Jered Weaver: The Deep End of the Gene Pool

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)?

Colorado's Very Rocky Rotation

In a deal that smacks of desperation (pitcher’s neck broken by a batted ball-type desperation), the Rockies signed Kevin Millwood.  Millwood spent most of the 2011 season pitching in the Boston Red Sox system, although calling it “pitching” might be an overestimation.  In his 16 minor league games (Red Sox and Yankees), Millwood has gone 7-2, almost in spite of himself.  He’s pitched to a 4.32 ERA while posting a 7.6 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9—numbers that don’t seem to portend of future success.

Despite having posted some very good seasons early in his career, Millwood is just not a big league pitcher any more.  The last time he posted a K/9 above 7.0 was way back in 2004.  Since then, he’s averaged 6.4 K/9 over six seasons, during which time he’s also pitched to a 61-73 record, 4.37 ERA and 1.42 WHIP, making Millwood an average pitcher at best.  The past four seasons, however, Millwood’s been even worse, pitching to a 4.73 ERA and 1.51 WHIP—numbers that would get him released from anyone’s fantasy team, and from every Major League team as luck would have it.  There’s a reason he hasn’t pitched at the big league level this season—he’s just not good enough.

Alas, here’s the door, slightly ajar, mostly because Juan Nicasio is out for the remainder of the season after suffering a broken vertebra in his neck.  IT’s a scary injury to be certain, but all indications are that Nicasio is doing well following a surgery to address the injury.  Coupled with the departure of staff ace Ubaldo Jimenez (traded to Cleveland), the Rockies are terribly thin in their rotation.  Don’t forget, they also lost Jorge De La Rosa to Tommy John surgery on June 3.  So, that’s the bad news.

The infinitely worse news is that the team somehow feels that Kevin Millwood might be an upgrade over whatever they have going right now.  Currently, the Rockies rotation includes Jhoulys Chacin, Aaron Cook, Jason Hammel, and Esmil Rogers.  That’s right, just when it seems like every big league team is contemplating a 6-man rotation, the Rockies only have four starters—total.  And to think that entering the season the Rockies looked as though their rotation might actually be their strength.  That is no longer the case.  In fact, inking Millwood clearly signals that at 53-62 the team is simply hoping to finish the 2011 season without fate interceding and claiming yet another starter.  If you’re looking for some levity in this otherwise grim ordeal, the starting pitching situation in Colorado does feel a little bit like the drummer situation in Spinal Tap, doesn’t it?