Remember how Jeff Weaver was, or, was going to be? As an up and coming Tigers pitcher, it seemed like the sky was the limit for Weaver. Well, maybe not the sky, because those Tiger teams of the early 2000s weren’t exactly taking the world by storm, and Weaver’s W/L record always reflected that fact. Weaver never had a winning season for the Tigers, despite putting together some downright dominant stretches. He was eventually traded to the Yankees (where he didn’t fare much better) and then bounced around between a few organizations, including mostly the Mariners and Dodgers. Assuming Weaver is finished (and it looks like he is), his career record will stand at 104-119, the end result of pitching to a 4.71 ERA and 1.37 WHIP. Also, a large part of what stunted Weaver’s success was his inability to generate strikeouts despite having pretty good “stuff”. His career 5.94 K/9 doesn’t exactly bring back memories of Nolan Ryan.
It would seem that all the real pitching talent in the family fell to Jeff’s younger brother Jered—you know, the one that just signed that $85 million contract with the Angels. He’s actually pretty damn good. Five years in the league, and Jered was already a five-time double-digit winner, including a 16-8 season in 2009. Like his brother, Jered never gave up too many free passes, as evidenced by his career 2.44 BB/9. Unlike his brother, however, Jered didn’t pitch to contact so much, and wasn’t afraid to send a hitter back to the bench shaking his head (career 7.78 K/9). Those extra two strikeouts per game are the main difference between the brothers, but certainly not the only one.
While analysts were always waiting (often impatiently) for older brother Jeff to take that proverbial next step, younger brother Jered was able to do it—in a big way too. In fact, for those that have been paying attention to the 2011 season, he’s been doing it this year. Jered is 14-6 with a 2.10 ERA and 0.97 WHIP and the true ace of a very solid Angels starting staff. And, knowing full-well what they had, the team rewarded him with that big, fat contract.
Funny thing though, there are a lot of people questioning Weavers decision to settle for so little, given the recent contract developments for frontline starters recently. Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia are all basically set for life. And while the average Joe might not be able to even fathom having $85 million in the bank, it’s a far cry from what those aforementioned mound aces are bringing home. Lee is averaging $24 million a season and Sabathia is scraping by at $23 mil. per. Let’s not forget that Johan Santana is making just under $23 million not to pitch for the Mets in 2011, and possibly never again. But, therein lies the motivation for Weaver to cash in now—volatility. How long before Weaver feels his first real ache, pain, or strain? How long before he finds himself on the DL for an extended period of time? How long before he spends a summer in the waiting room of Dr. James Andrews? Or, how long before his electric stuff simply dries up, preventing him from being an effective Major League starter (like his brother before him)?
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