8/9 DeRosa sends 'get well' to Silva

Carlos Silva has a sympathetic friend in former Cubs infielder Mark DeRosa, who underwent the same cardiac ablation procedure in Spring Training 2008 when he was a member of the Cubs.

“The only reason you have to take it easy is not so much the heart but where the catheter goes in and they want to make sure that’s healed,” said DeRosa, now with the Giants.

“It’s definitely scary,” DeRosa said. “I think the toughest thing [Silva] will have to get over is mentally that feeling, ‘Is it ever going to come back?’”

DeRosa, sidelined following surgery on his left wrist, had heart palpitations since he was in high school. Silva thought his problems were caused by adrenaline in games.

Since he had the procedure, DeRosa has not had any recurring problems.

“I think it affected everything,” he said. “It changed a lot of things for me — I felt totally different from how I used to feel. I used to have palpitations during the day. For me not to get [them] was weird.”

Silva was discharged from Northwestern Memorial Hospital Monday after the problem and sent home after a normal period of observation. The right-hander was expected to begin light activity this week and start a throwing program by early next week.

– Carrie Muskat