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Success Not Going to Weaver's Head
Mike DiGiovanna, Los Angeles Times
August 21, 2006
A 9-0 record and 1.95 earned-run average that has him flirting with
baseball history, a full-page picture in Sports Illustrated, a dominant
victory in his first game in Yankee Stadium, which spawned 15 interview
requests from New York media outlets the next day
Sizing up everything Angels right-hander Jered Weaver has experienced
and accomplished in his first 12 major league starts, it's enough to make
a rookie's head spin. Or grow a few hat sizes.
But when Seattle slugger Richie Sexson looked to the Angel Stadium mound
Friday night, as Weaver was throwing seven shutout innings to add another
gem to his rapidly expanding showcase, he saw a lanky 23-year-old whose
spikes seemed firmly rooted in the ground.
"I don't think his head is spinning at all — right now he's
thinking, 'This isn't so hard,' " Sexson said. "But it will
get harder. He's going to lose a game. There will come a time when he
goes through a rough patch; he's not exempt.
"The fourth or fifth time he faces teams, when there are lots of
charts and video, he will have to adjust back. But he has the stuff to
do that. If he stays healthy, he's going to have a great career."
That career is off to a rousing start, in part because Weaver has shown
no signs of being overwhelmed or intimidated and has not let success go
to his head.
He has remained humble, giving credit to the catchers, defense and offense.
In the clubhouse, around teammates and coaches, he acts as if he belongs
but seems to carry himself with confidence, not cockiness.
"You have to be mentally strong to accomplish what he's accomplished,"
said Seattle pitcher Jarrod Washburn, a former Angel. "Part of the
reason he's been so good is he's been able to deal with the hype and the
expectations."
Spending time during high school and college in major league clubhouses
with his older brother, Jeff, and being tabbed the nation's best college
pitcher at Long Beach State has helped ease Weaver's transition to the
big leagues.
"I've always been good at letting stuff roll of my shoulders,"
said Weaver, who signed for a franchise-record $4-million bonus in 2005.
"I had a lot of attention in college, which got me ready for here,
and it hasn't thrown me off guard. I was always around Jeff when he was
doing his thing, and that helped me learn what to expect here."
But could anyone have expected this? Weaver, relying on a deceptive delivery
and excellent command of his fastball, curve and changeup, has struck
out 65 and walked 20 in 78 1/3 innings and has held opponents to a .191
average.
Weaver has given the Angels quality starts (six innings or more, three
earned runs or fewer) in 11 of 12 games and pitched so well he cost his
older brother his job — Jeff Weaver, who signed with the Angels
in February, was designated for assignment June 30, the day Jered was
called up for good.
Only four other pitchers in major league history have begun their career
9-0 as a starter — Florida's Livan Hernandez (9-0 in 1997), the
New York Yankees' Whitey Ford (9-0 in 1950), Montreal's Kirk Rueter (10-0
in 1993-94) and the New York Giants' Hooks Wiltse (12-0 in 1904).
"What he's done, you look back in history, it doesn't happen very
often," Angels pitching coach Bud Black said. "But am I surprised?
No. I'd be more surprised if it went the other way. The way he pitched
in spring training and in [triple-A] Salt Lake, you just expected him
to perform, and he has."
Nobody's perfect, though. It could happen Thursday night against the Boston
Red Sox, or next Tuesday in Seattle, or the following week against Baltimore.
At some point, Weaver will see an "L" next to his name in an
Angels box score.
"It's been a pretty fun run, and I know it will end," Weaver
said. "Right now, I'm just taking it a game at a time and trying
to keep it going as long as possible."
Rueter, who spent most of his 13-year career with San Francisco before
retiring after 2005, won his first eight decisions with the Expos in 1993
and his first two decisions the following year before suffering a 6-0
loss at Pittsburgh on May 21, 1994.
"It was different, that's for sure," Rueter said. "Once
you win a few, you get people talking about it. My streak came over two
seasons, so everywhere I'd go people would ask me if I was ever going
to lose a game."
Like Weaver with the Angels, Rueter was a rookie on a strong Expos team
that contended for a division title.
"I was so young that I was just trying to pitch well enough to stay
in the big leagues," Rueter said. "Weaver, from what I've seen,
is a much better prospect than I was. He'll be here for a long time."
Weaver is not overpowering — his fastball tops out at 93 to 94 mph
— but with his corkscrew delivery and an extreme, across-the- body
motion that makes it seem as if the ball is released from the shortstop
slot, his pitches are tough to pick up.
"It's deception, more than stuff, for sure," Sexson said, when
asked which of the two was a bigger factor in Weaver's success. "It's
a very funky delivery. It's different. But the more you face him, the
more comfortable you'll get with him."
Weaver, though, has faced three teams twice — Tampa Bay, Cleveland
and Seattle — and, with the exception of a four-run sixth inning
at Jacobs Field on Aug. 8, was just as dominant the second time around.
"He has excellent command of all three pitches, and he's fun to watch,"
said Washburn, who wore No. 56 as an Angel, the number Weaver wears now.
"He's doing justice to the No. 56. He's keeping that number proud."
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