Commitment to Winning? Commitment to Jeff.
by
Asher B. Chancey,
BaseballEvolution.com
June 18, 2006
 | |
| See ya Kid. | |
Apparently, winning games, developing young talent, or keeping the best players available on the active roster are things the Los Angeles Angels are no longer interested in as a franchise. Already slowed by age and ineffectiveness, the Angels on Saturday activated Bartolo Colon from the 15 day disabled list, and optioned Jered Weaver to Triple A Salt Lake City.
The move had been discussed/anticipated for over a week, and perhaps even since Weaver was brought up to replace Colon in the first place, but the reality of the move did not set in until it actually happened. All the Angels are doing is sending down their best pitcher over the last month. In four starts, Weaver was 4-0 with 22 Ks and 4 walks, while posting a 1.37 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, and a .170 opponents batting average. Compare this with other pitchers in the rotation:
John Lackey - 4-4 with a 3.46 ERA, 71/33 strikeouts to walks, 1.15 WHIP, .216 opponents BA
Kelvin Escobar – 5-7, 3.62 ERA, 62/21 K/BB, 1.34 WHIP, .276 OBA
Ervin Santana – 7-3, 4.10 ERA, 62/22 K/BB, 1.14 WHIP, .238 OBA
Jeff Weaver – 3-9, 6.02 ERA, 54/20 K/BB, 1.48 WHIP, .299 OBA
Now, is the situation complicated by the fact that the worst pitcher on the Angels staff is a free agent brought in for one year as an audition with the club who also, oh by the way, is Jered's brother? Sure. Is it also made more difficult by the fact that the other three starters have been solid, though not great, and Colon won the Cy Young last year? Absolutely. Is it made ultimately difficult by the fact that the Angels bullpen is loaded with fantastic arms in Scot Shields, Brendan Donnelly, and Francisco Rodriguez? Of course.
The Los Angeles Angels are currently 31-37, good for last place in the AL West, but their season is by no means over. As of Sunday, the Angels are one game out of third place, and only six games back in the division behind the Oakland Athletics. What this means to me is that the Angels need to get their collective head out of their rear end, drop this whole baseball-veteran etiquette baloney, and act like a franchise that is committed to winning.
The Angels are tied for sixth-to-last in runs scored as a team in the majors, and they are one of four teams in Major League Baseball whose slugging percentage is under .400. The Angels pitching staff, however, is currently ninth in the majors in ERA and would be significantly better if not for the ERA of a certain Weaver brother dragging them down.
I am certainly no General Manager, but it seems to me that some pitching could be traded in order to help the sluggish Angels offense, and at this point getting rid of Jeff Weaver would be addition by subtraction. This is obviously a delicate situation, but the Angels should be taking this opportunity to show a commitment to winning, not a commitment to Jered Weaver's older brother.
And yes, by the way, if you haven't already guessed, Jered Weaver
is in fact on my fantasy team.
Disagree with something? Got something to add? Wanna bring up something totally new? Asher resides in Alexandria, VA, and can be reached at asher@baseballevolution.com.
