Post by John on Jun 14, 2006 9:18:49 GMT -4
In baseball, class -- not civil -- warfare separates brothers
By Scott Miller
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
You want unfair?
You want wrong?
Here's wrong: Jered Weaver pitching circles around big brother Jeff in the Los Angeles Angels' rotation for the past three weeks and still being on the brink of a one-way ticket back to the farm.
Following Tuesday's 4-1 knockout of the Kansas City Royals, Jered is now 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA in four starts. And yet, sometime in the next few days, he's expecting to be handed a plane ticket.
Sorry, kid, pack your bags. They're waiting for you in Triple-A Salt Lake....
"There are definitely weird feelings because I know he's ready," says right-hander Jeff, 29, the six-year major league veteran. "If he stays up here, he's going to help the team win. That's the tough part."
"I won't be disappointed," says right-hander Jered, 23, the Angels' first-round pick in the 2004 draft. "This is a dream come true. I've just got to keep working hard. I'll be back up soon."
Abel had Cain.
Jimmy Osmond had Donny.
And Jered has Jeff.
They talked late into the night on the eve of spring training before Jeff, a free agent in line for big money, agreed to a one-year, $8.325 million deal with the Angels for 2006. Among the subjects covered: In a pitching-rich rotation, how would the brothers handle it if big brother Jeff squeezed out little brother Jered?
"He was looking for a job," says Jered, the Angels' first-round pick in the 2004 draft. "The Angels came knocking on the door. I thought it would be a great opportunity for us to be together."
So they were together. This spring, and now for about three weeks of the regular season.
But Jered was recalled as a patch with Cy Young winner Bartolo Colon on the shelf. And Colon's shoulder is better and he is expected to rejoin the rotation this weekend against San Diego.
Who do the Angels bump from their rotation to make room for Colon? Here's where the purity of the sport collides with the facts of life:
Kelvim Escobar? Just signed a three-year, $28.5 million contract extension.
John Lackey? Signed a three-year, $17 million deal during the first week of the season -- plus, he's won 14 games in each of the past two seasons (and pitched 209 innings last summer).
Ervin Santana? Too young to mess with at 23, particularly given that, in 23 starts last year and 13 this season, he's earned the right to stick around.
Since his recall on May 26, Jered Weaver has been the talk of the league. In order, he's throttled Baltimore, Cleveland, Tampa Bay and Kansas City. And in nine starts for Salt Lake this season, he was 4-1 with a 1.89 ERA.
Jeff Weaver? OK, the Angels think their big-time free agent finally has turned the corner in his past four starts, but that still doesn't camouflage that coyote ugly 3-9 record and 6.15 ERA.
"We talk, and I try to help him understand the business part of baseball," says Jeff, who broke in with Detroit in 1999 and has since pitched for the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. "I tell him it's not so much how you've done or what they're thinking of you as it is the timing.
"It's a good thing that they have to worry about now. They've got six arms. I try to get him to understand that if he's going to get sent down, he did all he can do. And the season is so long there are going to be plenty of months for him to get his opportunity."
Jeff is on a first-name basis with opportunity, which is one area in which he's good for Jered. Detroit rushed him to the majors too soon in '99 -- the Tigers were woeful and Jeff was eager, and he took his hard knocks head on and learned.
He lost 27 games over his first two major league seasons but earned his stripes. The Tigers shipped him to the Yankees in '02, and Jeff pitched himself Off Broadway more quickly than you can say "premature closing."
He started slowly with the Dodgers in 2004, too, before finally revving it up to 13-13 and 220 innings pitched before throwing another 224 while going 14-11 in 2005.
Desperate to stay at home in his native Southern California, Weaver rebuffed several other offers this winter and eventually agreed to the one-year deal with the Angels.
And promptly started 1-7 with a 7.30 ERA.
Nothing he did worked -- he's pretty much been the walking symbol of the last --place Angels' overall frustrations -- and things deteriorated so badly that manager Mike Scioscia and pitching coach Bud Black summoned Weaver before his May 24 start in Texas for a meeting that was as much therapy session as anything.
"I thought he was pitching like his natural demeanor was," Black says. "You look at him, he's calm, easy-going, everything is under control."
Something finally changed for Weaver when Texas' Brad Wilkerson smashed a second-inning homer in that May 24 start. Since then, both Weaver and Black use the word "conviction" when describing how Weaver delivers each pitch.
There's a lot to be said for throwing each pitch with a sense of urgency.
"You want to stay composed, keep the same demeanor, whether you're getting beat up or not," Weaver says. "When you do that, sometimes you forget.
"When Wilkerson hit that home run, I said to myself, 'What am I doing?"
In three starts since, Weaver is 1-2 with a 3.72 ERA. One school of thought within the industry is that the Angels are keeping Jeff in their rotation simply to showcase him. Contenders will be looking for arms, and whether the Angels turn things around or not, they have a surplus.
"When I signed here, the objective was to show them what I could do and hopefully stick around awhile," Jeff says. "That's what I'm trying to accomplish."
Wouldn't it be ironic, then, if the Angels wound up dealing Jeff to make room for Jered?
"There's no doubt in my mind things will turn around," Jeff Weaver says. "It's too bad we don't have an eraser for a few games.
"All I can do is build on my last few outings. If I stay consistent, the numbers will come along with it. I've worked through it before and come out good on the other side."
They've enjoyed their time together. Given the six years between them, Jeff and Jered are far more accustomed to baseball separating them than bringing them together.
"It's been great -- other than that I get nervous twice every five days now instead of once every five days," Jeff says.
"He's not a phone call away anymore," Jered says. "Now, I just walk over to his locker and ask if I want to know something."
By the weekend, however, they'll likely return to a life of keeping their cell phone batteries fully charged and catching each other on the run. Given the way Jered has pitched, it might not be fair, or right, but that's the way it is.
And the hard truth is, that's part of a young pitcher's development, too.
By Scott Miller
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
You want unfair?
You want wrong?
Here's wrong: Jered Weaver pitching circles around big brother Jeff in the Los Angeles Angels' rotation for the past three weeks and still being on the brink of a one-way ticket back to the farm.
Following Tuesday's 4-1 knockout of the Kansas City Royals, Jered is now 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA in four starts. And yet, sometime in the next few days, he's expecting to be handed a plane ticket.
Sorry, kid, pack your bags. They're waiting for you in Triple-A Salt Lake....
"There are definitely weird feelings because I know he's ready," says right-hander Jeff, 29, the six-year major league veteran. "If he stays up here, he's going to help the team win. That's the tough part."
"I won't be disappointed," says right-hander Jered, 23, the Angels' first-round pick in the 2004 draft. "This is a dream come true. I've just got to keep working hard. I'll be back up soon."
Abel had Cain.
Jimmy Osmond had Donny.
And Jered has Jeff.
They talked late into the night on the eve of spring training before Jeff, a free agent in line for big money, agreed to a one-year, $8.325 million deal with the Angels for 2006. Among the subjects covered: In a pitching-rich rotation, how would the brothers handle it if big brother Jeff squeezed out little brother Jered?
"He was looking for a job," says Jered, the Angels' first-round pick in the 2004 draft. "The Angels came knocking on the door. I thought it would be a great opportunity for us to be together."
So they were together. This spring, and now for about three weeks of the regular season.
But Jered was recalled as a patch with Cy Young winner Bartolo Colon on the shelf. And Colon's shoulder is better and he is expected to rejoin the rotation this weekend against San Diego.
Who do the Angels bump from their rotation to make room for Colon? Here's where the purity of the sport collides with the facts of life:
Kelvim Escobar? Just signed a three-year, $28.5 million contract extension.
John Lackey? Signed a three-year, $17 million deal during the first week of the season -- plus, he's won 14 games in each of the past two seasons (and pitched 209 innings last summer).
Ervin Santana? Too young to mess with at 23, particularly given that, in 23 starts last year and 13 this season, he's earned the right to stick around.
Since his recall on May 26, Jered Weaver has been the talk of the league. In order, he's throttled Baltimore, Cleveland, Tampa Bay and Kansas City. And in nine starts for Salt Lake this season, he was 4-1 with a 1.89 ERA.
Jeff Weaver? OK, the Angels think their big-time free agent finally has turned the corner in his past four starts, but that still doesn't camouflage that coyote ugly 3-9 record and 6.15 ERA.
"We talk, and I try to help him understand the business part of baseball," says Jeff, who broke in with Detroit in 1999 and has since pitched for the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. "I tell him it's not so much how you've done or what they're thinking of you as it is the timing.
"It's a good thing that they have to worry about now. They've got six arms. I try to get him to understand that if he's going to get sent down, he did all he can do. And the season is so long there are going to be plenty of months for him to get his opportunity."
Jeff is on a first-name basis with opportunity, which is one area in which he's good for Jered. Detroit rushed him to the majors too soon in '99 -- the Tigers were woeful and Jeff was eager, and he took his hard knocks head on and learned.
He lost 27 games over his first two major league seasons but earned his stripes. The Tigers shipped him to the Yankees in '02, and Jeff pitched himself Off Broadway more quickly than you can say "premature closing."
He started slowly with the Dodgers in 2004, too, before finally revving it up to 13-13 and 220 innings pitched before throwing another 224 while going 14-11 in 2005.
Desperate to stay at home in his native Southern California, Weaver rebuffed several other offers this winter and eventually agreed to the one-year deal with the Angels.
And promptly started 1-7 with a 7.30 ERA.
Nothing he did worked -- he's pretty much been the walking symbol of the last --place Angels' overall frustrations -- and things deteriorated so badly that manager Mike Scioscia and pitching coach Bud Black summoned Weaver before his May 24 start in Texas for a meeting that was as much therapy session as anything.
"I thought he was pitching like his natural demeanor was," Black says. "You look at him, he's calm, easy-going, everything is under control."
Something finally changed for Weaver when Texas' Brad Wilkerson smashed a second-inning homer in that May 24 start. Since then, both Weaver and Black use the word "conviction" when describing how Weaver delivers each pitch.
There's a lot to be said for throwing each pitch with a sense of urgency.
"You want to stay composed, keep the same demeanor, whether you're getting beat up or not," Weaver says. "When you do that, sometimes you forget.
"When Wilkerson hit that home run, I said to myself, 'What am I doing?"
In three starts since, Weaver is 1-2 with a 3.72 ERA. One school of thought within the industry is that the Angels are keeping Jeff in their rotation simply to showcase him. Contenders will be looking for arms, and whether the Angels turn things around or not, they have a surplus.
"When I signed here, the objective was to show them what I could do and hopefully stick around awhile," Jeff says. "That's what I'm trying to accomplish."
Wouldn't it be ironic, then, if the Angels wound up dealing Jeff to make room for Jered?
"There's no doubt in my mind things will turn around," Jeff Weaver says. "It's too bad we don't have an eraser for a few games.
"All I can do is build on my last few outings. If I stay consistent, the numbers will come along with it. I've worked through it before and come out good on the other side."
They've enjoyed their time together. Given the six years between them, Jeff and Jered are far more accustomed to baseball separating them than bringing them together.
"It's been great -- other than that I get nervous twice every five days now instead of once every five days," Jeff says.
"He's not a phone call away anymore," Jered says. "Now, I just walk over to his locker and ask if I want to know something."
By the weekend, however, they'll likely return to a life of keeping their cell phone batteries fully charged and catching each other on the run. Given the way Jered has pitched, it might not be fair, or right, but that's the way it is.
And the hard truth is, that's part of a young pitcher's development, too.