| Garrett Wilson. 10th July, 2006 - 5:48 pm
 File this one under better late than never, but the Angels have finally created an opening in the rotation for Jered Weaver… again. After a prodigious beginning to his career, the Angel decision makers apparently felt it was a better idea to return Jered to AAA so that his big brother Jeff could continue to muddle through his disaster of a season. A few weeks later they saw the error of their ways and traded Jeff to the Cardinals, allowing Jered to pick up where he left off.
In the process, the Angels managed to get themselves bashed by just about every media outlet as well as set up a decidedly awkward Thanksgiving dinner at the Weaver household this fall. Believe it or not though, the Angels got exactly what they wanted out of the deal (except for the whole sibling rivalry part, of course). By demoting Little Weaver for a few weeks, the Halos bought some time for Big Weaver to establish some trade value. After two half-decent starts (and one horrific start), that is exactly what Jeff Weaver did.
What started out looking like a no-win situation somehow ended up being a great decision for all involved parties. The Angels were able to move Jeff Weaver for an outfield prospect (one of the few need areas in their farm system) and probably saved a little cash along the way. The prospect the Halos acquired, Terry Evans, isn’t a big-time prospect, but he does have an outside chance to develop into a legit major leaguer. And of course, Jered Weaver gets his opportunity to stick in the majors for good. The biggest winner of all here is the elder Weaver brother who gets a reprieve from his untenable situation in Anaheim and gets a fresh start in the more pitcher-friendly National League. Not only that, but Jeff moves on to a first-place team with a pitching coach, Dave Duncan, renowned for his ability to resurrect the careers of veteran pitchers.
As maligned as Jeff Weaver had become amongst Angel fans, he really isn’t as bad a pitcher as his current numbers seem to indicate. Jeff and Jered boast very similar pitching attributes. Their repertoire and quality of pitches are practically identical. Both are lanky right-handers who rely on deception and control. Where they differ is in their mental make-up.
Jered is the very image of the cool and confident ace, the antithesis of his emotional and fragile brother. Jeff Weaver simply lacks the mental fortitude to handle the American League, freely admitting that he misses the mental break that facing a pitcher every nine batters in the National League afforded him. That break allowed Jeff to calm himself and regain his composure during the many trying times that come with being a major league pitcher. With the absence of that reprieve in the American League, Jeff allowed all the pressure and stress of every bad call or fielding miscue to build up to the point where Jeff would lose his focus and become easy pickings for opposing hitters. This trade now allows Jeff to head back to an environment more conducive to his success, with the happy side effect of the Angels getting to improve their rotation in the process.
The most important consequence of this deal for the Angels is that they replace the horribly inconsistent Jeff with the thus far dominant Jered, a classic case of addition by subtraction. Angels’ GM Bill Stoneman is historically reluctant to swing major deals to improve his team mid-season, but this seemingly small move might just do that very thing. Jered’s return to the rotation, coupled with Bartolo Colon’s return to form gives the Halos one of the most dangerous rotations in all of baseball. Considering how bad the Angels offense has been this year, they are going to need all the quality pitching they can get if they want to salvage their season. |
