's as big a mystery as how the Kardashians became celebrities.

mimrem@dailyherald.com