//**************************************************************************** // This JavaScript will load content data into the ID "pageContent" // // Inputs: // pageContent - ID from the TAG to put content into // (If name changed in src HTML, change // below also) // initContent() - function which initializes the object. // (Add to BODY's OnLoad) // changeContent() - function which changes the content // (Add to appropriate OnClick, OnChange // OnMouseOver, etc, events) // Outputs: // Content added to tag identified above in pageContent //**************************************************************************** myContent = new Object(); myContent.current = ""; myContent.contentID = ""; // // Create a seperate entry for each Article // myContent.GatewayRedbirds08292006 = '\ \ \ \ \ \
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August 29, 2006
\ Interview with Bryan Anderson
\
By Michael
GatewayRedbirds.com
\
\
\ Swing Catcher Bryan Anderson\     I had the great pleasure of interviewing Bryan Anderson on July 27th. A very special thank you to Bryan Anderson for taking the time out of his schedule to answer some questions. Bryan is a great young man, both off and on the field. He is someone that is very easy to cheer for, both for his play on the field and the way he conducts himself off the field. Best wishes to Bryan for the remainder of the 2006 season!

\     Thank you to GRB members for their help in providing questions and to G. Keenan for transcribing the session. I would also like to thank Ben Chiswick of The Swing of the Quad Cities for organizing the interview.

\     As always, thank you to all of you for making GatewayRedbirds.com such a wonderful posting community!

\ GRB: Coming into the season with the Quad Cities, what were some of your biggest goals?

\ Bryan Anderson: Pretty much just to get better behind the plate, try to learn to work with the pitching staff better, and improve my catching skills defensively. Those were my main goals.

\ GRB: So what aspects of catching do you think you needed to work most on then?

\ Bryan Anderson: Probably just playing every day, at a high level, and in spite of getting tired being able to get out there every day and block and throw.

\ GRB: Is there one player in MLB that you aspire to be, or who represents your style of play?

\ Bryan Anderson: Probably a guy like Mike Matheny, you know. He\'s a great catcher. It would be pretty nice to be able to play defense like him. Or maybe a guy like Pudge Rodriguez, who can catch and hit, you know, do both things pretty well. Those guys are the two that I kind of look up to.

\ GRB: We got into this a little bit earlier, but what do you think is the toughest part about being a catcher? Is it just playing such a demanding position every day?

\ Bryan Anderson: Yeah, I would say that it\'s playing every day, because the position really takes a toll on you. You just have to make sure that you\'re getting enough rest and eating right, all that stuff, so that you can come out every day and play well. So, yes, I\'d say playing every day is the hardest thing, especially now that we\'re getting into August. It\'s a real grind by this point.

\ GRB: Well your bat hasn\'t really tapered off much.

\ Bryan Anderson: Yeah, well I\'m trying. I\'m working hard and trying to keep hitting well. It\'s tough though.

\ GRB: What part of your game do you feel like you\'re most satisfied with or proud of?

\ Bryan Anderson: Probably my hitting, I would have to say. I\'m pretty happy with the way that I\'m hitting right now. I wish I had a little bit better power numbers but that will come. I\'m pretty happy with just being able to get on base, draw my walks, get my hits. That\'s what I\'m most happy with right now.

\ GRB: That\'s something that we\'ve noticed, you really control the strike zone well. You take pitches and it seems like a walk is just as good as a hit as long as you\'re getting on base.

\ Bryan Anderson: Yeah, well one of my goals coming into the season was to have my walk to strikeout ratio about even. I think I have a few more strikeouts at the moment, but it\'s better than last year. Last year I was about 3 to 1, I think, so I\'m trying to get a better control of the strike zone this year.

\ GRB: Who is one guy that you\'ve caught so far that\'s made you say to yourself, \"wow, this guy has really electric stuff.\" Is there one pitcher that stands out?

\ Bryan Anderson: Mark McCormick. Here in Quad Cities, when McCormick is on, he\'s pretty much unhittable.

\ GRB: He can dial it up too, can\'t he?

\ Bryan Anderson: Yeah, he throws a mid nineties fastball with a good curveball and a good hammer. When he\'s on it\'s fun to catch.

\ GRB: What was Jaime Garcia like? I know he got moved up, but what was he like while he was there?

\ Bryan Anderson: He\'s a great pitcher too. He was fun to catch. He\'s got a good curveball and a good fastball from the left side. Jaime is going to be a tough pitcher to hit.

\ GRB: So then who\'s one of the toughest pitchers that you\'ve had to face as hitter?

\ Bryan Anderson: Nick Adenhart. He was on the Kernels but he got moved up. He throws a 92-93 mph fastball with a good changeup, spots the ball very well, and can throw all of his pitches for strikes. Playing against him was a good challenge.

\ GRB: Was it a hard decision for you to turn pro instead of going to college?

\ Bryan Anderson: No, not for me. I always wanted to play professional baseball so it was a pretty easy decision for me.

\ GRB: If most people had your talent and could choose between school and playing baseball everyday I think they would chose baseball too.

\ Bryan Anderson: I know; you can\'t beat that. In school I was always a pretty good student, but there\'s nothing like playing baseball every day. You don\'t have to worry about doing homework, taking tests, studying, or any of that. It\'s nice.

\ GRB: Sounds like it. What was the transition from aluminum to a wooden bat like for you? Was that a tough transition?

\ Bryan Anderson: It wasn\'t a tough transition for me because I used a wooden bat a lot when I was growing up and in high school, so it wasn\'t a big difference for me.

\ GRB: Why did you use wooden bats so much before you had to?

\ Bryan Anderson: It just makes you a better hitter. It makes you hit on the sweet spot. You have to look for a good pitch to hit because you\'re not going to get a lot of hits getting jammed or off the end of the bat. With an aluminum bat in high school you can hit a ball off the end of the bat and it still has a chance to be a homerun or a double. Here, with a wooden bat, those are just routine pop ups. I used a wooden bat as much as I could to get used to hitting the ball with the sweet spot.

\ GRB: What\'s been one of your favorite moments since becoming a pro? Has it been a diving catch or gunning someone down? Any one thing that you\'ve done that you\'re especially proud of?

\ Bryan Anderson: When I was in Johnson City last year the first game that my mom saw me play professional baseball in she arrived to a bit late. She was making her way through the crowd as I was on deck, and in that at bat I hit a grand slam. That was the first professional at bat she ever saw me take and I hit a grand slam. It was pretty cool, a great experience.

\ GRB: Do you ever call your own pitches or does pitch selection come from the dugout?

\ Bryan Anderson: The pitcher and I call the game, we call every pitch. When we go into the dugout our pitching coach will give us some tips, like if he sees something with a hitter he\'ll let us know. But I call every game.

\ GRB: You were in spring training with the Cardinals. What was that like?

\ Bryan Anderson: It was an awesome experience, being there was great, and I learned a lot just from watching them.

\ GRB: Did you get to meet Albert?

\ Bryan Anderson: Yeah, I met Albert. I never really got to sit down and chat with him, but I met him.

\ GRB: Did you get to talk with Yadi much?

\ Bryan Anderson: Yes, Yadi would actually pick me and another guy up at the hotel every morning and drive us to the ballpark. He\'s a really good guy, very nice; it was great being able to work with him for a few weeks.

\ GRB: It sounds like he\'s pretty generous with his time.

\ Bryan Anderson: Yeah, he\'s awesome, just a great guy.

\ GRB: What\'s your pop-to-pop time to second base? Do you know?

\ Bryan Anderson: I think I average anywhere from like a 1.9.

\ GRB: Do you have any superstitions at all?

\ Bryan Anderson: Oh, superstitions. Not really. If I have a good game I\'ll try to eat the same thing before the game. That\'s about it. I don\'t really have any big ones.

\ GRB: Besides the Cardinals, who is your favorite MLB team?

\ Bryan Anderson: The Dodgers, definitely.

\ GRB: That was a tough series for them with the Cardinals recently.

\ Bryan Anderson: I know, but I don\'t really get to watch them play because I\'m out here and I don\'t get to see too many games now. When I was a kid I used to go to 10 or 15 Dodger games a year.

\ GRB: I\'m in Chicago and I\'m going to go see a Cubs-Cardinals game at Wrigley today.

\ Bryan Anderson: That\'ll be sweet. I want to do that soon. We\'ve got two days off in August and I want to try to get up to Chicago and see a game. I think it would be awesome.

\ GRB: It\'s a cool scene because Wrigley is in the middle of a neighborhood. I\'m actually going to be sitting in the bleachers, so if you see a guy on ESPN who catches a Cubs-homerun ball but throws it back out on the field, you\'ll know who that is.

\ Bryan Anderson: (Laughing) Nice.

\ GRB: Actually I\'d probably get murdered in there by all the bleacher bums for doing that.

\ Bryan Anderson: Ha ha, yeah.

\ GRB: Are there any guys on the team you hang out with a lot? I know you guys are always getting moved around and shuffled, so it might be hard.

\ Bryan Anderson: Yeah, you know I was with Colby and Randy Roth and those guys hanging out a lot, but now they\'re gone so I\'ve been hanging out with my roommate a lot, Jon Jay. I hang with Jon Mikrut, Jason Cairns, and those guys.

\ GRB: What do you guys do with your time off, you know, that I can actually put on the site?

\ Bryan Anderson: We actually go bowling a lot.

\ GRB: Do you really?

\ Bryan Anderson: Yeah, when we have early games usually we\'ll go bowling after the game, or if we have an off day we\'ll go bowling. It\'s fun, something to do.

\ GRB: You guys are going to throw your arms out! Just kidding.

\ Bryan Anderson: (Laughs) Yeah, I know, right.

\ GRB: Okay, here\'s the last question and we asked Colby this question too but I won\'t tell you what he said. Who do you think is better looking, or hotter, Jessica Simpson or Jessica Alba?

\ Bryan Anderson: I\'m going to go with Jessica Alba.

\ GRB: So you\'re an Alba man, why?

\ Bryan Anderson: Definitely. I\'m more of a tanned skin, dark hair kind of guy than the blondes. But that\'s just me; Jessica Simpson is pretty hot too.

\ GRB: You know Alba is actually throwing a shutout now because Colby took Alba too.

\ Bryan Anderson: (Laughs) Oh he did? Nice.

\ GRB: I was kind of expecting an Alabama kid to kind of...

\ Bryan Anderson: Yeah, to go for the blondes?

\ GRB: Exactly! You know, kind of a whole southern belle thing but he went with Alba because he thinks Simpson is too stupid.

\ Bryan Anderson: Ha ha ha!

\ GRB: All right, man, that\'s it. We appreciate your time and thanks for doing the interview.

\ Bryan Anderson: Thank you.\
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October 28, 2006
\ Brothers stand tall through turmoil
\
By Mark Whicker
Register Columnist
\
\
\     ST. LOUIS - Four months ago Friday, the Angels sent Jeff Weaver to the mound against Colorado. Two innings later they took him off while his body still contained some blood.

\     Six hits, six runs, a 12-4 loss. Weaver had a 6.29 ERA and a 3-10 record, and he was soon \"designated for assignment,\" a particularly cryptic baseball euphemism for \"yard sale.\"

\     On July 5 the Angels sent him to St. Louis for a minor-league outfielder named Terry Evans, who was in the midst of a home run spree.

\     It still seemed plausible that Weaver would pitch well in the World Series. Just not this Weaver.

\     Jered Weaver had replaced his brother Jeff, a brother-for-brother transaction that could have carried all sorts of psychological implications, although the Weavers themselves handled it fine.

\     Jered was 11-2 for the Angels with a 2.56 ERA. Meanwhile, Jeff\'s first Cardinal start was a 15-3 bit of savagery at the hands of Atlanta - six runs, four innings.

\     So what happened here Friday night was one of baseball\'s laughable bafflements, a five-point intersection of so many twists of fate.

\     Jered Weaver, bundled up in a Cardinals\' wool cap and a Cardinals\' jacket, sat in a seat behind the plate and cheered fiercely.

\     Jeff Weaver stood on the mound, squinting in a switchblade wind, throwing cutters and changes and fastballs almost anywhere he wanted, over eight of the best innings he ever pitched.

\     Jeff left after eight innings. \"One more!\" Jered screamed.

\     A few minutes later they were yelling in their mirroring faces, throwing beer and champagne at each other and everyone else.

\     Brothers in arms.

\     Jeff beat the Tigers, 4-2, and clinched the Cardinals\' World Series victory in five games.

\     So much family irony surrounded the moment that it was easy to forget that Jeff had once been a symbol of the Tigers\' revival.

\     He was their first-round choice in 1998. He actually helped carry the plate from Tiger Stadium to the new park in 2000. But they all had gotten there too soon, and Weaver bounced to the Yankees, where he pitched himself into oblivion.

\     In the \'03 World Series he gave up a Game5-losing home run to Alex Gonzalez, a punchless shortstop.

\     Weaver recovered with the Dodgers in \'04 and \'05. Then he came to the Angels and was a puzzle Mike Scioscia and Bud Black couldn\'t solve.

\     Dave Duncan, the St.Louis pitching coach, took Weaver and painstakingly persuaded him he could still win. Weaver was 3-1 in September. In the postseason he was 3-2 with a 2.93 ERA.

\     \"Unbelievable,\" yelled Jered in the clubhouse. \"He was locked in all night.\"

\     \"I\'ve had struggles before,\" Jeff said. \"And then I\'ve found it again. When you come to a team that believes in you from the get-go, it just builds your confidence.\"

\     \"I\'ve just got to thank (General Manager) Walt Jocketty for bringing me here, and Dave Duncan and Tony LaRussa for being on my side. When you have all that support, you can go out there and not be looking over your shoulder.\"

\     When Weaver came available, the Cardinals weren\'t choosy. They were missing Mark Mulder, and other starters were scuffling. LaRussa checked with Duncan, who has made a career of towing in stalled pitchers and tuning them up.

\     \"Dunc just started looking at tapes,\" LaRussa said. \"I made a couple of calls. The people I called told me this guy was worth getting. Dunc did the rest. I mean, that guy\'s a coach. He\'s very big on raising expectations, telling a guy he\'s good, and pretty soon the guy believes it.\"

\     \"He wasn\'t pitching well and he didn\'t know why,\" Duncan said. \"We did just a couple of things mechanically. It was a slow process. Confidence only comes when you have success. But the guy had a lot of pitches to work with, and I give him all the credit. He\'s the one that put in the work.\"

\     The Cardinals also had the Tigers wired. Detroit had power throughout its lineup but could be baited into losing its discipline. Could the Tigers put together enough hits to score without power? Not here. They hit .199.

\     \"We felt they were a good fastball hitting team,\" Duncan said. \"If we got our breaking balls over, especially early in the count, we had a chance.\"

\     And now Weaver is a 30-year-old who has walked the same clinching ground as Jack Morris, Curt Schilling, Derek Lowe, Josh Beckett, Andy Pettitte, John Lackey and Tom Glavine.

\     \"It\'s funny how things work,\" he said. \"You couldn\'t ask for a better scenario. Just kind of full circle. It\'s just the fact that you believe you\'re going to get out of situations and execute the pitches when the time comes, and I\'m just very fortunate to do it when needed.\"

\     Brothers, arms around each other, tag-teaming the world. The Weavers, in 2006. Wasn\'t that a time?\
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October 28, 2006
\ Credit the Cards
\
By Ronald Blum
AP baseball writer
\
\
\     ST. LOUIS - No Fall Classic, for sure.

\     Flatter than the Midwestern heartland and a flop in the TV ratings, this World Series crowned a champion that barely made it to the postseason and then had to survive rain and cold as much as the bumbling Detroit Tigers.

\     The St. Louis Cardinals will take it, though.

\     They beat the Tigers 4-2 in Game 5 on Friday night behind castoffs Jeff Weaver of Simi Valley and David Eckstein and sore-shouldered Scott Rolen to wrap up their first Series title in nearly a quarter-century and 10th overall.

\     \"I think we shocked the world,\" Cardinals center fielder Jim Edmonds said.

\     \"It\'s all the belief in yourself, knowing that you\'re going to work through it,\" Weaver said. \"Just never say die. Just keep working.\"

\     Manager Tony La Russa\'s team had just 83 regular-season wins, the fewest by a World Series champion, and nearly missed the playoffs after a late-season slump.

\     But St. Louis beat San Diego and the New York Mets in the first two rounds, then won their first title since 1982 by taming a heavily favored Tigers team that entered the Series with six days\' rest and looked as stale as unharvested corn — Tigers pitchers made five errors, two more than the previous Series record.

\     After closer Adam Wainwright struck out Brandon Inge for the final out, the ballpark erupted. Wainwright raised his arms in triumph, catcher Yadier Molina ran to the mound and the pair bounced off toward second base, where they were joined by teammates running from the dugout and the bullpen. Ace starter Chris Carpenter and injured closer Jason Isringhausen gave La Russa bear hugs.

\     Minutes later, fireworks filled the sky above the ballpark as the Cardinals prepared to receive the gold-colored Tiffany trophy.

\     \"No one believed in us, but we believed in ourselves,\" said Eckstein, the 5-foot-7 shortstop who won selected Series MVP after batting .364.

\     A repeat of 1968\'s dramatic Tigers-Cardinals matchup - won by Detroit in seven games - ended on a cold night more suitable to football than baseball. The Tigers made two more errors, raising their Series total to eight - three by Inge, the third baseman, the rest by pitchers.

\     \"We didn\'t play well enough,\" Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. \"There\'s no excuse here. I don\'t really know what the reasons were.\"

\     Eight of the 22 runs allowed by the Tigers were unearned, the most by a team since the 1956 New York Yankees against Brooklyn.

\     \"If you don\'t make the plays, you\'re going to lose - whether you\'re playing the Yankees or the junior varsity,\" Detroit closer Todd Jones said.

\     Detroit, which had won in three straight Series appearances since 1940, hit .199, the lowest in a five-game Series since the 1983 Philadelphia Phillies, with the averages of key players shrinking with the temperature. ALCS MVP Placido Polanco was 0 for 17, Magglio Ordonez 2 for 19 (.105), Craig Monroe 3 for 20 (.150) and Ivan Rodriguez 3 for 19 (.158).

\     \"We just never got the bats going,\" said Rodriguez, stating the obvious.

\     It was the National League\'s first title since the 2003 Florida Marlins.

\     La Russa, who led the Oakland Athletics to a sweep in the earthquake-interrupted 1989 Bay Bridge Series, joined Sparky Anderson (Cincinnati and Detroit) as the only managers to win Series titles in each league.

\     \"I have such a respect and affection for Sparky,\" La Russa said. \"It\'s such a great honor. He should really have this alone.\"

\     La Russa, who took over as Cardinals manager in 1996, had yearned for a title in this traditional baseball town.

\     \"I just saw Bob Gibson,\" he said about a half-hour after the final out. \"When you\'re around here, especially if you\'re around here for a while, I just don\'t feel you can join the club unless you can say you won a World Series. Now we can say this group can join the club.\"

\     While the Tigers tossed the ball to the tarp, the Cardinals were mostly crisp, with the notable exception of right fielder Chris Duncan, who dropped a fly ball just before Sean Casey\'s two-run homer in the fourth put Detroit ahead 2-1.

\     St. Louis had gone ahead on Eckstein\'s infield single in the second, with Inge throwing making a diving stop over the bag put throwing the ball low and wide instead of setting and throwing.

\     Casey, who batted a Series-high .529, homered for the second straight night, but St. Louis came right back to take a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth as pitcher Justin Verlander threw away a ball for the second time in two starts. One run scored on the error and another on Eckstein\'s grounder.

\     \"I just threw it away. I had the wrong mind-set,\" Verlander said. \"I picked it up and said to myself \'Don\'t throw it away,\' instead of just picking it up and throwing it. I got tentative.\"

\     Rolen, who led Cardinals\' batters at .421, added a big run with a two-out RBI single in the seventh off reliever Fernando Rodney, extending his postseason hitting streak to 10 games.

\     It marked the first time since the 1912 Red Sox at Boston\'s Fenway Park that a team won the Series at home in a first-year ballpark. And the Cardinals (83-78) almost didn\'t even make it to the postseason. They had a seven-game NL Central lead with 12 to go but lost eight of nine before recovering to finish 1 games ahead of Houston, the defending NL champion.

\     Minnesota, in 1987, had set the previous low for wins by a Series winner, going 85-77.

\     \"The team that wins a world championship is the team that played the best,\" La Russa said.

\     As the Tigers failed in their bid for their first title since 1984, their season ended with Kenny Rogers rested and ready with no place to pitch. Rogers, who threw 23 shutout innings in the postseason, was saved by Leyland for a possible Game 6 in Detroit today.

\     Weaver, cast off by the Yankees three years ago after a World Series flop and dealt to the Cardinals by the Angels in July, allowed four hits in eight innings, matched his season high with nine strikeouts and walked one before Wainwright finished for the save. St. Louis pitchers held Detroit to a .199 average over the five games.

\     Verlander gave up three runs - one earned - and three hits, recovering from early control problems to give the Tigers a decent effort. Throwing up to 100 mph, he walked the bases loaded and tied a Series record with a pair of wild pitches, but escaped when Ronnie Belliard hit a grounder up the middle that shortstop Carlos Guillen just got to in time to make an off-balance throw to first, beating Belliard by less than a step as Casey scooped the ball on a bounce.

\     Pujols hit just .200 with two RBIs in the Series but turned in the night\'s niftiest play, sprawling to snare Polanco\'s grounder to first leading off the seventh, then making a one-bounce throw from his back to Weaver covering the base.

\     \"Anytime you make big plays, it changes the momentum of the game,\" Weaver said, \"and I think that was a big one.\"\
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October 28, 2006
\ Weaver\'s journey from Simi ends in World Series victory
\
By Rhiannon Potkey
rpotkey@VenturaCountyStar.com
\
\ St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher and Simi Valley High graduate Jeff Weaver celebrates after striking out Detroit Tigers Ivan Rodriguez to end the sixth inning in Game 5 of the World Series on Friday in St. Louis.\
\     Resiliency has defined Jeff Weaver\'s baseball career, and on Friday night, he was rewarded on the sport\'s grandest stage.

\     The Simi Valley High graduate was the winning pitcher as the St. Louis Cardinals captured the World Series title with a 4-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

\     Pitching against the team that drafted him eight years ago, Weaver allowed just four hits in eight innings and matched his season-high in strikeouts with nine.

\     The victory enabled the 6-foot-5 right-hander to erase his ghosts of playoffs past. During Game 4 of the 2003 World Series as a member of the New York Yankees, Weaver allowed a game-ending home run in the 12th inning against the Florida Marlins.

\     \"It\'s funny how things work,\" Weaver said. \"You couldn\'t ask for a better scenario. Kind of full circle.\"

\     As the Cardinals celebrated with champagne in the clubhouse, Weaver was joined by another former Marmonte League pitcher. Newbury Park High graduate Tyler Johnson is a left-handed rookie reliever for the Cardinals and yielded no runs in two appearances against the Tigers.

\     Weaver, 30, underwent a late-season resurrection after struggling with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at the beginning of the year.

\     Signed as a free agent by the Angels after a stint with the Dodgers, Weaver was 3-10 in 16 starts with a 6.29 earned run average.

\     He was eventually replaced in the Angels rotation by his younger brother, Jered, also a Simi Valley High graduate, and designated for assignment.

\     The Cardinals took a chance on Jeff Weaver, and he gradually regained his confidence.

\     \"I was hoping to do it in Anaheim, but that didn\'t work out,\" said Weaver, who can become a free agent. \"When you have all that support, you can go out there and not be looking over your shoulder.\"

\     But bouncing back is nothing new for Weaver.

\     As a scrawny high school player, Weaver didn\'t even try out for Simi Valley\'s team during his junior year and wasn\'t an all-league selection as a senior.

\     When he attempted to walk on at Fresno State, he was cut. But Weaver persisted and left FSU as the career leader in strikeouts with 477.

\     Mike Scyphers, Weaver\'s coach at Simi Valley, never envisioned his slight-statured closer and designated hitter would eventually grow into a World Series winner.

\     \"He is an unbelievable success story,\" Scyphers said. \"To think of him being just an average high school pitcher and then to blossom into what he has become today is exciting to see.\"

\     Now Weaver can add a World Series ring to the bronze medal he earned at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.\
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October 18, 2006
\ Weaver up to the task
\
Right-hander, with help from bullpen and Pujols, pitches effectively in Game 5 as Cardinals one win from World Series
\
By Mike Fitzpatrick
AP baseball writer
\
\ St. Louis pitcher Jeff Weaver pumps his fist after getting New York\'s Carlos Delgado to pop out during the fifth inning of Game 5 of the NL Championship Series. The Simi Valley native pitched six strong innings and got the victory.\
\     ST. LOUIS - A big swing by Albert Pujols and another playoff gem from a rejuvenated Jeff Weaver put the St. Louis Cardinals on the cusp of the World Series.

\     Pujols\' homer helped the Cardinals get to Tom Glavine at last, and Weaver shut down the New York Mets for a 4-2 victory Tuesday night and a 3-2 lead in the NL Championship Series.

\     \"The biggest key to our win was the way (Weaver) pitched,\" St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. \"The more you think about what he did, the more impressive he was.\"

\     Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter can close it out tonight in Game 6 at Shea Stadium, which would give St. Louis its second pennant in three years and a date with the Detroit Tigers in the World Series. Rookie right-hander John Maine is on the mound for the Mets, who hope to force a Game 7 at home.

\     The Cardinals got timely hits from Preston Wilson and Ronnie Belliard, and an insurance homer by pinch hitter Chris Duncan. With the red-clad crowd of 46,496 twirling white towels, St. Louis\' young bullpen held on in the late innings after getting roughed up during New York\'s 12-5 victory in Game 4.

\     \"We didn\'t have too many opportunities,\" Mets manager Willie Randolph said. \"They did pitch well. The bullpen did a great job.\"

\     The second rainout of the series Monday night gave Glavine and Weaver a chance to pitch on regular rest instead of only a three-day break. Now, for the second time in the series, the clubs will travel without a day off.

\     Making his 35th postseason start, the most in major league history, Glavine got only 12 outs. Weaver, on the other hand, earned his second impressive playoff victory.

\     \"I think one advantage of playing a team in a long series like this is getting the opportunity to pitch twice,\" the Simi Valley High graduate said. \"I knew what they had hit before, and more than anything I just tried to get ahead of \'em.\"

\     Pujols\' homer put St. Louis on the scoreboard and snapped Glavine\'s 22-inning scoreless streak that dated to his final regular-season start at Washington.

\     \"He doesn\'t give in too much,\" said Pujols, who insisted last week that Glavine wasn\'t very good during Game 1. \"I\'m just glad it went out of the park.\"

\     The 40-year-old Glavine threw four-hit ball for seven sharp innings in Game 1, beating Weaver 2-0 on Carlos Beltran\'s two-run homer.

\     But Weaver got the best of this matchup. Cast off by the Los Angeles Angels this summer to make roster room for his younger brother, Jered, the St. Louis right-hander kept Beltran and Carlos Delgado in check, yielding only two runs and six hits in six strong innings.

\     \"I don\'t even remember the first half of the season,\" Weaver said. \"I just continued to believe in myself that things would turn around.\"

\     The Mets put runners at second and third with one out in the eighth, but Randy Flores retired Shawn Green on a shallow fly and rookie Adam Wainwright struck out Jose Valentin looking to preserve a two-run lead. Wainwright struck out Jose Reyes to end the game for his second save of the postseason.

\     \"He\'s got so much composure in the toughest situations,\" La Russa said. \"We\'ve gotten such a huge lift from those guys.\"

\     In this postseason, Cardinals relievers have held opponents to 0 for 31 with two outs and runners in scoring position.

\     Weaver is 2-1 with a 2.16 ERA in three playoff starts. He tossed five innings of two-hit ball to beat San Diego 2-0 in Game 2 of the first round.

\     \"By him being able to finish the sixth it really set up the last three innings for our bullpen,\" La Russa said.

\     The game was delayed for a few minutes before the fourth while the grounds crew replaced first base, and Weaver walked his next batter, pitching carefully to Delgado. Green\'s one-out double kicked up chalk on the right-field line, and Valentin hit the next pitch just over a leaping Pujols at first base for a two-run double that put New York ahead.

\     The Mets have scored in 10 innings during the series, and seven times St. Louis has responded with at least one run in its next at-bat.

\     Sure enough, Glavine couldn\'t hold the lead. Pujols pulled a 2-2 pitch barely over the left-field fence in the bottom half of the fourth, his first home run since Game 1 against the Padres and his 12th overall in the postseason.

\     \"Albert just got enough of it,\" La Russa said. \"That got us going, perked us up.\"

\     With two outs, Scott Rolen walked, Jim Edmonds singled and Belliard bounced a tying single through the right side as Delgado broke for first base instead of toward the ball.

\     Glavine retired Weaver with the bases loaded to end the inning, but the Cardinals chased Glavine in the fifth and took a 3-2 lead. David Eckstein blooped a leadoff single and scored from first on a double to right-center by Wilson, who began his career with the Mets in 1998 and is the stepson of former New York outfielder Mookie Wilson.

\     Glavine was lifted after an intentional walk to Pujols. The left-hander allowed three runs and seven hits in four-plus innings, failing to tie former Atlanta teammate John Smoltz for the most wins in postseason history at 15. Glavine threw only 40 of his 80 pitches for strikes.

\     \"He had the one tough inning obviously in the fourth, but other than that I thought Tommy pitched pretty well,\" Randolph said.

\     Left-hander Pedro Feliciano escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth, keeping the score 3-2. But La Russa sent the left-handed hitting Duncan up for Weaver in the sixth against Feliciano, and Duncan drove a 3-2 delivery down the right-field line to make it 4-2.

\     \"Once I got him to 3-2, I knew in a close game he doesn\'t want to walk me,\" said Duncan, the son of Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan. \"He happened to leave a breaking ball up.\"\
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October 13, 2006
\ Mets strike first
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Beltran\'s two-run homer is enough to beat Cardinals, Weaver
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By Mike Fitzpatrick
AP baseball writer
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\ Cardinals pitcher Jeff Weaver reacts after giving up a two-run homer to the Mets\' Carlos Beltran, background, in the sixth inning of Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Thursday. New York won 2-0.\
\     Tom Glavine tossed another gem, Carlos Beltran rocked Shea Stadium with a homer that crashed off the scoreboard, and the New York Mets jumped in front of St. Louis in the NL Championship Series.

\     Glavine shut down Albert Pujols and extended his postseason scoreless streak to 13 innings, pitching the Mets to a 2-0 victory over the Cardinals in Game 1 on Thursday night.

\     \"Tommy was the key,\" Mets manager Willie Randolph said. \"He just quietly goes about his business and he\'s a real leader on our staff.\"

\     Beltran, who wore out St. Louis in the NLCS with Houston two years ago, hit a two-run shot off an otherwise impressive Jeff Weaver of Simi Valley in the sixth. That was all the offense New York needed to win its eighth straight game, dating to the regular season.

\     \"It pains me that there\'s going to be an \'L\' next to Jeff\'s name tomorrow. There\'s no way that he\'s a losing pitcher,\" Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. \"Jeff was outstanding. We hit too many balls in the air.\"

\     After rain postponed the opener Wednesday night, the Cardinals bumped up ace Chris Carpenter, who will pitch on regular rest tonight in Game 2. Rookie right-hander John Maine will be on the mound for the Mets.

\     Missing injured starters Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez, the Mets are counting heavily on Glavine as they chase their first World Series title in 20 years. The 40-year-old left-hander, sharp and deceptive as ever, has delivered in a big way.

\     He threw six scoreless innings in Game 2 of the first round, helping the Mets to a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers. And the two-time Cy Young Award winner, who waited four seasons to reach the playoffs with New York after doing so year after year in Atlanta, was just as good against St. Louis.

\     \"I understand the importance of when I pitch now. At the same time, I\'m trying to play mental games with myself and dismiss that,\" Glavine said. \"I don\'t want to go out there with any added pressure.\"

\     Helped by two inning-ending double plays and a sprawling catch by super sub Endy Chavez, Glavine yielded only four hits and two walks. He struck out Pujols in the first, walked him in the fourth and retired him on a liner to shortstop in the sixth.

\     \"The first part I executed really well, which was face him with no one on base,\" Glavine said. \"He\'s obviously the best hitter in baseball right now. ... When he\'s in the box, if you have to face him you have to face him like any other hitter. You have to attack him and be aggressive.\"

\     Guillermo Mota worked a hitless eighth to avoid facing Pujols himself, instead passing the reigning NL MVP along to Billy Wagner. But the Mets closer got Pujols to line out to first and Juan Encarnacion followed with a hard groundout.

\     Wagner then walked Scott Rolen, who is 1 for 14 this postseason, and retired pinch hitter Scott Spiezio on a popup to end it for his third save of the playoffs.

\     It was Glavine\'s 34th postseason start, matching Andy Pettitte for the most in major league history. Glavine also improved to 14-15 in the postseason, tying Pettitte for the second most wins behind former Braves teammate John Smoltz (15).

\     Weaver, cast off by the Los Angeles Angels in July, was nearly as good. He cruised through 5 2/3 innings, blanking the Mets\' menacing lineup on one harmless single.

\     But Paul Lo Duca bounced a hit through the left side in the sixth, and Beltran drove a 2-2 fastball an estimated 430 feet off the giant scoreboard in right-center — the ball clanging off Jose Valentin\'s No. 18 in New York\'s lineup.

\     \"Every time you do something in October it means a lot,\" Beltran said. \"Hitting the home run today of course brings memories.

\     It also woke up a curiously quiet crowd of 56,311 at Shea, which was plenty noisy during two home games in the division series, and left them chanting \"Wea-ver! Wea-ver!\"

\     The right-hander knows all about tough crowds in New York after an unsuccessful stint with the Yankees from 2002 to 2003, when he was often booed lustily in the Bronx. Weaver, lifted in the sixth after 98 pitches, is scheduled to come back on only three days\' rest in Game 5 — as is Glavine, who threw 89 pitches.

\     \"There\'s no question I feel better about coming back on a small pitch count like I had tonight as opposed to getting over 100,\" Glavine said.

\     The Cardinals have seen all too much of Beltran in October. He batted .417 with four homers and five RBIs for the Astros in the 2004 NLCS, a series St. Louis won in seven games.

\     \"He\'s a big-game guy. He\'s shown what he can do in the postseason,\" Randolph said. \"He has a beautiful swing. He\'s a very special individual. You don\'t see the ball jump off the bat like that with many hitters.\"

\     La Russa has his team in the NLCS for the third straight season and fifth time in seven years overall — a run that began with a loss to the wild-card Mets in 2000. But St. Louis is in its last four NLCS appearances and is still looking for its first World Series championship since 1982.

\     The winner of Game 1 in the NLCS has reached the World Series 12 of the last 13 years. The 2005 Cardinals were the exception.

\     The Mets lost left fielder Cliff Floyd early when he aggravated his injured Achilles\' tendon while running out a foul fly in the second. He is day to day.

\     Floyd, who also lumbered toward the line to catch two fly balls in the first two innings, was replaced by Chavez, a defensive whiz, in the top of the third. Chavez got a late break on Ronnie Belliard\'s fifth-inning looper, but recovered in time to make a diving, snow-cone grab.

\     Poor baserunning by Pujols cost the Cardinals in the fourth, when he was doubled off first base by Beltran on Encarnacion\'s soft fly to center.

\     \"Albert is an outstanding baserunner. I\'m not exaggerating,\" La Russa said. \"That was the exception. He got a bad read.\"\
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October 6, 2006
\ Weaver, Cards ace the Padres
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Simi Valley native\'s curveball helps St.Louis go up 2-0
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By Bernie Wilson
The Associated Press
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\ Cardinals starter Jeff Weaver of Simi Valley pitched five shutout innings against the Padres on Thursday.\
\     Getting out of September intact was the hard part for the St. Louis Cardinals, who clinched a division title while stuck in reverse.

\     And the San Diego Padres? Well, after coming into the playoffs with all the confidence in the world -- and rare home-field advantage -- they may not make it through the weekend.

\     The Padres appear to be headed for their same ol\' postseason fate against the Cardinals, who won 2-0 on Thursday behind Albert Pujols and reclamation project Jeff Weaver of Simi Valley to take a 2-0 lead in the NL division series.

\     \"It\'s very big because coming into these playoffs we didn\'t really know what to expect,\" Cardinals shortstop David Eckstein said.

\     Well, history suggests the best-of-five series will end Saturday in St. Louis, unless the popgun Padres can find their missing bats. The Padres are hitting an embarrassing .164 in the series, getting just 10 hits and one run so far, while striking out 20 times. They\'re 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position, and have stranded 13.

\     St. Louis, which barely avoided one of the biggest September collapses ever, improved to 8-0 in the postseason against San Diego. That includes division series sweeps last year and in 1996.

\     \"I think it\'s a huge step in the right direction to come into somebody else\'s park and win the first two, especially in the short series,\" said Weaver, who used his curveball to baffle a lefty-dominated Padres lineup. \"We\'re looking forward to getting back home and trying to make the series as short as possible."

\     Pujols had three more hits after homering in the 5-1 victory in Game 1. He and Jim Edmonds hit RBI singles off Wells in the fourth inning.

\     Weaver and four relievers, three of whom are rookies, combined on a four-hitter. Making his second career postseason start, Weaver outpitched Wells, who was making his 17th postseason start and 27th appearance dating to 1989.

\     Weaver gave up two singles in five innings, allowing only two Padres baserunners as far as second base. He struck out three and walked three.

\     Aware that the Padres liked fastballs, Weaver didn\'t throw very many. San Diego leadoff batter Dave Roberts estimated that more than 50 percent of Weaver\'s pitches were curveballs.

\     \"I just wanted to stay away from the extra-base hits and things of that nature, and was able to throw a lot of quality breaking balls to keep these guys off balance,\" said Weaver, who dodged jams in the first and fifth innings.

\     And to think Weaver struggled so badly with the Angels this year, going 3-10, that he was traded to make room in their rotation for his younger brother, Jered. But he earned this start by going 4-1 with a 4.03 ERA in eight road starts with St. Louis.

\     Relievers Randy Flores, Josh Kinney, Tyler Johnson of Newbury Park and Wainwright pitched four innings of two-hit ball.\
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October 3, 2006
\ Angels\' Weaver gets a break after breakout year
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By David Lassen
dlassen@VenturaCountyStar.com
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\ Angels\' Weaver gets a break after breakout year\
\     He threw exactly 200 innings, pitching 31 games in 17 cities -- eight in the minor leagues, nine in the majors.

\     For all of that work, he was 17-3 with a 2.39 ERA, but Jered Weaver\'s second season as a professional pitcher will be remembered for what he did as a rookie with the Angels: 11-2 with a 2.56 ERA in 19 games.

\     Called up from Triple-A Salt Lake City on May 26, the Simi Valley native won his major league debut against Baltimore the next day and never looked back, winning his first nine decisions to tie an American League record and helping the Angels stay in a playoff race until the final week of the season.

\     That will almost certainly earn him some solid support in rookie of the year voting. But with his first major league season complete, what Weaver knew was that it had also earned him some rest.

\     \"A lot of relaxing,\" Weaver said Sunday, when asked about his immediate plans. \"Not doing anything. A lot of golf.\"

\     He might put the tee times on hold to go watch his older brother Jeff pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals in the postseason, but he admits another flight to another city isn\'t the most exciting prospect. \"The traveling we do during the season, I don\'t know. I might go out for his first start, but other than that, I\'m just going to be chilling out.\"

\     By the time Weaver\'s win streak was snapped, in a 2-1 loss to Boston on Aug. 24, he had become a subject of national attention, as well as an established part of the Angels\' plans for the future.

\     \"It was a great experience for me. It was good that I was given the opportunity to do what I did, and I\'m just thankful for being here in this situation.\"

\     Weaver was so dominant in his rookie season -- striking out 105 and walking just 33 and allowing 94 runs in 123 innings -- that it\'s easy to forget he turns 24 on Wednesday, or that he needed just 24 minor league games -- seven in Class-A, eight in Double-A and nine in Triple-A -- before earning his promotion.

\     \"I just took what I did before to get me here, and it worked out,\" said Weaver. \"I didn\'t change anything from college (Long Beach State) to the minor leagues to here, just going out and competing, and it ended up working out.\"

\     \"You expect to come in and have some success, but to start out like that was kind of surprising to me. It was kind of overwhelming, but it was something I was used to, and that\'s winning. That\'s what I\'m about, and I\'ll try to do that for another 15 years? I\'m already looking forward to spring training.\"

\     For all his talk of rest, Weaver won\'t be idle too long. In mid-December, he\'ll start playing catch and working toward reporting to camp in February. \"You try to get your arm as much rest as possible,\" he said, \"but at the same time, still try to maintain what you built up in the regular season.\"

\     Saying goodbye? While the final days of the Angels season became an extended farewell for Tim Salmon, the 15-year veteran and longest-tenured player in franchise history, Sunday\'s game was quite likely the final game as an Angel for second baseman Adam Kennedy, as well.

\     Kennedy becomes a free agent in the offseason, and with presumed successor Howie Kendrick already on hand and a surplus of middle-infield prospects in the farm system, the Angels are unlikely to re-sign the 30-year-old product of Cal State Northridge.

\     As a farewell gesture, manager Mike Scioscia had Kennedy bat cleanup on Sunday -- something he\'d never done in high school or college, he said, let alone with the Angels. He went 1 for 3 with an RBI to finish the season at .273 with four homers and 55 RBIs.

\     \"I\'ve been preparing for this, and I\'ve been OK with it,\" Kennedy said of his possible departure, \"so it\'s not a devastating blow that this is possibly the last time doing this here? It\'s not breaking me down too bad.\"

\     Kennedy came to the Angels in 2000 in the trade that sent Jim Edmonds to the Cardinals, and has played in 992 games in seven seasons with the team, batting .280 with 51 homers and 353 RBIs. His most memorable moment is a three-homer game against Minnesota in the 2002 playoffs.

\     \"He worked as hard as anyone I\'ve been around in 30-plus years of baseball,\" said Scioscia. \"He demonstrates qualities of leadership. And the stuff he does off the field I think is just a reflection of his character as a person.\"

\     The retirement of Salmon and possible departures of Kennedy and Darin Erstad will further distance the team from that 2002 championship, and clearly change the complexion of the clubhouse.

\     \"We all grew up here and found a way of playing baseball correctly,\" said Kennedy. \"People have succeeded in taking it elsewhere, and hopefully I can do the same.\"\
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August 25, 2006
\ Weaver on short end
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Angels rookie pitches well again, giving up one run, but is out pitched by Boston\'s Beckett and suffers first loss
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By Mark Saxon
The Orange County Register
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\
\ Los Angeles Angels pitcher Jered Weaver reacts after the third out of the fourth inning against the Boston Red Sox in an MLB baseball game, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2006, in Anaheim, Calif.\     Once again, the Angels stood squarely behind the aggressive style of baserunning they\'ve practically turned into a religion. But for the second time in less than a month, a dash to the plate cost them a painful loss to the Boston Red Sox.

\     They might not know how badly Thursday\'s 2-1 loss hurt until they add things up at the end of the year, but it left them teetering on the brink of contention, 5 games out in the AL West - with the New York Yankees coming to town.

\     Jered Weaver (9-1) did practically all he could do, but he still had to swallow his first major league loss when the Angels offense sputtered trying to hit Josh Beckett.

\     As usual, the Angels went out with their running shoes on.

\     With nobody out in the seventh inning, third-base coach Dino Ebel waved Juan Rivera around third after Howie Kendrick\'s line-drive single to left field. Just as Manny Ramirez had done in the 11th inning of a July 29 game the Angels lost, Wily Mo Pena made the throw to the plate the Angels dared him to make.

\     Baseball orthodoxy tends to lean heavily against getting a runner thrown out at the plate for the first out of an inning.

\     \"It\'s my fault. I got a guy thrown out with no outs,\" Ebel said. \"But at the same time you have to give Wily Mo credit. That ball was right on the money. I\'m aggressive and I\'m just going to keep doing it. He\'s got to make a perfect throw and, in that situation, he did.\"

\     Weaver pitched well enough to improve to 10-0, but a patient Boston offense -- and an impatient Angels offense -- cost the Simi Valley High graduate a chance at breaking Whitey Ford\'s American League record. Weaver left the game after six strong innings because of an elevated pitch count.

\     Still, he continued proving he\'s no fluke. He has been holding opposing lineups down the second time he faces them, something some people doubted he could do.

\     \"He just keeps doing the same thing,\" Scioscia said. \"Nobody likes to lose, nobody takes losing in stride. Jered\'s not going to take it in stride. He wants to win. It\'s part of his makeup, his ability to compete. It always stings to lose, but the only silver lining is how well he\'s throwing the ball."

\     Weaver\'s main problem was David Ortiz, who turned on an inside fastball and catapulted it about 400 feet into the right-field stands. The Angels\' biggest problem was Beckett, who might be having a mediocre season but doesn\'t have mediocre stuff.

\     Beckett had his fastball popping off the leather of catcher Doug Mirabelli\'s glove. It consistently registered in the upper 90s and the Angels made little solid contact off him.

\     What the Angels couldn\'t do to Beckett -- knock him out of the game -- a small cut on his right middle finger did in the seventh.

\     Beckett breezed through six innings, but Boston manager Terry Francona didn\'t like the looks of the cut in the seventh and relieved him with Mike Timlin.

\     The Red Sox scored their second run when shortstop Orlando Cabrera made an apparent error in judgment after fielding Mirabelli\'s chopper up the middle. Adam Kennedy was standing at second base, but Cabrera elected to try for the unassisted double play. Alex Cora had gotten a good jump and he beat Cabrera to the second-base bag.\
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August 24, 2006
\ ANDERSON, ROTH NAMED POST-SEASON ALL-STARS
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Baisley voted MVP; Maybin selected as Prospect of the Year
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By Quad Cities Swing Staff
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\ Swing Catcher Bryan Anderson\     Swing of the Quad Cities players Bryan Anderson and Randy Roth were both named to the 2006 Midwest League Post-Season All-Star Team, the league announced on Thursday. The West Michigan Whitecaps had three players make the squad, the most of any team in the Midwest League, while Quad Cities and Southwest Michigan checked in next with two All-Stars each.

\     Both Anderson, who made the team as a catcher, and Roth, who was named the team\'s designated hitter, served as starters at the same positions for the Midwest League\'s Western Division Team at the all-star break. Kane County\'s Jeff Baisley was honored as the league\'s Most Valuable Player, while West Michigan\'s Cameron Maybin and Matt Walbeck were named Prospect of the Year and Manager of the Year, respectively.

\     Anderson, a 19-year-old catcher from Simi Valley, California, has spent all but two days of the 2006 season hitting above the .300 mark, and currently boasts a .303 clip with two home runs and 48 RBI. His 29 doubles are just two shy of cracking the all-time single-season top ten list for the Quad Cities franchise. A fourth-round pick out of high school in the 2005 draft, Anderson\'s patience at the plate has led to 42 walks drawn and a .381 on-base percentage.

\     Roth, a 24-year-old slugger from Louisiana, led the Midwest League with 18 home runs and 118 hits at the time of his promotion to the Florida State League on July 24. He also found himself among the league leaders with a .307 batting average (9th), 67 runs batted in (2nd), 45 extra-base hits (2nd), and a .523 slugging percentage (3rd) through 97 games with the Swing. The highlight of the 2005 10th-rounder\'s season was a 19-game hitting streak that lasted from April 21-May 10, a stretch in which he batted .368 with eight home runs and 21 runs batted in.\
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August 19, 2006
\ 9 and oh: Weaver\'s a perfect match
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Rookie ties Ford\'s AL record for wins to start a career
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By Greg Wagner
MLB.com
\
\
\ It felt like I was at Long Beach State again, having all those people standing up and cheering like it was the last inning, said Jered Weaver.\     ANAHEIM -- Is there anything this kid can\'t do?

\     Jered Weaver won his ninth straight decision, becoming only the second American League rookie in history accomplish such a feat.

\     The other is Yankees Hall of Famer Whitey Ford, so the 23-year old is in pretty good company.

\     Weaver scattered three hits over seven innings to lead the Angels to a 3-0 victory over the Mariners on Friday night. The right-hander didn\'t allow a hit until the fourth inning and struck out seven.

\     \"It\'s great to be mentioned in the same sentence as Whitey Ford, that\'s for sure,\" Weaver said. \"You don\'t go into things thinking you can do something like that.\"

\     \"How can you get better than what he\'s doing?\" acting manager Ron Roenicke said. \"If there\'s seven innings pitched, he\'s throwing up six zeros all the time and that\'s really hard to do.\"

\     Funny thing is, Weaver wasn\'t even supposed to be in the Major Leagues this year. He broke onto the scene simply as another temporary candidate to replace injured Bartolo Colon. He began his career holding the Orioles scoreless over seven innings and didn\'t allow a run for his first 13 innings in the Majors.

\     What started as sparkling debut became a phenomenon and turned into a national sensation. Just last Monday in New York, the Angels public relation department received 15 separate interview requests for the rookie.

\     In 24 starts between Triple-A Salt Lake and the Angels, Weaver is 15-1 with a 1.97 ERA and, in the mind of his manager, has the look of a veteran. His Major League ERA is 1.95.

\     \"He has enough mound presence and confidence to work through each situation one pitch at a time,\" said Mike Scioscia, who served the second game of his suspension and didn\'t take part in the game. \"That\'s a tool any pitcher who wants to be successful has to either have or acquire, and he\'s doing it at such a young age.\"

\     The rookie, who was visibly upset when Raul Ibanez singled between first and second for the first Mariners hit in the fourth, got into serious trouble only once.

\     He allowed the first two batters in the seventh to reach, but came back to induce Richie Sexson to fly to right and struck out Ben Broussard swinging.

\     With a sellout crowd standing and cheering, Weaver reared back with his 107th pitch of the evening and fanned Kenji Johjima on a 3-2 pitch. The right-hander, spurred on by the raucous fans, slammed his fist into his glove in jubilation.

\     \"It felt like I was at Long Beach State again, having all those people standing up and cheering like it was the last inning,\" said Weaver, who has made only four of 12 starts at home.

\     \"Obviously, you\'re going to show a little bit of emotion when people are feeding back, and when I was able to get that last strikeout I couldn\'t help but get a little pumped up over that.\"

\     Sexson\'s fly was deep enough to score Adrian Beltre from third, but a powerful two-hop throw from Juan Rivera kept Beltre standing at third.

\     \"I thought that was an easy run,\" Weaver said. \"But it was a strong throw by Juan Rivera and it\'s good to see [the Mariners] respect his arm.\"

\     With Angels rookie hurlers improving to 14-1 on the year, the Angels wouldn\'t have a shot at reaching the playoffs if it weren\'t for such strong performances from so many fresh faces. One such rookie who began his Major League career supplying the Angels with much-needed power took a major step on Friday to regaining that form.

\     Mike Napoli drilled a two-run home run to center off Mariners starter Felix Hernandez in the fourth, his first home run and RBIs since July 15.

\     \"It felt good, I kind of got the monkey off my back,\" Napoli said.

\     Napoli has given the Angels what they thought they were going to receive from fellow rookie Jeff Mathis. Napoli took over from Mathis, who was hitting .103, in May and began his career hitting .314 with six home runs.

\     He has tapered off since and batted just .195 since as he has essentially assumed the backup role to Jose Molina.

\     Napoli has caught Weaver in all but one of his starts as the two, who played together in Salt Lake, have developed a strong chemistry. Scioscia credited Napoli with helping Weaver adjust his game plan against the Yankees last week, among other starts.

\     \"They do work well together, but right now I think Jered could throw to a brick wall,\" Scioscia said. \"He\'s got his game where it needs to be.\"

\     The Mariners had no chance of stopping Weaver, but the pitching mound nearly did the rookie in. In the fourth, Weaver landed awkwardly after a delivery and got his foot caught in Hernandez\'s divot on the mound. He rolled his right ankle, but was able to continue and said he felt no pain after the game.

\     With the A\'s dropping both halves of a doubleheader to the Royals, the Angels climbed to within 4 1/2 games of first in the American League West.

\     Aside from Weaver and Ford, only three other pitchers have began their Major League careers with at least nine straight victories. Livan Hernandez accomplished the feat with the Marlins in 1997, Kirk Rueter did it with the Expos from 1993-1994 and, in 1904, Hooks Wiltse won his first 12 decisions for the New York Giants and holds the Major League record.\
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August 14, 2006
\ Wunderkind Weaver
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By Mark Saxon, The Orange County Register
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\ Simi Valley native Jered Weaver, making his first start at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, improved his record to 8-0 after allowing one run and striking out eight in a 5-3 win. The last pitcher to win his first eight career decisions was Florida\'s Livan Hernandez in 1997.\
\     NEW YORK -- As if the New York Yankees didn\'t have enough to worry about when they step on the field with the Angels, now there\'s this: The Angels unsheathed their latest weapon, a 6-foot-7 right-handed pitcher with an odd delivery and a mountain of bravado.

\     Simi Valley\'s Jered Weaver just tapped into a deep vein of Angels confidence against the Yankees, holding them down for six innings Sunday in a 5-3 victory at Yankee Stadium. Weaver became the first pitcher to win his first eight decisions since Livan Hernandez in 1997.

\     Next up is Yankees legend Whitey Ford, who won his first nine in 1950. The left-hander\'s retired No. 16 is pasted to the visiting bullpen here, where Weaver warmed up before pausing to listening to the national anthem and jogging out the mound.

\     He then took over the mound, baffling the Yankees with his corkscrewing delivery, his control and his ability to throw any of his pitches in any count.

\     \"He had, like, two or three different fastballs,\" Alex Rodriguez said. \"It was hard to get a feel for him.\"

\     One Angels rookie, Joe Saunders, said he was so nervous to pitch at this stadium -- to this lineup -- that his leg was shaking Friday night. Weaver seems oblivious to nerves.

\     He adjusted his game plan after the patient Yankees looked like they would wear him down by the fourth inning. Weaver had thrown 70 pitches through the first three innings, walking three batters, though the Yankees did not score off him until Craig Wilson hit a towering home run in the fifth.

\     Weaver dissected the game with clinical poise afterward, much as he pitches.

\     \"Obviously, my pitch count in the first couple innings wasn\'t where I wanted it to be. I was just trying to get a feel for the hitters and how their swings are on my ball,\" he said. \"Things like that kind of got in the back of my head.\"

\     When the Angels play here, they rarely fret much. Why should they? They don\'t own Yankee Stadium, but they play here like they do. They are 11-7 in the Bronx since the start of the 2003 season, not including a playoff split here last year.

\     People often talk about the intimidation factor the Yankees enjoy. Could the balance be tipping? Are the Yankees intimidated when they face the Angels?

\     \"I doubt that,\" Adam Kennedy said.

\     The Angels were facing a hot pitcher, but Chone Figgins hit Chien-Ming Wang\'s second pitch into the right-field stands. Otherwise, they took what they could get off Wang\'s hard sinker. That was a bushel of ground-ball singles. The 13 hits Wang gave up were a career high.

\     Things tightened a bit when A-Rod and Jason Giambi hit solo home runs off Scot Shields in the ninth, but Francisco Rodriguez came in and got Jorge Posada to pop up to end the game for his 30th save.

\     The Angels couldn\'t make up ground on the streaking Oakland A\'s, however,who won for the 14th time in their past 17 games to keep their 4-game edge in the AL West.\
\
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\
July 27, 2006
\ MEET THE SWING!
\
Getting to know... BRYAN ANDERSON
\
By Quad Cities Swing Staff
\
\
\     In an effort to allow you to get to know the Swing players a little better, we have passed around a questionnaire to the team in order to find out more about their personalities. Every Thursday for the remainder of the season we will profile a different member of the Swing of the Quad Cities roster, so make sure to check back in with us each week to meet a new Cardinals\' farmhand. This week, you can get to know...

\ Swing Catcher Bryan Anderson\     BRYAN ANDERSON

\     Anderson, a 19-year-old native of Simi Valley, California, was selected by the Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2005 draft out of Simi Valley High School. After hitting .331 in his pro debut with Johnson City last year, the teenage catcher has not missed a beat this season, hovering among the Midwest League\’s leaders all year long in batting average and on-base percentage.

\     What is your fondest memory from your days in little leagues?

\     Eating pretzels with cheese and slushies after games and playing with all my friends.

\     Who has made the biggest impact in your baseball career and why?

\     My mom and dad because they taught me hard work and dedication.

\     Did you play any other sports growing up? If so, what sports and what positions?

\     Basketball.

\     Why did you decide to go, or not to go, to college?

\     I didn\'t go to college because it has always been my dream to play professional baseball.

\     Who was your favorite baseball team growing up? Your favorite player?

\     The Dodgers. (Ivan) Pudge Rodriguez.

\     What is your favorite TV show?

\     Friends.

\     Who is your favorite musician and why?

\     Bob Marley, because his music is relaxing.

\     When the bus stops at a rest area during a long road trip, what is the first thing you look for in the vending machine?

\     A Pepsi and Cool Ranch Doritos.

\     What are three things that can always be found in your refrigerator?

\     Juice, milk, and a snack pack.

\     What secret talent do you have that people might find surprising?

\     I am really good at body surfing.

\     What was the toughest adjustment you had to make in becoming a professional baseball player?

\     Playing everyday.

\     What is the best part about being a professional baseball player? The worst part?

\     Best: I play baseball everyday and I don\'t have to go to school.
\     Worst: Being away from my family for so long.

\     Who is the best player you have played with or against in your career? Why?

\     (former Swing outfielder) Colby Rasmus is a great player and the best all-around athlete I’ve played with.

\
\ Bryan Anderson Safe at Home\
\
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July 23, 2006
\ Angels rookie Weaver now 7-0
\
Righty is first since Valenzuela in 1981 to win first seven
\
By Alan Eskew
MLB.com
\
\
\ Jered Weaver allowed one run on three hits over 6 2/3 innings on Sunday\     KANSAS CITY -- For those who believe Jered Weaver might go through his career undefeated, Angels pitching coach Bud Black wants to squelch that right now.

\     \"I would expect not,\" Black said. \"He might lose a game 1-to-nothing.\"

\     Weaver remained perfect on Sunday with a 3-1 victory over the Royals, allowing one run on three hits in 6 2/3 innings. He has won his first seven Major League starts, becoming the first pitcher to do that since Fernando Valenzuela won his initial eight starts in 1981 for the Dodgers.

\     Catching Valenzuela in 1981 was one Mike Scioscia, the Angels manager.

\     \"I think some situations are similar,\" Scioscia said. \"Fernando started the season. He didn\'t come up midway through [like Weaver]. A lot of the dynamics are similar. There\'s a big veteran influence on this team that has high expectations and there are a lot of kids trying to break their way into the lineup, as there was in 1981.

\     \"Fernando was a big part of our rotation even though he hadn\'t started a Major League game. We knew the talent he had. The expectations were to win. Fernando kept going out pitching his game and had success. I think Jered is doing the same thing. On the field and in the clubhouse what the expectations were for that club (in 1981), I think a lot of things are similar.\"

\     Weaver, who has a 1.15 ERA, is not getting caught up with his history-making journey to begin his career.

\     \"I\'m not worried about any records,\" said Weaver, who was born one year after Valenzuela\'s 1981 start. \"It still hasn\'t kicked in. I don\'t get hyped up. All it is is just one more tier in the bleachers.

\     \"I\'ve been really good about letting things roll off my shoulder and not getting really all hyped up about all that type of stuff, but just going out there and worrying about one thing and one thing only and that is making pitches and trying to keep my team in the game to have a chance to win.\"

\     Weaver\'s next start will be Saturday at Boston as he tries to duplicate Valenzuela\'s 1981 feat.

\     \"What I was impressed with today was the way Jered pitched around the fact he didn\'t have command of his breaking ball early,\" Scioscia said. \"He wasn\'t missing by much, but he was able to get his fastball in good spots. He threw some good breaking balls when he had to.

\     \"But he pitched without his best stuff today and I think that\'s a great sign when a guy can pitch as well as he did.\"

\     Weaver acknowledged his breaking ball was askew in the early innings.

\     \"It is obviously a confidence booster to be able to get people out when I don\'t have my best stuff,\" Weaver said.

\     Weaver was making his first start since July 8 as the Angels opted to skip him in the rotation because of tendinitis in his right biceps.

\     \"It was a just a matter of not being able to throw for two weeks,\" Weaver said of his breaking ball being off target. \"Obviously, I couldn\'t find it early and you try to throw some more in pre-inning warmups. It started to come around in later innings. It is something I need to clean up in the bullpen this week.\"

\     Weaver said he felt \"maybe a little bit [of pain] in that last inning, but it\'s not nearly what it was.\"

\     Weaver was pulled after 101 pitches, the second highest number he has thrown in his seven Major League starts. He already has thrown 124 innings this season -- 47 with the Angels and 77 in the Pacific Coast League.

\     \"The only thing we want to monitor very closely is where his innings are, how his stuff looks, and how is he holding up?\" Scioscia said. \"Because this is going to be the longest season he\'s had up to this point. We want him to be a part of what we hope obviously is a pennant race.\"

\     Weaver allowed only an infield single to Angel Berroa in the first five innings. The only run the Royals would get came in the sixth when Mark Teahen\'s two-out double scored Doug Mientkiewicz, who singled to right for the first clean hit off the 23-year-old right-hander.

\     The Angels scored a run in the second inning off Brandon Duckworth (1-4), who took the loss. With two out, Duckworth hit Juan Rivera with a pitch and Mike Napoli walked. Adam Kennedy, who extended his hitting streak to nine games, singled to center, scoring Rivera.

\     The Angels stretched their lead to 3-0 in the fourth. Rivera doubled and Duckworth walked Napoli and Kennedy to load the bases. Robb Quinlan, who entered the game hitting .208 against right-handers, stroked a ground-ball single to right to drive in Rivera and Napoli. Quinlan has 15 RBIs in his past 13 games.

\     \"I\'ve struggled with righties the last two years,\" Quinlan said. \"It\'s nice to get a hit, especially off a right-hander, and I\'m glad to help the team out.\"

\     That would prove to be enough for Weaver and the Angels\' bullpen. Scot Shields worked a scoreless eighth, allowing one single, and Francisco Rodriguez finished it with a flawless ninth, striking out the final two Royals to earn his 25th save in 27 opportunities.

\     The Angels won the final two games of the four-game series to gain a split. The Angels, who moved two games above .500, improved to 15-4 in July.\
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July 16, 2006
\ Swing swat Timber Rattlers
\
By Josh Cooper
MLB.com
\
\
\ Bryan Anderson drove in three runs as Quad Cities pounded host Wisconsin\     Trey Hearne pitched seven strong innings and Bryan Anderson drove in three runs as Quad Cities pounded host Wisconsin, 12-2, on Saturday.

\     Hearne (8-2) allowed two runs on eight hits while striking out four. The 23-year-old right-hander did not walk a batter en route to his third straight win.

\     Anderson ripped an RBI triple in the third and a two-run double in the sixth for the Swing (12-10), who have won five of their last six.

\     Wisconsin starter Paul Fagan (4-11) took the loss, surrendering seven runs on seven hits and six walks while striking out two in 4 2/3 innings.

\     Eddy Hernandez went 3-for-4 with an RBI double in the seventh for the Timber Rattlers (6-16).\
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\
July 9, 2006
\ Weaver records another \'W\' with latest \'A\' game\
Baseball: Angels\' star rookie now at 6-0 with 1.12 ERA.
\
By Doug Padilla
Daily News Staff Writer
\
\
\ Los Angeles Angels starter Jered Weaver pumps his fist after getting the Oakland Athletics\' Bobby Crosby to ground out for the last out of the seventh inning of a baseball game on Saturday, July 8, 2006, in Oakland, Calif.\     OAKLAND - Rookie Jered Weaver continues to display impeccable knowledge of his spot in the pecking order.

\     Come only when called. Speak only when spoken to. And by all means, never show up an established veteran on your own club.

\     So it was Saturday that Weaver posted his sixth victory in six tries by allowing no runs on just two hits in seven innings of an eventual 6-4 nail-biting victory over the Oakland Athletics. Weaver\'s outing ranked just slightly behind John Lackey\'s one-hitter Friday night.

\     \"Everybody works off each other and that\'s what makes our rotation strong,\" Weaver said. \"You have to let it play out and hopefully you can go out and match what he did. Obviously it was pretty tough to match. I was just happy that everything went the way it did.\"

\     Weaver might have fallen in line when comparing back-to-back starts, but the 6-0 start to his career has only a select few equals. He became the first major-league pitcher to win his first six starts since the Dodgers\' Kaz Ishii in 2002. No Angels pitcher had ever won his first six starts.

\     \"I think there are a lot of young pitchers that come up and they\'re not intimidated and they go out and make their pitches,\" manager Mike Scioscia said. \"But he\'s doing it as consistently as any young pitcher I\'ve seen. His ability to repeat pitches start after start is remarkable for any pitcher, let alone a guy that\'s been in the big leagues for a couple of months.\"

\     The Angels moved to within three games of the first-place A\'s.

\     Weaver\'s already rock-bottom ERA fell to an unimaginable 1.12 with seven more scoreless innings.

\     He gave up two walks with five strikeouts and didn\'t allow his second hit until Jay Payton pushed a single into right field in the seventh. Mark Kotsay had the first hit off Weaver with a single to center in the fourth.

\     When asked to explain the outing and all of his early success, Weaver credited one name above all others.

\     \"Obviously it helps with Mike Napoli behind the plate,\" Weaver said. \"He\'s a big part of my success and I owe that to him. Over the year or so that I\'ve been with him, he\'s become easy to throw pitches to.\"

\     Despite a 6-0 Angels lead, though, this one started to slip away. Chone Figgins and Maicer Izturis led the Angels\' charge at the top of the order. Figgins had four hits out of the leadoff spot and scored twice, while Izturis delivered a home run among his two hits out of the No. 2 spot. Figgins also stole his 30th base.

\     \"Figgy has been hitting the ball better than his numbers indicate,\" Scioscia said.

\     In the eighth, reliever Brendan Donnelly struggled again by allowing four of the six batters he faced to reach base on hits. He was relieved by Francisco Rodriguez, who gave up two hits of his own as the A\'s pulled to within two runs.

\     Rodriguez ended the eighth by striking out Bobby Crosby and allowed a two-out double in the ninth before clinching his 20th save.

\     The only negative this night was the slight touch of biceps tightness Weaver felt in his right arm, similar to what he felt in his previous start at Seattle.

\     \"It\'s nothing I haven\'t felt before, it\'s just a matter of throwing through it and getting over the hump,\" Weaver said. \"... It\'s nothing to be worried about.\"\
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July 6, 2006
\ Cards get Weaver from Halos\
Redbirds deal Minor League outfielder Evans to Angels
\
By Matthew Leach
MLB.com
\
\
\ Jeff Weaver was 3-10 with a 6.29 ERA in 16 starts with the Angels this season.\     ATLANTA -- No one in St. Louis sees Jeff Weaver as a savior. Rather than \"The Answer,\" the Cardinals are just hoping the right-hander is an answer to the questions in their starting rotation.

\     The Cards acquired Weaver and cash considerations from the Angels on Wednesday night in exchange for Minor League outfielder Terry Evans. Weaver, 29, will be asked to help bolster a starting rotation that has struggled mightily since the beginning of June.

\     It\'s been a difficult year for Weaver, who was 3-10 with a 6.29 ERA for Los Angeles. He was designated for assignment on Friday, with younger brother Jered being called up to take his roster spot.

\     A year ago, Weaver was a dependable member of the Dodgers\' rotation, going 14-11 with a 4.22 ERA in 224 innings. He has pitched at least 200 innings four times in his Major League career, and came up one-third of an inning short in 2002.

\     The Cards believe they have done sufficient due diligence to establish that Weaver can help out a rotation that has struggled to pitch deep into games.

\     \"We saw a guy that was available that we feel like can help our ballclub,\" said pitching coach Dave Duncan. \"I did as much as I could [to check up on him], and I was satisfied that he would be a good teammate. I\'m satisfied that he\'s healthy physically. [I\'m] satisfied that his stuff is still good enough for him to pitch and give us a chance to win.\"

\     The Cardinals have received quality starts in only 10 of their last 30 games, dating back to the beginning of June. Weaver\'s last game, a June 27 loss to Colorado, was one of his worst of the season, but before that he had been going quite well.

\     After starting the year 1-7 with a 7.30 ERA, he reeled off a string of fine starts. From May 24 through June 21, Weaver went at least 5 2/3 innings in every game, and did not allow more than three earned runs in any of six straight starts. He racked up 33 strikeouts against seven walks in that span, and in fact he has a solid 62:21 K:BB mark for the year.

\     \"I\'ve seen him in person, seen him on TV,\" manager Tony La Russa said. \"I\'ve always had a lot of respect for him. I think the key is, what is he like in 2006? We had some materials that we were able to watch, and it looked like his arm is healthy.\"

\     Weaver is expected to join the team during its weekend series in Houston, but it\'s unclear when he will be activated or how he will be integrated into the pitching staff.

\     \"I think he\'s going to be here Friday,\" said manager Tony La Russa. \"I\'m not going to speculate a lot. He may just jump in there and work some innings. Who knows? [I] haven\'t even talked to him.\"

\     Weaver signed a one-year deal with the Angels this winter for $8.325 million. It was reported that Los Angeles would be willing to pick up a significant portion of the contract in order to get a player it liked in exchange for Weaver.

\     Only two current members of the Cardinals\' starting rotation carry ERAs under 5.60, though Jason Marquis has 10 wins to go with his 5.78 mark. Thus, it\'s not a slam dunk as to who will be bumped in order to make room for Weaver. The most likely candidate might be Sidney Ponson, who briefly lost his rotation spot before Mark Mulder went on the disabled list.

\     Evans, 24, was a 47th-round draft pick in 2001 who was slow to advance through the Cardinals system until a breakout this year. He began the year at Class A Palm Beach before earning a promotion to Double-A Springfield. In 81 games combined between the two levels, he is hitting .310 with 22 home runs, 65 RBIs and 26 steals in 28 chances.\
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July 2, 2006
\ Angels made mistake by cutting loose Jeff Weaver\
By By David Lassen
dlassen@VenturaCountyStar.com
\
\
\     ANAHEIM -- Jered Weaver should be thrilled. He\'s back in the major leagues, quite likely for good.

\     But his joy is understandably tempered. Thanks to a particularly ham-fisted bit of front-office work, Weaver\'s return to the Angels came at the expense of his brother, Jeff, designated for assignment Friday to make room for the 23-year-old pitching sensation.

\     \"Not really the circumstances I wanted to come back on,\" Jered Weaver said Saturday as he made a rather subdued return to the Angels clubhouse. \"But obviously, it\'s a very business-oriented game, and I\'m definitely coming to realize that.\"

\     Jeff Weaver certainly has learned that over the years, too, which is why the brothers won\'t let this awkward moment color their relationship.

\     \"It\'s been baseball that bonded us close together,\" said Jered, \"and obviously, we\'re not going to let baseball take it away from us.\"

\     Not that it\'s any consolation for the Weavers, but just for the record, the Angels botched this. Badly.

\     In the Reign of Error that is the Angels\' 2006 season, this shouldn\'t be a surprise. The bobbles and blunders have hardly been limited to the field.

\     They did get it half-right. Jered Weaver had to be recalled. At 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA, he never should have been sent down in the first place.

\     But kicking Jeff Weaver loose is a mistake. Only the degree has yet to be determined.

\     It\'s a mistake because -- barring a last-minute trade -- the Angels are going to get nothing for the 29-year-old. Given the paucity of major league pitching, and the certainty that Weaver will be pitching for someone else very, very soon, this will simply be as the latest example of general manager Bill Stoneman\'s inability to complete a trade when faced with the need to do so.

\     It\'s more of a mistake, though, because the team shouldn\'t be looking to get rid of Jeff Weaver at all.

\     Never mind his stats (3-10, 6.29, for the record). In the big picture, the justification for sending Jered down earlier in June was to retain pitching depth -- mostly because of uncertainty over the health of Bartolo Colon -- and it\'s hard to see where the situation has improved to the point the Angels can, to use a Mike Scioscia phrase, afford to \"eject a starting pitcher.\"

\     Since returning from the shoulder injury that sent him to the disabled list, Colon is 0-2 with a 4.89 ERA, and looks like the Colon of a year ago mostly in terms of girth.

\     Scioscia and Stoneman say they\'re convinced Colon is sound, but the pitcher himself may not be fully convinced.

\     \"To me, it\'s natural to think about my shoulder,\" Colon said Friday, after giving up six runs (five earned) in 7 2/3 innings. \"After the injury, I have to be more careful. It\'s still in the back of my mind. Letting loose is still something I need to work through.\"

\     Between Colon and Kelvim Escobar -- who finally ended a seven-game losing streak Saturday -- the starting rotation may not be as settled as the Angels believe, and there\'s a very good chance the team is going to wish it had Jeff Weaver before the season is out.

\     Retaining Jeff and moving him to the bullpen would not have been the best use of the pitcher, but it would have been better protection for the team. Of course, as has been suggested, here the better solution would have been moving Escobar to the bullpen, anyway.

\     (An aside: No matter what you think of the Jeff Weaver transaction, the timing was just plain dumb. Since Colon\'s shoulder has been an issue, why not wait until after he pitched to make the move, just in case he suddenly grabbed his shoulder and walked off the mound, creating another opening in the rotation? Just because it didn\'t happen that way doesn\'t alter the carelessness of the move.) There\'s one last reason this is the wrong move: It puts Jered in an uncomfortable and unfair position.

\     In the big picture, that\'s a small point, and the Angels may not think the feelings of one rookie pitcher matter too much. (\"This sort of stuff happens in sports,\" said Stoneman, \"and I\'m sure both Jeff and Jered recognize that.\") And it would be surprising if it affects Jered on the mound, as some have suggested; clearly, based on his rapid ascent to the majors, he\'s pretty strong mentally.

\     But clearly -- between the unwarranted demotion and Friday\'s move -- the Angels haven\'t exactly gone out of their way to endear themselves to their most exciting young pitcher.

\     \"It definitely stinks to see (Jeff) out of here,\" Jered said Saturday. \"Obviously, I was fortunate enough to be on the same team with him. Wish it could have lasted a little longer, but I guess business is business.\"

\     Somewhere down the line, when it comes time for Jered Weaver to negotiate a contract, remember that. The Angels have managed to drive home rather forcefully that this is all a business, and if Weaver eventually makes them pay for that lesson, well, who could blame him?\
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July 3, 2006
\ Weaver stays in total control\
By Doug Padilla
Daily News Staff Writer
\
\
\ Los Angeles Angels\' Jered Weaver winds up to pitch to the Seattle Mariners during the third inning of their baseball game in Seattle Monday, July 3, 2006.\     SEATTLE - About the only thing Jered Weaver seems to have no control over is the hair that sprays out from under his cap like a party favor whenever he delivers a pitch.

\     When it comes to his job, the 23-year-old is about as tightly cropped as they come, meticulous at seemingly every aspect of his game.

\     Weaver returned to the big leagues Monday and continued where he left off with another impressive outing in a 7-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

\     In five major-league starts, Weaver has posted five victories and this might have been the most impressive considering the distractions that surrounded it.

\     Weaver won his first four starts from May 27-June 13, as he was recalled for his major-league debut to add life to a listless rotation. But the Angels sent him back to the minor leagues despite all the success, mainly because they were unsure Bartolo Colon would be healthy enough to pitch all season.

\     When Colon proved his health would not be an issue, the Angels sent out Jeff Weaver and recalled his brother who is six years younger. Jered Weaver even admitted last week that it was bittersweet his success pushed his brother aside.

\     He promised it wouldn\'t be a distraction and was true to his word. He could have wilted after being away from the major leagues for three weeks. He didn\'t.

\     Weaver went seven innings Monday against the Mariners - probably the hottest team in the American League West - and gave up one run on five hits with a walk and a career-high nine strikeouts.

\     Only Ichiro Suzuki could pry an RBI off him which isn\'t bad considering that the Mariners outfielder entered Monday\'s game with a .390 batting average since May 1.

\     Weaver struck out not only the first two batters he faced but also the last two. He had a strikeout in every inning he pitched except for the fifth when he gave up his lone run.

\     The five consecutive victories to start his career tied Bo Belinsky\'s club record set in 1962.

\     Weaver will try to go 6-0 on Saturday at Oakland and if the rotation remains the same through the All-Star break, he won\'t pitch again for nine more days when he would face the Cleveland Indians at home on July 17. The downtime doesn\'t figure to be a problem.

\     If he gets offense like he did Monday, piling up more victories will be a cinch. Mariners starter Felix Hernandez entered having won five of his last six starts, but he couldn\'t contain the bottom of the Angels order.

\     All seven Angels runs were scored by the Nos. 7, 8 and 9 hitters. Juan Rivera, Kendry Morales and Adam Kennedy reached base eight times in 12 at-bats with Morales delivering a two-run home run in the fifth and Kennedy adding a two-run single in the seventh.

\     Hernandez (8-8) gave up five runs (four earned) on six hits in 6 innings.

\     One of the few Angels hitters not to contribute to the scoring was Orlando Cabrera, who nearly saw his on-base streak come to an end.

\     Cabrera was retired in his first three at-bats before he drove an 0-2 pitch to left field for a single in the eighth inning off Mariners reliever Emiliano Fruto. Both Cabrera and Fruto hail from Colombia. After two well-played victories over the Dodgers on Saturday and Sunday, the Angels had no problem with the surging Mariners.\
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July 2, 2006
\ Replenishing the pantry
\
By Kary Booher
News-Leader
\
\
\ The cream of the St. Louis Cardinals\' 2005 draft class include: Front row (left to right) Colby Rasmus, Tyler Greene, Mark McCormick, Tyler Herron, Josh Wilson, Nick Webber, Darryl Jones, Bryan Anderson, Mitch Boggs and Nick Stavinoha. The Cardinals have started to restock a system depleted by trades for veteran players.\     When the subject of prospects comes up, minor league managers, even first-year guys like Quad Cities skipper Keith Mitchell, usually go out of their way to steady any hype, perhaps point out a flaw here and or say a necessary adjustment needs to be made there.

\     But when asked about 19-year-old outfielder Colby Rasmus, the St. Louis Cardinals\' 2005 first-round draft pick, Mitchell couldn\'t bite his tongue at all.

\     Said the guy\'s arm reminds him of Andy Van Slyke\'s gun. Went so far as to say that Rasmus\' seemingly silky smooth way of playing the game conjures up images of Barry Bonds back in Bonds\' younger days when he was one of the game\'s best all-around talents.

\     Finally, Mitchell cut to the chase.

\     \"We don\'t expect Rasmus to be here long,\" Mitchell said this past Thursday. \"I see him being in the big leagues in two or three years. He should be in Springfield next year. But, you know, I don\'t make the decisions.\"

\     Slightly more than a year has passed since the Cardinals\' heralded 2005 draft class stormed into professional baseball, and early returns on several high-round picks such as Rasmus have key decision-makers within the organization optimistic that this crop of talent won\'t prove to be a disappointing dud.

\     And to understand the significance of the Class of \'05, one needs only to look back at recent history when the organization hired a late-30s techie to head its scouting department and sunk $5.5 million into signing bonuses for its top 10 selections of that draft.

\     All this in an effort to replenish a a farm system that, within three years, will need to feed a few everyday big-leaguers to St. Louis but also develop quality talent that becomes central conversation pieces in trade talks.

\     How important it is, because it all follows years of first-round busts and disappointing drafts that hamstrung a farm system that already had been depleted as veteran general manager Walt Jocketty engineered trades involving prospects to successfully build the big-league club.

\     In fact, Baseball America magazine ranked St. Louis\' farm system at or near the bottom over a four-year period before ranking it at No. 21 before this season.

\     \"When you look back at the 2005 draft,\" St. Louis assistant general manager John Mozeliak said, \"I think at the end of the day we\'re all going to be very pleased with the different levels it has helped our organization.\"

\     DRAFT ITSELF

\     The 2005 draft offered the Cardinals a rare opportunity to stockpile the farm system as the free-agent losses of Edgar Renteria and Mike Matheny awarded St. Louis four additional picks. They had six picks among the first 78 slots, and their top 10 consisted of six high schoolers and four from the college ranks.

\     The Cardinals used their two first-round picks on Rasmus, out of Russell County High School in Alabama, and Georgia Tech shortstop Tyler Greene. First-round supplemental picks were used on Baylor flamethrower Mark McCormick and Florida high school right-hander Tyler Herron.

\     From there, the organization filled its second-round picks on Texas high school pitcher Josh Wilson and Central Missouri State closer Nick Webber, then dipped back into the high school ranks in the third and fourth rounds, selecting speedy outfielder Darryl Jones of Spring, Texas, and catcher Bryan Anderson of Simi Valley, Calif.

\     McCormick, Herron, Wilson and Webber headlined a crop of 29 pitchers, a group that immediately had St. Louis\' veteran pitching coordinator, Mark Riggins, excited.

\     \"I think we\'ve got more guys this year that have, projection-wise, a chance of getting to St. Louis than we have had in the past,\" Riggins told the News-Leader last summer and echoed again in spring training. \"I can count 10 guys out of the draft that have a legitimate shot to reach St. Louis, and usually we get anywhere from five to seven. So, I\'m real happy with what we got out of the draft.\"

\     THIS SEASON

\     It\'s been interesting to see how the Cardinals have handled the Class of \'05 this season as St. Louis challenged Rasmus and Anderson, a pair of 19-year-olds, by starting them at Quad Cities in the Low-A Midwest League.

\     Other recent high schoolers, however, have been treated with kid gloves, as Herron, Wilson, Wilfredo Pujols (Albert\'s cousin) and an injured Jones were kept in extended spring training.

\     Outfielder Nick Stavinoha, a seventh-rounder out of Louisiana State, skipped High-A Palm Beach and is with Double-A Springfield.

\     And three \'05 class members - Greene, Webber and right-hander Mitch Boggs - opened the year at Palm Beach.

\     A pleasant surprise, 22nd-round pick Jaime Garcia, a left-hander drafted out of a Mission, Texas, high school, blew through Quad Cities and recently joined that trio in Palm Beach.

\     \"It\'s really hard to evaluate a draft in the short term,\" St. Louis farm director Bruce Manno said during spring training. \"What I can say is I think we\'ve drafted some good arms and I think we drafted some position players, and I think we\'ll be better.\"

\     The organization says it likely will have a much better feel on the Class of \'05 after three years.

\     \"Internally, that\'s how we\'ve always kind of looked at it,\" Mozeliak said. \"You look at the \'04 draft, it has gotten primarily low grades but maybe a year from now it might not. Guys like (Mike) Parisi who weren\'t even on the radar are starting to make a name for themselves. So ultimately, if you give it a three-year time period, you get a better reflection of what you have.\"

\     The key is getting value out of the draft.

\     \"Value can come in different ways: Contribution to your major-league club, contribution to acquire someone for your major-league club, contribution to assist with prospects,\" Mozeliak said. \"It\'s really not just, \'Does a player come up through your system and make an impact on your big-league club?\' In a variety of ways, it can do that.\"

\     RASMUS

\     For an organization that may never hear the end of a recent string of first-round busts - 1999 first-rounder Chance Caple, for instance, is no longer in baseball - Rasmus offers plenty of reasons to believe in the Class of \'05.

\     Through Thursday, Rasmus was hitting .312 with 35 extra-base hits, including 11 home runs, and 49 RBIs. Even better, he was hitting .308 with runners in scoring position.

\     It\'s been something to behold in Quad Cities, especially for Mitchell, a cousin of former big-leaguer Kevin Mitchell and who played 18 years in pro ball, including parts of four seasons in the big leagues.

\     \"He\'s very respective,\" Mitchell said. \"He started the season 2-for-20 and was pressing because he thought he had to be Colby Rasmus. But he settled down.\"

\     On and on Mitchell raved, going so far as to suggest Rasmus may be promoted any minute.

\     \"He\'s a five-tool player,\" he said. \"He still has a lot to learn, but he gets better and better every day. I will hate to lose him.\"

\     Mitchell knows he walked into a pretty good situation, and several other \'05 draft members are having encouraging years.

\     That includes Anderson, who got an invitation to big-league camp and is hitting .306.

\     \"It\'s fun to watch these kids play, I tell ya,\" Mitchell said. \"I\'m really impressed.\"\
\
'; myContent.SVStar06302006 = '\ \ \ \ \ \
\
June 30, 2006
\ Mets make Giarraputo\'s draft day dreams come true\
By Thomas Gase
SV Acorn Staff
\
\
\ HE\'S A PRO NOW-Nick Giarraputo served as Simi Valley\'s ace pitcher on the mound last season. In early June, he was drafted by the New York Mets as a third baseman. Giarraputo signed a contract shortly thereafter, and quickly joined the Mets\' rookie ball team in Port St. Lucie, Fla.\     Summer\'s here and that means it\'s time for kids to hit the beach, go on vacations and enjoy the good life.

\     Nick Giarraputo has other plans, though. He has to go to work this summer.

\     After a couple weeks that have been wilder than Mr. Toad\'s ride, Giarraputo can now start his dream job playing baseball every day for the New York Mets in their rookie ball league in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

\     In the last few weeks, Giarraputo has had finals at Simi Valley High, been drafted by the Mets in the 12th round of the MLB Amateur Draft, graduated from high school and gotten on a plane to Florida to begin playing third base.

\     \"I was contacted by the Mets a couple days before the draft and they just wanted to know my situation,\" Giarraputo said. \"I watched the draft on the Internet at my house with my family members. I was nervous as the 10th and 11th rounds were going by. Just as I was talking to my dad about what happens if nobody drafts me, I interrupted him, pointed to the computer screen and said, \'There I am!\'\"

\     According to Giarraputo, what happened next was bedlam.

\     \"My dad jumped on the couch and started yelling while I was screaming in front of the computer screen,\" Giarraputo said. \"It was all just so crazy. It\'s hard to describe in words.\"

\     The Mets made contact with Giarraputo about a half hour later. A week passed before Giarraputo signed with the team.

\     With the Mets in town that week against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Giarraputo wanted to go to a game and cheer on his new team, but he had other things to worry about, like a senior awards banquet and his graduation from Simi Valley.

\     Less than two days after graduation, Giarraputo was saying goodbye to all his friends for the summer and heading on a plane across the country.

\     Giarraputo happened to have good company on the plane with him, as his longtime friend and rival from Royal High, Kevin Harrington, sat on the plane next to him.

\     Harrington was drafted just two picks after Giarraputo and was leaving to play rookie ball with the Minnesota Twins.

\     \"All week after being drafted I was really excited and calm,\" Giarraputo said. \"Then the flight to Florida came and I was really nervous. The first day I had to find a doctor and get my physicals taken care of. It was an easy first day as I just told myself to relax and get in shape before the real fun began.\"

\     Giarraputo\'s fun began in Vero Beach, as his Mets team was in town to play the Dodgers.

\     Giarraputo noticed the pitcher was throwing very hard for the Dodgers and he would have to adjust.

\     Standing at the plate moments later, Giarraputo laced a clean single down the third-base line for his first professional hit.

\     \"You notice right away that the players here are better and that everyone here belongs," Giarraputo said. \"It\'s different from high school in that way and that you have to wake up every day at a quarter to 6 in the morning and do a bunch of workouts. And you play every day, except Sundays, so I am a little sore right now after the fourth game only, but I\'m sure I will get used to it.\"

\     Though Giarraputo\'s high school days are now behind him, he credits SVHS head coach Matt LaBelle and his staff for getting him prepared for the next level.

\     \"He taught me how to play the game the right way,\" Giarraputo said. \"He was more of a friend than a coach and he taught me how to be a leader.\"

\     Giarraputo said it\'s a little strange not being a leader on the team right now, but he still goes into every game with the attitude to play his absolute best.

\     \"I am just having fun here, playing every day,\" Giarraputo said. \"I haven\'t gotten homesick yet, but I\'m sure that will come into play later. I still talk with my family and friends every day after the games to keep in touch.\"

\     When Giarraputo isn\'t on the diamond, he passes his time by playing video games back at his hotel room. When asked how cool it would be to be playing a baseball video game with him in it, he laughed.

\     \"Yeah, that would be cool,\" he said. \"I guess that would be one way to know you made it.\"\
\
'; myContent.MLB06302006 = '\ \ \ \ \ \
\
June 30, 2006
\ Jered Weaver returns to Majors\
Angels designate Jeff Weaver for assignment
\
By Greg Wagner
MLB.com
\
\
\ Jered Weaver won all four starts in his first stint in the Major Leagues.\     ANAHEIM -- The Angels recalled Jered Weaver from Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday, and designated his older brother, Jeff, for assignment to make room on the roster.

\     After signing a one-year, $8.325 million dollar deal in February, Jeff Weaver struggled to a 3-10 record. He is tied for the Major League lead in losses and holds a 6.29 ERA.

\     Weaver appeared as if he might turn his season around, though, after he threw five quality starts in six appearances since starting the year 1-7 with a 7.30 ERA. But that reformation took a major step back on Wednesday. In two-plus innings, he allowed six runs on nine hits as the Rockies pounded nearly every pitch he threw.

\     The Halos now have 10 days to trade, release or send down Weaver. If the club can\'t make a deal and releases him, the Angels will have to pay the remaining money on his contract.

\     Jered Weaver, who was 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA for the Angels before being demoted two weeks ago, will start either on Monday or Tuesday in Seattle. The rookie began his Major League career by not allowing a run in his first 13 1/3 innings and became the second Angel in history to win his first four starts.

\     Only Bo Belinsky, who won his first five starts in 1962, has done better.

\     Since rejoining Salt Lake, the starter tied a club record with 14 strikeouts on June 23 and went 2-0 in three appearances. All told, Weaver was 6-1 with two complete games and a 1.99 ERA for the Bees.

\     The club shopped Jeff Weaver earlier this season, but found little interest. Reports have surfaced, though, that the Dodgers -- whom Weaver pitched for last year -- are in need for a pitcher and might be willing to give their former starter another chance.\
\
'; myContent.QCSwing06252006 = '\ \ \ \ \ \
\
June 25, 2006
\ HEARNE BRINGS SWING BACK TO .500\
QC salvages split as Hearne keeps dealing\
By Quad Cities Swing Staff\
\
\ Bryan Anderson slides home in a win over Peoria on Sunday. The Swing will be in Clinton through Wednesday before heading to South Bend over the weekend.\     The Swing of the Quad Cities plated four runs in a wild fifth inning, and that was all starter Trey Hearne needed as the home team coasted to a 5-1 win over the Peoria Chiefs Sunday evening at John O\’Donnell Stadium. Hearne allowed just one unearned run on four hits in seven innings of work, and has gone 2-0 with a 0.62 ERA over his last five outings.

\     Quad Cities (2-2, 36-36) stays around the break-even mark with the win, salvaging a split in their home-and-home series with Peoria (2-2, 43-30). The Swing will head up the Mississippi River to visit in-state rival Clinton for the first time this season for a three-game series beginning Monday.

\     Hearne (5-2) was in control on the mound from the beginning, allowing an unearned run in the first inning and nothing more. Coming off an outing in which he fanned a career-high 10 batters on June 16 against Wisconsin, the righthander out of Texas A&M Corpus Christi struck out six while walking one and yielding four hits. Hearne has made five consecutive starts since moving from the bullpen into the starting rotation full time, and has allowed just two earned runs in 29 innings in those outings with 31 strikeouts against five walks.

\     Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth, Quad Cities took advantage of a pair of Chiefs\’ errors to take the lead. With Chad Gabriel at first and Bryan Anderson at third with nobody out, A.J. Van Slyke hit a line drive to the second baseman. Robinson Chirinos made the catch, but his throw to double up Gabriel at first was wide and Anderson broke to the plate. Ryan Norwood picked up the loose ball and fired home, but his throw was errant as well, allowing Anderson to score and Gabriel to move to second. Those two errors opened the floodgates as the next five Swing batters produced four singles and a sacrifice fly, with RBI going to Casey Rowlett on the sacrifice and Daniels Nelson and Colby Rasmus on a pair of singles. When the dust had settled, Quad Cities had crossed the plate four times to snatch a 4-1 lead.

\     After poor defensive play did the Swing in Saturday night, an error in the first inning on Sunday put them in a hole early again. With two outs and Jesus Valdez at second base, Ryan Norwood pulled a groundball to shortstop that looked like it would end the inning. Jose Martinez backhanded the ball cleanly, but his throw to first was low and Randy Roth could not dig it out of the dirt. Valdez, who was running hard all the while, rounded third and scored to give Peoria a 1-0 lead.

\     On top 4-1, the Swing plated their last run in the bottom of the eighth. Colby Rasmus reached on a one-out infield single, and after moving to third on an error he came home to score on a sacrifice fly from Anderson.

\     Scott Taylor (3-3) suffered the loss for Peoria despite a solid outing. He allowed four runs on seven hits in his seven innings of work, striking out three without issuing a walk. Almost all of that damage came on the heels of the two errors in the fifth, however, as Taylor allowed just one total baserunner to reach in his six other innings on the hill.\
\
'; myContent.SLCBees06232006 = '\ \ \ \ \ \
\
June 23, 2006
\ RECORD SETTING NIGHT AS WEAVER BLANKS \'CATS
\
By SLC Bees Staff
\
\
\ Jered Weaver struck out a franchise record fourteen batters, as the Salt Lake Bees blanked the Sacramento River Cats 1-0 on Friday night.\     Jered Weaver struck out a franchise record fourteen batters, as the Salt Lake Bees blanked the Sacramento River Cats 1-0 on Friday night. Weaver (5-1) had a perfect game until he issued a leadoff walk in the sixth inning and had a no-hitter through six and two-third innings when Nate Espy dropped a bloop single into shallow centerfield. Scott McClain would follow with an infield single for the second and last hit of the night for Sacramento. It was the first 1-0 win for Salt Lake at home since June 23, 1996 when Scott Klingenbeck shutout Calgary.

\     The only run of the game came in the fifth inning when River Cats\' starter Ben Fritz walked Corey Myers, Erick Aybar and Reggie Willits to load the bases with one out. Curtis Pride followed with a slow grounder to second that scored Myers. Pride single in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to eleven games. Willits reached twice to extend his home game on-base streak to 34 games, the longest in the PCL this season.\
\
'; myContent.SVPB06202006 = '\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \
\ GCL Mets\
\
June 20, 2006
\ Nick Giarraputo goes 2 for 3 in debut for the Gulf Coast League Mets\
By Simi Valley Pioneer Baseball Staff
pioneerbaseball.org
\
\
\ Nick Giarraputo goes 2 for 3 in debut for the Gulf Coast League Mets.
\     Former Simi Valley High School player, Nick Giarraputo has outstanding start to his professional baseball career.

\     Nick went 2 for 3 batting in a tough game that saw the GCL Mets lose 2-1 to the GCL Dodgers.\
\
'; myContent.SVStar061820062 = '\ \ \ \ \ \
\
June 18, 2006
\ Anderson a star in first Class-A season\
By Rhiannon Potkey
rpotkey@VenturaCountyStar.com
\
\
\ Simi Valley High graduate Bryan Anderson is hitting .327 in his first season in the minor leagues.\     His teammates kept telling him he had a good shot. But Bryan Anderson (Simi Valley) didn\'t want to hear anything about it.

\     Making an all-star team in his first full season in the minor leagues would be honor, but Anderson\'s more pressing concern was his everyday duties behind the plate for Swing of the Quad Cities (Cardinals, Class-A).

\     \"I don\'t really try to think about stuff like stats and all-star games,\" Anderson said. \"I figure those things will come if you are doing what you are supposed to do.\"

\     Fulfilling his job requirements earned Anderson the starting catching spot in Tuesday\'s Midwest League Summer All-Star Classic at his home ballpark in Davenport, Iowa.

\     \"I am excited about it,\" Anderson said. \"It\'s pretty cool being 19 and making an all-star team in this league. And it\'s right in our back yard, so I can just wake up and get in the car and be at the stadium in 10 minutes.\"

\     Having spent two weeks with the big league club during spring training, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Anderson felt more confident when he reported to Swing of the Quad Cities.

\     \"It was such a great experience getting to walk around the clubhouse with guys like Albert Pujols and Mark Mulder,\" Anderson said. \"Just to be around them for a couple of weeks was unbelievable.\"

\     While they ran through hours of drills, Anderson tried to observe Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina as much as possible to pick up tips.

\     \"He showed me some stuff and I pretty much learned a lot from just watching,\" Anderson said. \"The catchers work the hardest out of anybody in spring training. We have early work and then we are working with the pitchers and hitters and infielders.\"

\     Anderson was splitting time at Swing of the Quad Cities until a fellow catcher was called up to Double-A. With less time off, Anderson is trying to ward off fatigue by taking care of his body.

\     \"I am pretty good about it,\" he said. \"I try not to go out late and get my sleep. That is pretty important along with eating right as much as I can.\"

\     Before settling in Iowa, Anderson had never been to the Midwest. He has enjoyed some of the scenery on the long bus trips.

\     \"I have never experienced corn fields for miles and miles, so that\'s been kind of neat,\" Anderson said. \"It\'s nice to be around different cultures and meet a lot of different people.\"

\     Although the all-star selection is a positive start, Anderson knows security in the minor leagues is fleeting.

\     \"They don\'t tell you much. One day you are here and the next you are going up to Palm Beach or down to Penn State,\" he said. \"Moving up would be nice, but my goal entering spring training was staying here and not moving down. Nobody wants to do that.\"\
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'; myContent.SVStar06182006 = '\ \ \ \ \ \
\
June 18, 2006
\ Demotion leaves Angels a tangled web to weave\
Simi rookie must wait until rotation settles
\
By David Lassen
dlassen@VenturaCountyStar.com
\
\
\ Despite having a 4-0 record with a 1.37 ERA, the Angels have sent rookie Jered Weaver back to Triple-A Salt Lake City to make room for the return of Bartolo Colon.\     ANAHEIM -- Given that it\'s been a constant focus of online and talk-show discussion for two weeks, it was hardly a surprise that Simi Valley High\'s Jered Weaver\'s demotion by the Angels remained a hot topic Saturday, a day after the move.

\     Weaver, 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA in four starts with the Angels, was returned to Triple-A Salt Lake City after Friday\'s game and will pitch today against Las Vegas, while Bartolo Colon returns from the disabled list and starts for the Angels against San Diego.

\     The move has been decried by fans -- \"One of the biggest mistakes the team has ever made,\" said a posting on the message board connected to the Angels\' Web site, while an AOL posting groused \"they would rather not waste money than win\" -- but in reviewing the situation, Angels manager Mike Scioscia stressed a need for patience.

\     \"I think you have to wait and see where we are in the short term to pass judgment on it,\" Scioscia said. \"I think what we see is a youngster who is certainly ready for the challenge and did a great job up here. But you also have to know what a championship-caliber rotation needs. It needs more than one guy.\"

\     Scioscia has consistently said the Angels will not be in position to determine a long-term solution to their apparent starting surplus until they can better assess whether Colon\'s troublesome right shoulder is healthy enough to allow him to pitch effectively.

\     Colon originally suffered the injury in a playoff game against the Yankees last Oct. 10. He returned to pitch well in the World Baseball Classic this spring, but pitched just 14 innings in three games with the Angels before the problem returned, sending him to the disabled list.

\     \"There\'s obviously a huge question with Bartolo,\" said Scioscia. \"There\'s a huge question about where he\'s going to be.\"

\     That being the case, trading a pitcher or moving one to relief in order to retain Weaver is to risk being caught shorthanded if Colon should falter.

\     \"If you make a move that could be premature,\" Scioscia said, \"you might come back and say, \'You know what, we\'ve got one guy going great right now, but the move we made created two more holes we\'ve got to try to fill.\'. This is the right move to keep Jered stretched out until some things in our rotation can settle.\"

\     The uncertainty about Colon is such that the decision to return Weaver to the minors wasn\'t made until the Angels knew the results of Colon\'s bullpen session on Friday afternoon. \"And he was fine,\" said Scioscia. \"In his bullpen, (he) threw a real aggressive pen.\"

\     The move, he said, did not hinge on the showing of Jeff Weaver -- Jered\'s older brother -- Friday against the Padres, a nondecision that was his fifth consecutive solid outing.

\     \"That wasn\'t going to factor in,\" said Scioscia. \"Jeff\'s been throwing the ball extremely well.\"

\     Should Colon prove ready and able to stay in the rotation, the Angels could still open a spot for Jered Weaver with a trade. Published reports have indicated at least two teams have expressed interest in Jeff Weaver, while at least one team has enquired about the availability of Saturday\'s starter, Ervin Santana.

\     Scioscia declined to address trade speculation except on the most general terms.

\     \"I\'m not going to say that wouldn\'t be something we would consider,\" he said. \"But our goal is to get five guys throwing the ball well. If there are adjustments down the road, of course you\'re going to consider them.\"

\     In the meantime, Jered Weaver will be pitching for Salt Lake City.

\     \"This is definitely the best solution until things settle,\" said Scioscia, \"and I wouldn\'t be surprised if Jered\'s not back here at some point pitching for us.\"

\     Obviously, that\'s Weaver\'s hope as well.

\     \"There\'s always things to work on,\" he said Friday night, after being informed of the move. \"I\'ve just got to take that down to Salt Lake and keep battling, and hopefully this will work itself out and I\'ll get back up here.\"\
\
'; myContent.MLB06142006 = '\ \ \ \ \ \
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June 14, 2006
\ The Weaver dilemma\
Colon set to start this weekend; Erstad gets a rest
\
By Mike Scarr
MLB.com
\
\
\ Jered Weaver won his fourth straight decision on Tuesday against the Royals.\     ANAHEIM -- Another day has brought a bit more perspective to an issue that may prove as critical as any the Angels will make this season.

\     Jered Weaver has yet to be moved out of the rotation and to prove that he remains part of the club\'s immediate plans, the rookie right-hander took batting practice Wednesday in preparation for a two-city road trip that will take the Angels to a pair of National League parks.

\     \"I haven\'t done this in about three years,\" Weaver said while taking some light cuts in the clubhouse. \"This should be fun.\"

\     Weaver last hit during his senior year at Simi Valley High School when he played some third base. He last had regular at-bats during his sophomore year when he was a catcher.

\     The Angels have yet to announce whether or not Weaver will be bumped from the rotation to make room for Bartolo Colon, whose return from the disabled list is imminent. Possibilities include sending Weaver to Triple-A Salt Lake, moving his brother Jeff Weaver to the bullpen or trading a pitcher. Ervin Santana continues to be linked with Tampa Bay in a potential swap for outfielder Carl Crawford.

\     \"It\'s not that simple in terms of whom you\'ll talk about in a trade, who you wouldn\'t or whom you\'d prefer not to move in a trade. What you do is also look at the return if you talk about a trade, look at what you\'re getting back,\" said general manager Bill Stoneman.

\     \"Sometimes people look at it as a standpoint of just deleting somebody, sometimes people look at this as a standpoint of just acquiring somebody and that\'s what makes trading very difficult.\"

\     While moving a pitcher would solve one problem it could create another and potentially larger one. The strength of the team is built on pitching, specifically the rotation. Colon will remain a question mark until he proves that his sore right shoulder is fully healed, which places a premium on retaining quality arms.

\     \"It is always prudent to keep as many starting pitchers as possible in the organization,\" pitching coach Bud Black said. \"You want to keep them fresh and keep them ready.\"

\     Jered is doing what he can to keep his name in the mix. He\'s gone 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA in four starts with four walks and 22 strikeouts. He also flashed a little lumber Wednesday afternoon.

\     \"I hit a home run,\" Weaver said of his shot to left-center during early batting practice. \"That\'s what counts.\"

\     Hot start: Weaver etched his name into the Angels record book when he equaled Bo Belinsky by winning his first four starts. All Weaver could say was, \"Who?\" when asked if he\'d heard of the former Angels left-hander. Belinsky accomplished the feat in 1962 from April 18-May 11, a stretch that included a no-hitter.

\     Weaver has exuded great poise this season but admitted he is so far exceeding his expectations.

\     \"I am definitely surprised. It is not every day that you come out and open 4-0. My brother, maybe. He threw the ball really well,\" Weaver said of Jeff, who won six of his first nine Major League starts. \"It\'s all about making adjustments, though, and I\'ll have to keep making them.\"

\     The Angels won\'t say they could have predicted his fast start but are confident of his future.

\     \"In his career I think he will get lots of Major League starts and with great frequency,\" Black said.

\     Looming decision: Colon threw a bullpen session on Wednesday afternoon and progressed through all of his pitches. Barring any setbacks, Colon will throw again Friday before making a start during the weekend series against the Padres, possibly Sunday in Jered Weaver\'s slot.

\     \"We want to make sure that we make the right [decision] and we don\'t want it to come back and haunt us,\" manager Mike Scioscia said. \"We have to make sure all of the elements are there.\"\
\
'; myContent.DailyNews06142006 = '\ \ \ \ \ \
\
June 14, 2006
\ Leave it to Weaver\
Former Dirtbag dominates in Angels\' victory
\
By By Doug Padilla
Daily News Staff Writer
\
\
\ Jered Weaver won his fourth straight start and reduced his ERA to 1.37 since being promoted from Triple-A Salt Lake during the Kansas City on Tuesday.\     ANAHEIM -- The Angels\' best starter this season just might be plying his craft in Salt Lake City this weekend. Jered Weaver made it 4-for-4 in the major leagues with another impressive outing in the Angels\' 4-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals. The only problem is that it seems the rookie\'s train has run out of track.

\     Manager Mike Scioscia confirmed before Tuesday\'s game that it was highly unlikely Bartolo Colon would be making any more rehabilitation starts as he recovers from a sore shoulder. That means that somebody will have to vacate the rotation this upcoming weekend, and Weaver is in line to start Sunday.

\     It\'s a tough call to make especially since Weaver became just the second Angels pitcher to win his first four career starts. Bo Belinsky won his first five starts in 1962.

\     Even before taking on the Royals on Tuesday, Weaver was resigned to returning to Triple-A where he had been dominating. When Weaver\'s contract was purchased by the Angels on May 26, he had delivered 27 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings for Salt Lake.

\     It\'s been more of the same at the major-league level as he started his major-league career with 13 scoreless innings. It might have been Weaver\'s second scoreless outing for the Angels on Wednesday had he only been able to come up with a slow roller to the right side of the mound.

\     With the Angels holding a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning and Doug Mientkiewicz at second base, Mark Teahen sent a two-out slow roller in the direction second baseman Adam Kennedy. Weaver sprinted off the mound, but the ball just tipped the glove and as it rolled past.

\     Weaver had the awareness to head toward the first-base bag, and when first baseman Kendry Morales cut off the ball, it seemed as the Angels would get the out anyway. But as Weaver reached first base, he seemed to quit on the play as Morales flipped the ball in his direction.

\     The ball rolled toward the Royals dugout, allowing Mientkiewicz to score the tying run.

\     After the play, Weaver remained stationary in disbelief near the first-base bag. When he retired Shane Costa to end the half inning, Weaver put his glove to his face and let out a yell. He did it again as he approached the Angels dugout.

\     After giving up back-to-back singles in the fifth inning, Weaver turned downright nasty. He retired the final eight batters he faced before giving way to Scot Shields.

\     When Weaver threw his final pitch, the Angels were still clinging to a 2-1 lead. A Vladimir Guerrero double in the first inning gave the Angels their first run, and Darin Erstad made it 2-1 in the fourth with a run-scoring grounder.

\     The Angels added two insurance runs in the seventh. Chone Figgins delivered a single up the middle just past the head of reliever Andrew Sisco, who dove to the ground to avoid getting hit. Figgins then turned on his speed for the Angels\' final run as he stole second and third base before scoring on an Orlando Cabrera ground out.

\     Asked if Weaver were in lame-duck status before the game, Scioscia avoided the question.

\     \"We\'re looking at some stuff, and as of right now, we\'re not committed to some of the things that might be out there. But we\'ll have a determination here shortly, and we\'ll see what happens,\" Scioscia said.

\     As for Colon, Scioscia wasn\'t worried that the right-hander gave up six runs on nine hits, including three home runs, in seven innings in his final rehab start Monday.

\     \"There are a lot of different ways to evaluate performances,\" Scioscia said. \"With a rehab start, it\'s not always with the runs you\'re giving up or what the line score says. His velocity was good. His late velocity was good; he maintained his stuff.\"

\     \"I think that his command was terrific. He keeps moving forward, and although he gave up some runs, if you evaluate what\'s happening internally and how his stuff was and command and movement, we had very good reports on that.\"\
\
'; myContent.LATimes06082006 = '\ \ \ \ \ \
\
June 8, 2006
\ Another Strong Start for Weaver\
Rookie pitches well again in 6-2 win over Devil Rays, giving the Angels options when Colon returns.
\
By Mike DiGiovanna
LA Times Staff Writer
\
\
\ Los Angeles Angels\' Jered Weaver pitches to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.\     ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- It\'s a problem any major league team would love to have.

\     The Angels have five starting pitchers throwing well and the 2005 American League Cy Young Award winner poised to come off the disabled list, so when Bartolo Colon returns -- possibly as early as Sunday or Monday -- one of the current starters will be the odd man out.

\     Or the odd Weaver out.

\     Rookie Jered Weaver put even more pressure on his older brother, Jeff, the most susceptible of the Angels starters to being traded or demoted to the bullpen, by pitching the Angels to a 6-2 win over Tampa Bay in Tropicana Field on Wednesday. The Angels won two of three from Tampa Bay, the fifth series in a row they have won.

\     The 23-year-old right-hander gave up two runs and four hits -- including solo home runs by Carl Crawford and Julio Lugo -- in six innings, striking out four and walking none, to win his third in a row since being called up from triple-A Salt Lake and lead the Angels to their 10th win in 14 games.

\     Weaver, a first-round pick in 2004, gave up four runs and 11 hits, struck out 17 and walked three in 19 1/3 innings of those victories, leaving him with a 1.86 earned-run average and the Angels with a difficult decision when Colon is activated.

\     Do they send Jered Weaver back to triple A, as they did with Ervin Santana in May 2005 after the right-hander had success in his first month in the majors, and keep Jeff Weaver, who has recovered from his five-game losing streak, in the rotation?

\     Do they keep Jered in a rotation that has provided 13 quality starts (six innings or more, three earned runs or less) in the last 15 games, and trade Jeff Weaver, who has been linked to rumors with Toronto, or send him to the bullpen? There has also been speculation of a deal that would send Ervin Santana to the Devil Rays for Crawford.

\     If Jered Weaver goes to Salt Lake -- the most likely scenario -- he won\'t be disappointed.

\     \"That\'s the way it goes,\" Weaver said. \"Bartolo is a Cy Young winner. My job was to make it tough on the coaching staff, and I think I\'ve done that. If I get sent down, I\'ll work hard to get right back up here.\"

\     Clouding the picture is Colon\'s troublesome shoulder. The right-hander suffered a slight tear in October, knocking him out of the playoffs, and lasted only two weeks this season before going on the DL.

\     Even if the Angels had a great offer for Jeff Weaver, they would be hesitant to trade the veteran because they need rotation insurance in case Colon suffers another setback.

\     \"We don\'t know how Bart is going to react,\" pitching coach Bud Black said. \"The situation is tenuous. All indications are that he\'s sound, but we won\'t know until he makes start after start after start.\"

\     About the only certainty is that if Jered Weaver is bumped from the rotation, he will not go to the bullpen.

\     \"He will go to the Salt Lake rotation because he has to stay stretched out,\" Manager Mike Scioscia said. \"It\'s a tough spot for the individuals vying for spots, but it\'s good for us when you have five guys throwing well and the Cy Young winner coming back. We have some tough decisions to make, but Jered has shown what he can do here.\"\
\
'; myContent.Alumni06062006 = '\ \ \ \ \ \ \
\ St. Louis Cardinals Press Release
\ 		\
\
June 6, 2006
\ Bryan Anderson named to the Midwest League (Single A) All-Star squad
\
By Quad Cities Swing Staff\
\
\ Bryan Anderson named to the Midwest League (Single A) All-Star squad\     Seeing Stars: As the Midwest League All-Star squads were announced Tuesday, the Swing received more starters than any other team. Six members of the Quad Cities roster were selected in all, three of them only 19-years-old.

\     Randy Roth will be the starting DH while youngsters Colby Rasmus and Bryan Anderson will begin the game in center field and behind the plate, respectively.

\     On the mound first-year pro Jaime Garcia highlights the star-studded group of hurlers, while Danny Borne and Jonathan Mikrut will represent the bullpen. The game will be played at John O\'Donnell Stadium on Tuesday, June 20, with first pitch scheduled for 7:00 p.m.\
\
'; myContent.DailyNews06032006 = '\ \ \ \ \ \
\
June 3, 2006
\ Weaver super once again\
Rookie pitcher has scoreless streak snapped in win.
\
By Doug Padilla
Daily News Staff Writer
\
\
\ Los Angeles Angels\' Jared Weaver pitches to Cleveland Indians\' Grady Sizemore in the first inning in Cleveland.\     CLEVELAND -- Jered Weaver at least showed he was human Friday, yet dominating nonetheless.

\     The rookie finally gave up a run, but it came in the seventh inning of his second career start as the Angels opened a six-game trip with an easy 10-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians. The Angels have now won seven of their last nine games since a six-game losing streak.

\     Weaver (2-0) did not allow a run in his first 12 major-league innings until a Ben Broussard double scored Casey Blake. The 23-year old gave up two runs on four hits with eight strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings and has allowed just seven hits in his first two outings with only two extra-base hits. He actually has surprised himself with his wildly successful start.

\     \"I didn\'t expect to start out like this, but you have to give it up to the offense for getting some runs early to take a little pressure off my shoulders,\" Weaver said. \"It\'s been working the last two starts so we have to keep it going.\"

\     Including his last four starts at Triple-A Salt Lake, Broussard\'s RBI snapped Weaver\'s 40 1/3-inning scoreless streak. It had been so long since he last gave up a run (May 6 against Tacoma) that when asked to recall the last one, Weaver gave a blank stare.

\     \"Not to sound cocky or anything, but I don\'t remember,\" Weaver said. \"I don\'t really try to think about that, I just try to keep hitters off balance and attack the strike zone and I\'ve been doing a good job of that.\"

\     Had it not been for Chone Figgins\' catch in center field in the fourth inning while slamming into the wall, Weaver\'s scoreless streak would have ended sooner.

\     \"I guess they\'re making stadiums with softer walls than they used to,\" Figgins said. \"I don\'t think a lot of guys could do that back in the day with those brick walls out there.\"

\     With Weaver having success and Bartolo Colon possibly eight days away from being activated from the disabled list, manager Mike Scioscia will be faced with the dilemma of what to do with six starters. He doesn\'t care to reveal too much of that thought process just yet.

\     \"The tough decisions are when you are trying to fill roles with guys that aren\'t ready or capable of it,\" Scioscia said. \"There could be some tough decisions but it doesn\'t mean that it won\'t make us stronger.\"

\     Even Weaver seems understanding to a possible return to Salt Lake.

\     \"You definitely want to stay up here, but you have the Cy Young winner getting ready to get his arm in shape,\" Weaver said. \"I had my (chance) and we\'ll see what happens when he gets back.\"

\     With the kind of support the Angels offered both offensively and defensively, it shouldn\'t be too hard to have success regardless of who is starting. They were aggressive on the basepaths with a season-high six steals and added a power element, too, with three home runs.

\     Vladimir Guerrero, Dallas McPherson and Garret Anderson all went deep. Anderson\'s three-run home run in the seventh inning was his first since April 22 at Oakland, a span of 123 at-bats. The home-run drought hardly bothered him.

\     \"A (lack of) home runs is not a burden, driving in runs is what I want to do,\" said Anderson, who has 34 RBI. \"Homers don\'t mean too much if I\'m not driving in runs. It wouldn\'t do me any good right now to have 15 home runs and 20 RBI. That wouldn\'t be good. There\'s no law that says you have to hit home runs to drive in runs.\"\
\
'; myContent.SVStar05282006 = '\ \ \ \ \ \
\
May 28, 2006
\ Jered Weaver\'s first start a gem\
Angels rookie from Simi Valley throws seven shutout innings in his major league debut
\
By The Associated Press
\
\
\ Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver delivers a pitch during his major league debut on Saturday.\     ANAHEIM -- Simi Valley\'s Jered Weaver pitched seven shutout innings in his major league debut with older brother Jeff watching from the Angels dugout as Los Angeles beat Baltimore 10-1 on Saturday night.

\     Jered Weaver (1-0) gave up three hits, walked one and struck out five for Los Angeles, which won its season-high fourth straight game.

\     Garret Anderson had two RBIs as he played in his 1,662nd regular-season game with the Angels, breaking Brian Downing\'s franchise record.

\     The Weavers became the first pair of brothers to pitch for the Angels in their 46-year history. Jered, a 23-year-old right-hander, threw 64 of his 97 pitches for strikes. He held the Orioles to one hit after the second inning - a bloop single by Melvin Mora.

\     Rookie Kendry Morales was 3 for 5 with a three-run homer and Tim Salmon added a two-run shot for the Angels. Right fielder Vladimir Guerrero threw out a runner at the plate, one night after helping beat the Orioles with his first career inside-the-park home run.

\     Baltimore\'s run came on an RBI single by pinch hitter Brandon Fahey in the eighth against Kevin Gregg.

\     Erik Bedard (5-4) allowed six runs and 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings, after giving up eight runs in five innings last Monday in an 8-6 loss at Seattle. The left-hander is 1-4 with a 7.86 ERA in seven starts after winning first four outings.

\     Anderson opened the scoring in the first with an RBI single after a leadoff double by Orlando Cabrera. Angels catcher Mike Napoli, who caught Weaver numerous times in the minors, preserved the right-hander\'s 1-0 lead in the second by tagging out Javy Lopez after Guerrero caught Jeff Conine\'s flyball and made a perfect one-bounce throw to the plate.

\     The Angels added three more runs in the bottom half. Napoli drew a bases-loaded walk, Robb Quinlan scored on a fielder\'s choice grounder by Anderson, and Guerrero capped the rally with an RBI single.

\     Salmon, who went 3 for 4 and is the Angels career leader in home runs with 296, made it 6-0 in the fourth with his sixth of the season on a 3-0 pitch after a two-out single by Guerrero. Morales, one of five Angels to make his major league debut this month alone, made it 9-0 in the sixth with his homer off Adam Loewen.

\     Tommy Murphy hit his first career homer with a solo shot in the eighth to make it 10-1.

\     Jered Weaver, who was born in Northridge, played his college ball at nearby Long Beach State. He was 37-9 with a 2.43 ERA and a school-record 431 strikeouts in three seasons with the 49ers, and won the Golden Spikes Award in 2004 as amateur baseball\'s top player.

\     The Angels made him the 12th overall pick in the June 2004 draft, but he and agent Scott Boras held out until June 4, 2005, when the team signed him to a minor league contract with a club-record signing bonus of $4 million - the largest the team had ever given to a draft pick. Had a deal not been reached at that time, Jered Weaver would have re-entered the draft.\
\
'; myContent.MLB05262006 = '\ \ \ \ \ \
\
May 26, 2006
\ Angels designate pitcher Esteban Yan for assignment; Club selects contract of Jered Weaver from Triple-A Salt Lake.\
By MLB Staff
MLB.com
\
\
\ Jered Weaver has been called up from Triple-A Salt Lake.\     ANAHEIM -- The Angels Friday designated righthanded pitcher Esteban Yan for assignment. To replace Yan on the club\' s 25-man roster, the Angels selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Jered Weaver. These announcements were made by club Vice President/General Manager Bill Stoneman. Weaver will make his major league debut on Saturday, May 27 vs. Baltimore at Angel Stadium. Ervin Santana (4-2) will now start tonight against the Orioles, replacing Kevin Gregg who will move to the bullpen.

\     Yan, 30, was 0-0 with a 6.85 ERA (22.1 IP - 17 ER) in 13 games with the Angels this season. He allowed 19 hits (4 HR), walked 13 and struck out 16 in that span. Yan signed a two-year contract with the Angels, Dec. 13, 2004, and posted a 1-1 record with a 5.16 ERA (89 IP - 51 ER) in 62 games with the club during that time.

\     Originally signed by Atlanta as a non-drafted free agent, Nov. 21, 1990, Yan owns a career record of 32-39 with 50 saves and a 4.78 ERA (680.1 IP - 362 ER) in 458 games (23 starts). He has appeared in the major leagues with Baltimore (1996-97), Tampa Bay (1998-2002), Texas (2003), St. Louis (2003), Detroit (2004) and the Angels (2005-06).

\     Weaver, 23, was 4-1 with one complete game shutout and a 1.89 ERA (57 IP - 12 ER) in nine starts at triple-A Salt Lake. He allowed 44 hits (4 HR), walked eight and struck out 66 in 57 innings pitched. Weaver owns a current consecutive scoreless innings streak of 27.1, tying the franchise record set by Kevin Gregg. Among Pacific Coast League leaders, Weaver ranks second in ERA, first in strikeouts and fifth in innings pitched.

\     In 2005, Weaver finished a combined 7-4 with a 3.91 ERA (76 IP - 33 ER) in 15 starts at Rancho Cucamonga and Arkansas. He was named California League Pitcher of the Month for July (4-0, 1.52 ERA) and received Pitcher of the Week honors for July 11-17 & July 18-24. Weaver was also named to the Regional Olympic Qualifying Team roster. Overall in his brief minor league career, he was 11-5 with one complete game shutout and a 3.05 ERA (133 IP - 45 ER) in 24 starts.

\     Selected by Angels in first-round (12th pick overall) of 2004 Free Agent Amateur Draft, Weaver finished his collegiate career with 37-9 record and 2.43 ERA (100 ER - 370 IP) in three seasons at Long Beach State University (CA). He allowed 248 hits and 73 walks while posting school-record 431 career strikeouts. Weaver is the career leader for the Big West Conference and 49ers in victories and is a two-time first team All-American and co-Big West Player of the Year (along with teammate Abe Alvarez in 2003 and Cal State Fullerton\'s Jason Windsor in 2004).

\     A native of Simi Valley, Weaver led Long Beach State (40-21) to the NCAA Division I Super Regional in 2004. He won a record six Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball Player of the Week Awards and 13 Conference Pitcher of the Week honors. Weaver also won eight National Player of the Year Awards (Golden Spikes Award, Dick Howser Award, Roger Clemens Award, Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year, NCBWA, ABCA and Collegebaseballinsider.com in 2004.\
\
'; myContent.MLB05202006 = '\ \ \ \ \ \
\
May 20, 2006
\ Laker replaces Shoppach\
Veteran catcher recalled to serve as Martinez\'s backup
\
By Steve Herrick
Special to MLB.com
\
\
\ Veteran catcher, Tim Laker, recalled to serve as Martinez\'s backup\     CLEVELAND -- Tim Laker has been in professional baseball long enough to know what he does well and what his limitations are.

\     The Indians purchased the contract of the veteran catcher from Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday and optioned Kelly Shoppach to the Bisons.

\     \"They knew the work I was doing with the pitchers down there,\" Laker said. \"They know I\'m not going to hit .300 with 20 homers, but as far as the work with the pitchers, I was doing a good job and they rewarded me for that.\"

\     Laker, 36, played for the Indians in 2001 and again in 2003-04. He signed a Minor League contract with the club in December and was a non-roster invitee to Spring Training. He has a .224 career average with 11 homers and 77 RBIs in 278 games in the Majors with the Indians, Expos, Orioles, Pirates and Devil Rays.

\     Laker hit .270 (17-for-63) with eight doubles and five RBIs in 18 games at Buffalo.

\     Being the backup for Victor Martinez doesn\'t provide a lot of playing time. Shoppach, who won the backup job in Spring Training, appeared in eight of the Indians\' first 42 games, making five starts. He batted .250 (4-for-16) with two RBIs.

\     \"Obviously, Victor is going to play a lot,\" Laker said. \"They wanted Shoppach to play more. Obviously, he has more longevity than I have in this game.\"

\     \"It\'s more about him than anything, as limited as his playing time was here,\" Indians manager Eric Wedge said of Shoppach. \"We wanted to make sure his skills don\'t back up.\"

\     The move comes as a surprise since Shoppach and Einar Diaz, who has played in 26 games at Buffalo, battled in Spring Training for the backup job. According to Wedge, Laker\'s ability to work with pitchers and his presence in the clubhouse gave him the edge over Diaz.

\     \"Lake was doing a good job there,\" Wedge said. \"He\'s worked with the [pitching] staff up here. He\'s a great teammate and he brings a personality to the ballclub, similar to Louie [Merloni] and Eddie [Perez].\"

\     Shoppach, 26, was acquired from Boston in January in the deal that sent outfielder Coco Crisp to the Red Sox.

\     To make room for Laker on the 40-man roster, right-hander Matt Miller was transferred from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day DL. Miller strained a ligament in his right elbow April 19 and had season-ending surgery.\
\
'; myContent.QCSwing05202006 = '\ \ \ \ \ \
\
May 20, 2006
\ LATE SWING RALLY FALLS SHORT
\
Anderson fuels the comeback bid with first homer of the season and 3-for-4 night
\
By Quad Cities Swing Staff
\
\
\ Anderson fuels the comeback bid with first homer of the season and 3-for-4 night\     The Swing of the Quad Cities came thundering back with the last five runs of the ballgame Saturday night at John O’Donnell Stadium, but fell short in a 6-5 loss to the Clinton LumberKings. 19-year-old catcher Bryan Anderson led the rally with his first home run of the season and two late doubles, but was left at second base as the potential game-tying run in the bottom of the ninth.

\     Quad Cities (17-23) loses their second ballgame in a row, falling to a season-low six games under .500 for the second time in four days. Clinton (14-28) snaps a four-game losing streak, handing the Swing a rough homestand-opening loss in front of a raucous crowd of 4,221.

\     Down 6-1 at the seventh inning stretch, Jose Martinez doubled and scored in the bottom of the seventh to start the rally. In the bottom of the eighth Anderson came through with a run-scoring double of his own, crossing the plate two batters later on a line drive single up the middle from Matt Wilkerson.

\     Having already pulled to within 6-4 heading into the bottom of the ninth, Randy Roth led off with a single. He remained at first base with two outs, when Anderson came up to the plate again. Already with a home run and a double under his belt, the 2005 fourth-rounder pulled another two-bagger inside the baseline at first to plate Roth and pull to within one. But the potential tying run would advance no further, stranded at second base when pinch-hitter Brandon Yarbrough struck out swinging to bring the furious rally to a sudden halt.

\     For the second night in a row, the Swing fell behind in the first inning. Jose Vallejo reached base on a fielde\’s choice, and proceeded to steal both second and third. John Mayberry then turned on a ball and drove it to left field, and when A.J. Van Slyke lost it in the sun it traveled all the way to the wall for an RBI double, giving Clinton the early 1-0 advantage.

\     The LumberKings added to the lead in the fourth, sparked by a leadoff bomb to right field by Freddie Thon. After a one-out hit batsman, K.C. Herren roped a triple inside the right field line, coming home one batter later on a single by Johnny Whittleman past a drawn-in infield. Two walks later starter Mark McCormick was pulled from the ballgame, but Clinton had already taken control with a 4-0 score.

\     That was the count in the sixth inning when Bryan Anderson came to the plate to open the frame. After working the count full Anderson tagged his first home run of the year, a blast over the fence that turned into a souvenir for a lucky fan on the crowded berm in right field. Quad Cities pulled to within 4-1 at the time.

\     Juan Jimenez (1-0) took the win in his second spot start of the season, throwing six strong one-run innings while allowing two hits and facing only one batter more than the minimum. After he was removed two relievers combined to give up four runs -- three earned -- in three innings, though Jose Marte (2) did hold on for the save in the ninth.

\     McCormick (1-3) had his second rough outing in a row, lasting only 4.1 innings and allowing four runs on five hits. The 43rd overall pick in the 2005 draft out of Baylor struck out four, but also walked four, hit a batter, and allowed the home run to Thon.

\     Trey Hearne entered the contest in the eighth, throwing a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout. The soft-tossing righthander out of Texas A&M Corpus Christi has now retired the last 21 batters he has faced, and is flawless out of the bullpen since making his lone start of the season on May 2.\
\
'; myContent.QCTimes05052006 = '\ \ \ \ \ \
\
May 5, 2006
\ Swing catcher Anderson off to good start after being invited to major league camp
\
By Steve Batterson
Quad City Times
\
\
\ Swing of the Quad-Cities catcher Bryan Anderson\     One year ago, Bryan Anderson\’s biggest concern was finding the perfect corsage for his date to the high school prom.

\     Twelve months later, the Swing of the Quad-Cities catcher has sampled what life in a big-league clubhouse is like and learns on a daily basis what a career in professional baseball is all about.

\     \“In some ways, it feels like yesterday, but at the same time it feels like it was about 10 years ago,\” Anderson said. \“This past year has been such a big change for me.\”

\     He considers it a change for the better.

\     A fourth-round selection of the Cardinals in the 2005 draft, Anderson now shares catching duties for Q-C with Brandon Yarbrough and has been the Swing\’s early-season leader at the plate.

\     His .368 average through 26 games leads Quad-Cities, after a .331 effort last season at short-season Johnson City which led all Cardinals short-season players.

\     But offense is only part of Anderson’s game.

\     \“So much of what a catcher does is the work he puts in behind the plate, and while I work on my offense every day, a lot of what I\’m learning has to do with what I do behind the plate,\” Anderson said.

\     For the Simi Valley, Calif., native - an all-Southern California selection as a prep - the education extended to instructional league and eventually to spring training.

\     The 19-year-old left-handed hitter was the youngest player invited to the Cardinals\’ major-league camp, an opportunity offered to Anderson to catch the large number of pitchers St. Louis invited to camp early this spring.

\     \“The invitation caught me by surprise. I got a call about a month before it started asking me to go, and it didn’t take me long to answer. It was a great experience,\” Anderson said.

\     \“There I was, less than a year out of high school walking around the same clubhouse with Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina and Tony LaRussa. That was great.\”

\     Anderson made the most of the opportunity.

\     \“Mostly, it was a chance for me to watch how guys worked and how they approached getting ready for the season,\” Anderson said. \“I had a chance to work a bit with Yadier and the other catchers and learn from them.

\     \“Before I went down to the minor-league camp, a couple of guys showed me some things that are helping me now. It was a great experience.\”

\     Swing manager Keith Mitchell likes the approach he has seen from Anderson.

\     \“You can tell he\’s a winner, that competing and winning means a lot to him and guys like that valuable to any team,\” Mitchell said. \“I think he and (Yarbrough) complement each other well and they\’re making each other better with the way they work. That\’s an ideal situation.\”

\     Anderson believes that is the way it supposed to work.

\     \“My main thing this season is become a better catcher, to do a better job defensively and to learn how to work with and handle pitchers and I feel like I’m getting better,\” Anderson said.

\     One of the things Anderson learned long before he earned his invitation to get an inside look at what a big-league camp is all about was that the education never ends.

\     \“I still have a lot to learn and that\’s an everyday process,\” he said. \“This game teaches you something every time you step on a field and when I leave here, I want to be a better catcher than when I arrived. If I do that, I\’ll be satisfied.\”

\
\
'; myContent.Alumni04082006 = '\ \ \ \ \ \
\
April 8, 2006
\ WEAVER SHINES IN TRIPLE-A DEBUT
\
By Salt Lake Bees Staff
\
\
\ Weaver shines in Triple-A debut.\     Jered Weaver was outstanding in his AAA debut on Saturday afternoon, as the Salt Lake Bees beat the Sidewinders 7-3 in Tucson. Weaver (1-0), one of the Angels\' top prospects, threw just 83 pitches over seven innings and allowed just one run on two hits with eight strikeouts and no walks. He faced 24 Tucson batters and went to three balls in the count on just one occasion.

\     Brian Specht put the Bees ahead in the second inning with a two run double and Erick Aybar drove home Specht with a single. Salt Lake scored four more runs in the third on a run scoring single by Specht, a two run single by Aybar and an RBI single by Howie Kendrick. Aybar had two hits and three RBI for the game, which now gives him eight runs batted in over the first three games of the season. Specht added three hits and three RBI for the Bees, who have opened the season with three straight wins.\
\
'; myContent.QuadCities04082006 = '\ \ \ \ \ \
\
April 8, 2006
\ McCORMICK POWERS SWING TO FIRST VICTORY
\
Quad Cities pitchers combine for shutout win; McCormick fans seven in six innings of work
\
By Quad Cities Swing Staff
\
\
\ Anderson reached base in all four of his plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with a single, a double, a walk, and being hit by a pitch.\     The Swing of the Quad Cities captured their first victory of the 2006 season on Saturday afternoon at Elfstrom Stadium, shutting out the Kane County Cougars, 4-0. Starting pitcher Mark McCormick established the tempo early, striking out four in a row at one point, as the Cougars could only muster two hits all game long.

\     With the win Quad Cities improves to 1-2, while Kane County drops to 2-1.

\     After walking leadoff hitter Mike Massaro to start the game, McCormick (1-0) found his groove. Catcher Bryan Anderson, making his first start of the season at only 19 years old, cut down Massaro trying to steal second, and McCormick promptly struck out the next two batters to retire the side. After inducing a groundout to open the second inning, the hard-throwing righthander out of Baylor reeled off four straight punchouts to give him six total through three innings.

\     After going 1-2 with the Swing in 2005, McCormick tossed six shutout innings Saturday afternoon while allowing only one hit, striking out seven, and walking four.

\     Quad Cities took the lead in the third inning without benefit of a hit, as back-to-back walks opened up the inning. With the bases loaded Daniel Nelson grounded into a double play, and Anderson came home to give the Swing a 1-0 lead.

\     Anderson reached base in all four of his plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with a single, a double, a walk, and being hit by a pitch.

\     In the fourth, center fielder Colby Rasmus slapped a line drive into right-center to record his first hit in a Swing uniform. One batter later he was running when Adam Rodgers grounded to the shortstop. Although Rodgers was thrown out at first, Rasmus was able to beat the shortstop Justin Sellers to second base to avoid the double play and keep the rally alive. Wes Swackhamer followed with a single to put men at the corners. Rasmus would come home on a wild pitch with Randy Roth at the plate, and moments later Roth swatted a fly ball to right field that bounced past a diving Jose Pineda and turned into an RBI triple. The Swing third baseman eventually came home to score, and the Swing took a decisive 4-0 advantage.

\     After McCormick left the ballgame, Jonathan Mikrut, Danny Borne, and Scott Vander Weg worked three combined scoreless innings of their own to preserve the shutout. Vander Weg earned the save, striking out one in 1.1 innings of work. Through 10.2 frames early in the season, all eight members of the Quad Cities bullpen have seen action, combining for nine strikeouts and a 0.84 ERA.

\     For the Cougars it was Jeff Gray (0-1) taking the loss, allowing four runs on three hits in 3.1 innings. The righthander struck out three and walked three.\
\
'; myContent.Alumni04032006 = '\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \
\ St. Louis Cardinals Press Release
\
\
April 3, 2006
\ Bryan Anderson assigned to Quad Cities Swing (Cardinals A)
\
By Quad Cities Swing Staff\
\
\ Bryan Anderson assigned to Quad Cities Swing (Cardinals A)\     The Swing will open the season with 10 players that saw action with the team in 2005, including six pitchers. Phillip Andersen, Mark McCormick, and Cory Meacham are expected to begin the year in the starting rotation, while Jason Cairns, Matt Trent, and Jeremy Zick will pitch out of the bullpen. Outfielder Wes Swackhamer, catcher Brandon Yarbrough, infielder Calvin Hayes, and utility man Casey Rowlett are also planning on making an encore appearance at John O’Donnell Stadium.

\     There will also be 17 players that were drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2005, including a first round pick (Rasmus), a supplemental first round pick (McCormick), and three others selected in the first 10 rounds (Bryan Anderson - 4th, Cairns - 8th, and Randy Roth - 10th). The other 12 draftees from 2005 were all selected between the 15th and the 37th rounds.

\     Another notable piece of information is that the roster includes three teenagers. Lefthander Jaime Garcia is slated to pitch out of the starting rotation despite a 2-7 record with a 7.86 ERA in 12 starts at Johnson City in 2005. The 18-year-old native of Mexico was drafted in the 20th round last year out of Sharyland High School in Texas. Catcher Bryan Anderson, 19, should join Garcia and Rasmus as the youngsters of the bunch. Anderson, a 2005 4th-rounder, impressed the Cardinals\' brass by hitting .331 and swatting six home runs with Johnson City last year.\
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March 29, 2006
\ Brothers in arms
\
By Ken Peters
The Associated Press
\
\
\ Los Angeles Angels pitcher Jeff Weaver delivers during the Angels spring training game against the Seattle Mariners Sunday, March 26, 2006 in Tempe, Ariz.\     TEMPE, Ariz. : Jeff Weaver hasn\'t had much of a chance to ditch his little brother this spring, especially since Jered\'s locker is just across from his in the Angels clubhouse.

\     Not that Jeff wants to anyway - the lanky right-handed pitchers have become best pals.

\     That wasn\'t always the case for the Simi Valley natives.

\     \"We were six years apart, and when I was in high school and he was 9 or 10 years old, he was kind of the nagging little brother who wanted to go everywhere, hang out with the big boys,\" Jeff said.

\     \"It was kind of that usual sibling love-hate relationship.\"

\     Jered grinned and recalled that all he really wanted back then was some mobility.

\     \"Because of the age difference, we didn\'t really hang out, didn\'t go to school together or anything,\" he said. \"But when he was 16, I really wanted to hang out because he had just gotten his driver\'s license. Of course, he didn\'t want to hang out with his 10-year-old brother.\"

\     They\'ve spent a lot of time together this spring.

\     \"I get to see him in action, we get to hang together, go to dinner,\" Jeff said. \"We\'ve spent the most time that we ever have together, because we\'d always been on different schedules in different places.\"

\     \"So this has been really fun for me, and hopefully, we\'ll have it for years to come. We\'ll just have to wait and see.\"

\ Veteran Jeff Weaver, right, and his younger brother, Jered, are pitching together for the first time with the Los Angeles Angels.\     Said Jered: \"The fact he\'s here, we don\'t have to talk on the phone. If I have a problem, or if I don\'t understand something that\'s going on in camp, I can just walk over and ask him.\"

\     Jeff, 29, signed a one-year, $8.325 million free-agent contract with the Angels last month, with another $600,000 available in performance bonuses.

\     After going 14-11 with three complete games, two shutouts and a 4.22 ERA in 34 starts for the Dodgers last season, he is set to follow 2005 AL Cy Young winner Bartolo and John Lackey in the Angels\' rotation.

\     Jered, 23, was a standout at Long Beach State, where he won the Golden Spikes Award in 2004 as the country\'s top college baseball player. He was selected by the Angels with the 12th pick in the draft later that year, and after waiting 11 months, finally agreed to a minor league contract last June for a club-record signing bonus of $4 million. He is slated to begin this season in the minors.

\     It\'s obvious the two are related. Jeff is 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, while Jered is 6-7, 205. Both look a bit like California surfer dudes, with their long, brownish-blond hair.

\     Jeff noted another similarity.

\     \"When I finally did get to see him pitch, it was eerie because we\'re so similar, the mechanics,\" Jeff said. \"I\'d never worked with him on mechanics or anything, just on things like approach and what he might want to throw.\"

\     \"But until I saw him pitch, I didn\'t realize there were so many similarities. It\'s easy for us to talk about pitching because we are so close in certain things we do.\"

\     There are differences, of course.

\     \"Personality-wise, Jeff is quiet, more soft-spoken, and Jered is a little more outgoing. Jeff is stoic on the mound and Jered, maybe because of his youth, shows a lot of emotion,\" Angels pitching coach Bud Black said.

\     \"I\'ve enjoyed them in the short time we\'ve had them. They\'re very engaging to talk to. And the one thing they definitely have in common is that they both love pitching and they\'re both very competitive.\"

\     Despite the age gap, it\'s obvious the brothers always have been proud of each other.

\     Jeff talked about Jered being \"really something to watch on the basketball court\" in high school. Jered spoke of how his older brother inspired him by walking on at Fresno State, making the team, then going on to the big leagues.

\     Even when they were younger, they had some good times together. When Jeff made it to the majors, he used to have Jered, then in high school, visit him.

\     \"He would come out for about 10 days and stay with me and get to come in the clubhouse and hang out with the guys and kind of see how it all worked at the big league level,\" Jeff said. \"I think all those experiences helped him through his college career, kind of understanding how difficult the game is, and dealing with adversities.

\     \"He\'s a lot further along than I was at this time, that\'s for sure. His second best pitch is his changeup, and that\'s the one that\'s still a work in progress for me.\"

\     Jeff grinned and added, \"And he\'s always had a level head, a good demeanor. That\'s something that took me a while.\
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March 26, 2006
\ Weaver lands No. 3 spot in rotation
\
Righty will face Mariners in season\'s first series finale
\
By Mike Scarr
MLB.com
\
\
\ Jeff Weaver has logged at least 200 innings in each of the last two seasons.\     Jeff Weaver spent the entire winter without a team, but he\'ll open the regular season as the Angels\' No. 3 starter.

\     It\'s a move that makes sense as it gives the front end of the rotation three starters who are capable of consuming large chunks of innings. Weaver joins Opening Day starter Bartolo Colon and John Lackey in the regular season\'s first series when the Angels face the Mariners in Seattle, April 3-5.

\     Weaver\'s first start will also feature an ironic twist as he faces the pitcher he has effectively replaced in the Angels\' rotation. Jarrod Washburn draws his former teammates in his first official appearance for the Mariners in the series finale on April 5.

\     Weaver, who will be followed by Kelvim Escobar and Ervin Santana in the rotation, said he\'s fine with the third slot.

\     \"Once you start every five days [in spring], you kind of figure it out,\" Weaver said. \"It is great; I\'m excited. I think that everyone that goes out there is a No. 1. I think it is a sign of a great rotation.\"

\     Weaver spent most of his offseason waiting to find new employment after declining salary arbitration with the Dodgers and the two sides could not find middle ground before the Jan. 8 deadline.

\     The Angels had earmarked offense as a key priority this winter but instead found the pitching market more attractive and added a pair of relievers, right-hander Hector Carrasco (free agent) and left-hander J.C. Romero (trade).

\     On the day pitchers and catchers reported to camp, the Angels convinced Weaver to stay in Southern California with a one-year, $8.325 million deal with incentives that make the total package worth a potential $9 million.

\     The signing did not provide the publicity hit that landing White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko would have, but it may ultimately push the Angels closer to repeating as division champs in the American League West, as it maintains their pitching depth which is the driving force of the ballclub.

\     Departed from last year\'s rotation, the one that tied the White Sox for the lowest ERA in the AL at 3.75, are Washburn and Paul Byrd. The Angels had considered Carrasco has a possible option in the No. 5 slot as well as a group of high-level prospects that includes Jeff\'s younger brother Jered, left-hander Joe Saunders and right-handers Chris Bootcheck and Kevin Gregg.

\     With Jeff Weaver on the payroll, though, the Angels have been able to move Carrasco into the bullpen, where he will handle multiple roles as long man, middle relief and also some possible setup duty. It also has allowed the organization to take a more deliberate approach with the prospects.

\     Jered Weaver and Saunders will open the year in Triple-A Salt Lake but remain a part of the team\'s extended starting depth, while Bootcheck has pitched his way into a middle relief role with the Angels by allowing one run in 12 spring innings.

\     What the elder Weaver now brings to the Angels is a veteran pitcher that has logged at least 200 innings in each of the last two seasons and four times in his career.

\     \"I thought our pitching staff was pretty good last year,\" Lackey said. \"Any time you can add a guy like Weaver, it definitely adds to your depth.\"

\     Weaver allowed a home run to the Mariners\' Richie Sexson on Sunday, but scattered seven other hits and left after six innings with just the one run allowed.

\     Often teams will not allow a pitcher to face a team within their own division in a spring game, especially when the opponent is coming up on the schedule, but the Angels said there was more to gain with Weaver in the game.

\     \"There is a give and take on both ends,\" manager Mike Scioscia said. \"We can learn something about their hitters. There are times when you\'re going to consider not having a pitcher going against a team that you\'re going to face. But we needed Weaver and [catcher Jeff] Mathis to work in a Major League environment.\"

\     Weaver said the idea was fine.

\     \"It is a challenge when you face teams in your division sometimes back-to-back and five or six times during the season,\" Weaver said. \"You have to really work to mix it up and keep them off balance.\"

\     Weaver\'s numbers were far from spectacular in his first three Cactus League starts when he allowed 16 runs over 10 1/3 innings. But over his last two starts, Weaver has allowed one run in 11 innings and said he\'s on target to open the season.

\     His next start will be Friday at Dodger Stadium for the first game of the exhibition Freeway Series.

\     \"It\'s comfortable surroundings,\" Weaver said. \"It will be interesting to see how the fans respond. I\'m looking forward to it. It should be fun.\"\
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'; myContent.USAToday02262006 = '\ \ \ \ \ \
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February 26, 2006
\ Weaving a tale of brothers
\
By Bob Nightengale
USA TODAY\
\
\     TEMPE, Ariz. — They grew up strangers in their own home. They were brothers but never close, separated by six years of hormones, maturity and interests.

\ Veteran Jeff Weaver, right, and his younger brother, Jered, are pitching together for the first time with the Los Angeles Angels.\     It was the game of baseball, right-handed pitchers Jeff Weaver and Jered Weaver say, that finally brought them together.

\     But it was the business of baseball that endangered their brotherly love as they both prepared to open the season in the Los Angeles Angels organization. Only Jeff will begin with the major league club.

\     Just two days before the start of spring training, Jeff Weaver, 29, had no job. But the Angels had a one-year, $8.35 million offer on the table with the chance for him to become a free agent again next winter.

\     It was an opportunity to stay close to home in Manhattan Beach, Calif., to win and, for the first time in his life, to pitch with his brother.

\     Or was it?

\     \"I didn\'t know whether it was a chance to pitch with him or ruin his dreams,\" Jeff says. \"That was tough. I knew I couldn\'t make the decision myself. I wasn\'t going to do anything without talking to Jered.\"

\     Jered, 23, had been invited for the first time to the Angels spring training camp and was told that if he had a dominant spring, he might begin his first full professional season as the team\'s No. 5 starter.

\     That is, if a certain older brother didn\'t sign with the Angels, filling the lone vacancy in a rotation topped by Bartolo Colon, John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar and Ervin Santana.

\     Jeff, a seven-year veteran who pitched for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, told agent Scott Boras not to even negotiate with the Angels until he talked with his brother, also represented by Boras. If Jered were uncomfortable, there were offers from the Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians and the New York Mets for Jeff to ponder.

\     \"That\'s why people have no idea how hard of a decision I had,\" Jeff says. \"Everybody thinks it\'s all fun and gravy for us to be on the same team. Believe me, there was a lot of thought that went into this.\"

\     Realistically, Jeff knew Jered was a long shot despite throwing 94 mph with a good curveball and pinpoint control. He had been one of the finest college pitchers, receiving a $4 million signing bonus last summer as the Angels\' first-round pick out of Long Beach State.

\     But Jered had never pitched at Class AAA and had only 15 games of minor league experience. The Angels were prepared to open the season with Hector Carrasco, who spent most of last year as a reliever with the Washington Nationals, as the fifth starter. Still, did Jeff want to be the one to stall his brother\'s dreams?

\     \"Hey, my brother was out of work, he needed a job,\" says Jered, at 6-7, 205, 2 inches taller and 5 pounds heavier than his brother. \"I told him, \'Don\'t worry about me. I\'ll get my spot.\' As long as that spot stays in the family, I\'m cool.\"

\     So Jeff, who went 14-11 with a 4.22 earned run average with the Dodgers last season and whose 224 innings were more than any Angel pitched, looked after his short-term well-being, even if it came ahead of Jered\'s.

\     \"That was obviously the first thing that crossed everybody\'s mind,\" says Gail Weaver, who raised the boys with her husband in Simi Valley, Calif. \"When it was first discussed, and things were going around, everyone said, \'What\'s Jered going to do? What\'s going to happen to Jered if (Jeff) takes it?\'\"

\     Her husband, Dave, who would pace the stands at his sons\' games, wanted to be absolutely sure Jeff understood the ramifications of his decision. \"Everybody was cool about it but my dad,\" Jeff says. \"He said, \'Do you understand they have one less spot in the rotation now? You know that, right?\'\"

\     The way Jered figured it, Jeff can take only one spot in the rotation anyway. What happens if a starter goes down with an injury?

\     \"The amazing thing was that Jered was actually the one most excited about this,\" Jeff says. \"I explained everything. I told him I didn\'t have to go to the Angels. But he\'s the one who wanted it.

\     \"I told him what it meant and all he said was, \'Don\'t worry about me. I\'ll be up there. I\'ll be winning a spot.\' I said, \'Good. Now I can see what all of the hype is about.\'\"

\     The Weavers would join half-brothers Livan and Orlando Hernandez as the only brothers pitching in the major leagues. The last brothers to become All-Star pitchers were Pedro and Ramon Martinez in the 1990s. It has been 36 years since brothers were selected to pitch in the All-Star Game — Gaylord and Jim Perry.

\     Jeff has a 78-87 career record; Jered has pitched 100 professional innings. But Angels pitching coach Bud Black says the similarities between them, from arm angle to release point to breaking ball, are eerie.

\     \"No one pitches that alike unless they\'re brothers,\" Black says. \"They pitch so much alike you\'d have to split them up in the rotation just so hitters didn\'t get the same look.\"

\     That\'s a concept foreign even to a future Hall of Famer.

\     \"That would be pretty cool to be on the same team as your brother,\" says Chicago Cubs starter Greg Maddux, whose brother, Mike, is the Milwaukee Brewers pitching coach. \"It\'d be great to have a teammate you can actually talk about your family with.

\     \"They always say your teammates are your family, but come on, there\'s a big difference between your brother and teammates you like and respect. Of course, it\'s only cool if you like your brother. It\'s not cool if you hate each other. And some brothers do hate each other.\"

\     The Weavers, who started becoming close eight years ago, say they are the best of friends.

\     They shared an apartment the first week of spring training — Jered with the master bedroom — and still live in the same spring training apartment complex. They commute to work together: Jered does most of the driving in his new, white Range Rover. Jeff still picks up most of the tabs.

\     \"I tried to pick up the tab my first night in town when we went out to eat,\" says Jered, who received a $4 million signing bonus last June and would draw the rookie minimum of $327,000 this season, \"but my credit card was declined.\"

\     \"Oh well, he\'s got the big money. He can pay the bills. He got me a real nice watch for Christmas, too.\"

\     What did Jered give him?

\     \"Uh, nothing yet,\" he says. \"I know it\'s going to be late, but I\'m planning on getting him a dog. I\'ve got to wait a few months.\"

\     Nothing like a little procrastination to bring back memories of their childhood when little brother would constantly annoy big brother.

\     \"We weren\'t close, not at all,\" Jered says.

\     \"It was just too big of an age difference. Six years is big when you\'re growing up. I remember when he got his driver\'s license. He wanted to go to the beach with his buddies, but he wanted no part of me. I was his punk brother. It was understandable, but I didn\'t quite understand it then.\"

\     \"I mean, we were never even on the same baseball field together,\" Jered says.

\     Says Jeff, \"It was kind of the nagging little brother thing growing up. It just wasn\'t cool to hang out with him.\"

\     Now they have the chance to realize the ultimate cool of cool.

\     \"I never dreamed I could ever play with my brother,\" Jered says.

\     \"I lived in his shadow. To be honest, I was just hoping to see him across the field.\"

\     \"The pressure is on me,\" Jered says. \"I want to get up there (to the big leagues) while he\'s still there. But I\'m not worried. I\'ll be there in time.\"

\     Any sage brotherly advice to help get there quicker?

\     \"Yeah, he told me to keep my mouth shut and stay low,\" Jered says.

\     \"He said, \'Remember, you\'re nothing. You\'ve done nothing yet.\'\"

\     Brotherly love can hit home hard.\
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February 24, 2006
\ Anderson gets his shot as invite
\
Young catcher at Spring Training after big season in rookie ball
\
By Matthew Leach
MLB.com
\
\
\     JUPITER, Fla. -- The youngest player in Cardinals camp is just trying to take it all in. Nineteen-year-old catcher Bryan Anderson is asking Yadier Molina for catching tips, working on his hitting with the coaching staff and trying to make sense of the Cards\' convoluted schedule pages.

\     But the folks back home in Simi Valley, Calif., are less interested in bunting drills than in the National League MVP, who lockers about 20 feet away from Anderson.

\     \"I hear a lot from friends, like, \'How big is Pujols?\'\" Anderson said. \"My dad loves to hear stuff like that, so I get a lot of that.\"

\     From a 2005 draft class that the Cardinals hope will stand out as one of their best, Anderson may have had the best debut. The fourth-round pick scorched the rookie-level Appalachian League, hitting .331 with six home runs and a .513 slugging percentage in 154 at-bats.

\     He came on particularly strong in his final month, hitting .387 in August. It was an auspicious introduction to hitting with a wooden bat.

\     \"The thing was my pitch selection,\" he said. \"I got a little more aggressive toward the end of the season. I was a little too picky at the plate when I first got there, looking at good pitches. I finally just started hitting the fastball, looking for that and once I got it, hit it.\"

\     \"I would have liked to start off a little better, but it worked out and I was able to get my groove. But here, I wasn\'t really expecting [being invited to camp]. So it was a big surprise.\"

\     Anderson was far from the biggest name in that draft, with players like Colby Rasmus, Tyler Greene and Mark McCormick garnering much more attention in June. But at the end of the year, no one had outperformed the lefty-swinging backstop. And now he\'s drawing comparisons to a pick from two years earlier -- Daric Barton, another left-handed-hitting high-school catcher from southern California.

\     \"We\'ve had a few young hitters come along that have made a real quick impression,\" said Cardinals farm director Bruce Manno. \"[Outfielder] Cody Haerther was one of those guys, and Daric Barton was another one. I\'m not putting him in a category with them, but when you look at some of the younger players we\'ve had in the system over the past few years whose offensive ability jumped out, Bryan\'s one of those kids.\"

\     And that\'s part of why he\'s received an invitation to Spring Training. Make no mistake, when Minor League camp opens in March, Anderson will be sent over there. The primary reason he\'s present is to be an extra body catching the surplus of pitchers. But there are catchers in the organization who are not in big league camp.

\     \"When we sat down and talked about [how] we need a large number of catchers in camp, Walt [Jocketty, general manager] suggested that we try to bring a young player to fill that one last spot,\" Manno said. \"Give him exposure and let him be around this and learn some things. It\'s a great idea, so that\'s what we did.\"

\     Anderson was drafted as an offensive catcher, and he has a pretty lefty swing. Unlike Barton, there are no plans to move him elsewhere on the diamond. He has work to do on defense, but the club is confident he\'ll be at least a serviceable defensive backstop.

\     The short-term question isn\'t where he\'ll be on the diamond, but where he\'ll be geographically. Anderson would like to head to full-season Class A Quad Cities, rather than staying in extended Spring Training and then heading back to short-season ball. But the club\'s primary priority is for him to get plenty of work behind the plate. If there\'s a shortage of innings to be caught at Quad Cities, Anderson won\'t go there.

\     Either way, though, he\'ll likely be back in camp next year. And down the road, he may be here competing for a spot on the big club, rather than just as a non-roster invitee.\
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February 15, 2006
\ Angels sign Weaver to one-year deal
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Free agent pitcher becomes final piece of stellar rotation
\
By Mike Scarr
MLB.com
\
\
\ Jeff Weaver, 78-87 in his career, will occupy a spot in the Angels all right-handed rotation.\     TEMPE, Ariz. -- Camp opened Wednesday and the Angels marked the occasion with their biggest deal of the offseason by signing free agent pitcher Jeff Weaver to a one-year, $8.4 million contract with an additional $600,000 available in performance bonuses.

\     The right-hander will not have to move far, exchanging his Dodger blue for Halo red, and will also be able to say he still pitches for Los Angeles following owner Arte Moreno\'s recent courtroom victory in the naming trial.

\     Weaver, who lives a short drive from Angel Stadium in Manhattan Beach, will receive another perk by joining his younger brother Jered in the organization. The Angels selected Jered Weaver in the first round of the 2004 draft and the two sides came to terms on a Minor League deal last May.

\     In Jeff Weaver, though, the Angels have the final piece of what may arguably shape into the best rotation in the Major Leagues. Manager Mike Scioscia was clear Wednesday that he hasn\'t handed out any assignments just yet, but signing a seven-year veteran with over 200 starts under his belt is a pretty fair indicator that the last spot in the rotation is now spoken for.

\     Weaver is expected to join an all right-handed rotation that includes 2005 American League Cy Young winner Bartolo Colon, John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar and Ervin Santana.

\     \"Jeff is a guy that we\'re excited to have,\" Scioscia said. \"If you add him to the arms that we have in the rotation, it is certainly a championship caliber staff. But to have a championship caliber staff you have to have depth. It is not 1-5; it is 1-10.\"

\     The Angels will face the depth issue quickly this spring. Colon has been recovering from a right shoulder strain this offseason and only in the last month has resumed throwing off a mound. Colon is also preparing to pitch for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic and said he is 100 percent healthy.

\     Escobar is returning to the rotation after having surgery to his right elbow last June. He pitched out of the bullpen at the end of the year and experienced no pain, but he hasn\'t started for a full year since 2004.

\     In the next five is a group of talented but largely inexperienced pitchers, who were expected to compete for the rotation. Along with Jered Weaver is left hander Joe Saunders and right-handers Chris Bootcheck and Kevin Gregg, in addition to veteran right-hander Hector Carrasco, who has 10 years in the Majors but only six starts.

\     They will now shift their roles to the bullpen or starting at Triple-A, though Scioscia said they all will build up innings this spring as the team tackles the question of depth.

\     But signing Jeff Weaver wasn\'t simply an insurance policy.

\     \"The only reason to do this was the opportunity to make us a better ballclub,\" general manager Bill Stoneman said. \"You take advantage of (this type of deal) when you can.\"

\     Jeff Weaver spent the last two seasons with the Dodgers, going 27-24 in that span, and established a career-high with 14 wins last year. The Dodgers did not offer Weaver a contract nor did they extend salary arbitration.

\     The 29-year-old had been seeking a multiyear deal and though he went though the entire offseason unsigned, he found some interest, including Texas and Cleveland. Stoneman said he discussed the possibility of a two-year contract, but opted for just one year without an option.

\     In essence Weaver will be pitching for two seasons, this one and next, but the Angels will be getting an experienced arm that has logged 200-plus innings over the last two years and four 200-plus inning seasons in his Major League career.

\     With Colon capable of carrying a load (he has a current streak of five straight years of at least 200 innings pitched) and Lackey showing the markings of a workhorse (198 1/3 innings in 2004 and 209 innings last season) the Angels starting staff should once again be the strength of the ballclub.

\     \"It is definitely good,\" Lackey said. \"It is never a bad thing to have too much pitching. We\'re glad to have him; he has great stuff.\"

\     Weaver, who has a 78-87 career record, was originally selected by the Tigers in the first round of the 1998 draft and spent parts of four seasons there. Weaver was traded to the Yankees as part of a three-team deal in July 2002 and was sent to the Dodgers in December 2003 along with right-handers Yhency Brazoban and Brandon Weeden for Kevin Brown.\
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January 25, 2006
\ Longshots \"R\" US - NRI\'s Look for an Opening
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By Leonda Markee
Scout.com\
\
\ Bryan Anderson\     By definition, non-roster invitees to spring training are in a very tough position, having to fight their way onto the team. Here, we take a look at those 20 players not on the Cardinals\' 40-man roster who have a chance (albeit in most cases, a very outside chance) of making the season-opening 25-man squad.

\     The Cardinals recently set their non-roster invitees (NRI) to the 2006 Spring Training camp, so we thought you might like a little more information about these guys.

\     Catchers

\     Bryan Anderson

\     Anderson is one of the Cardinals\’ hot young prospects. A fourth-round selection last year who just turned 19 last month, Anderson was the best hitting catcher in the Cardinals\’ minor league system. He went .331/.383/.513/.896, 51-for-154 in fifty-one games with the Rookie level Johnson City Cardinals. While Spring Training always requires a number of catchers to handle all the pitchers that will be in camp, Anderson should be complimented that he has been invited to the big camp with only one year\’s professional experience under his belt. He will be given the chance to jump to the class A Swing of the Quad Cities this coming season.

\
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January 6, 2006
\ Anderson finding his stroke in the minor leagues
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Former Simi Valley standout hit .331 during his first professional season
\
By Steve Ames
Special to the Simi Valley Acorn\
\
\ STOCK IS RISING - Bryan Anderson is a promising pro prospect from Simi Valley High School. After a solid first year for the Johnson City Cardinals, Anderson is quickly making a name for himself within the St. Louis Cardinals organization.\     Playing his first summer of professional baseball was a dream come true for Bryan Anderson, a 2005 graduate of Simi Valley High.

\     Instead of playing the 25 or 30 games in a high school season and other showcase events, Anderson faced 67 games in 75 days. He played the demanding position of catcher.

\     Last June, Anderson was taken by the St. Louis Cardinals, his longtime favorite team, in the fourth round (30th pick, 140th overall) of the 2005 amateur draft. He signed for a reported $250,000 bonus and reported to the Johnson City (Tenn.) Cardinals short-season Appalachian League.

\     \“I have maybe a ton of St. Louis Cardinals memorabilia in my room and always loved them\” Anderson said. \“It\’s the way they play and the fans, the city. It\’s an awesome place. I\’ve been there twice. It\’s really a neat place to go to a game for any baseball fan.\”

\     His early love for the Cards was influenced by his dad, Steve, who\’s from St. Louis and a diehard Cardinal fan since his youth. Like his father, Bryan Anderson has rooted for the Cards, although he said at first he wanted to be a Los Angeles Dodgers fan.

\     \“My parents (dad, mom Cindy plus older sister Christina) have been great support for me,\” he said. \“My parents came (to Johnson City) for two weeks and spent some time to watch me. It was really neat to see my mom and dad when you haven\’t seen them for such a long time.\”

\     As the summer wore on, Anderson learned to cope with the new challenges of professional ball.

\     \“Just playing the game every single day, this was the biggest transition,\” Anderson said. \“In high school you\’re only playing three games a week. Out there (in the pros) you\’re playing every single day for three months, pretty much. That takes a little bit of getting used to.\”

\     He endured many hours of bus rides through Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia, experiencing poor diet and little slppe. But for Anderson, there was more joy than hardship - even though the Cards finished with a 28-39 record.

\     Games were played during the evening, then, after a night\’s sleep at the Red Roof Inn, the players would return to their home ballpark, the 2,000-seat Howard Johnson Field, for more baseball.

\     \“Howard Johnson Park is a special ballpark,\” Anderson said. \“It\’s got a really old style. It\’s a real traditional ballpark. It\’s pretty much the same as it\’s been ever since it was opened (1956). It\’s real nice. It\’s cool to play there.\”

\     \“They keep the field up,\” he said. \“It still has that old look to it. It has a berm in right field and a big monster wall in left. It\’s neat. I cleared left field once. Most of my homeruns were over the right field hill.\”

\     Anderson said that a special part of playing at Howard Johnson Field was the relationship he was able to build with the fans. He also appreciated the public address announcer\’s introduction when he came to bat.

\     \“It was really a neat thing toward the end of the season when the fans started learning who you were and knowing how you play,\” he said. \“You gain a little respect when you play hard. The fans really like that and they will cheer for you every time you come up to bat. They\’re real supportive. It\’s really cool.\”

\     \“When the team was on the road, the players stayed in a motel and were required to rise bright and early the next day for the bus trip to the next city or back to Johnson City. the morning and get there (the town where the game was to be played) by maybe 3 o\’clock and play BP (batting practice) and play the game,\” Anderson said.

\     \“We didn\’t have many long bus trips,\” Anderson said. \“We had a couple that were six hours. It was kind of tough when you get off a six-hour bus ride and you have to go straight to the ballpark and play after sitting in a bus for that long.\”

\     The extra games, the change in scenery and the oveall new lifestyle apparently didn\’t affect Anderson\’s game negatively. He finished his first pro season with a .331 batting average, six home runs, 36 RBI and eight doubles - while batting 154 times in 51 games.

\     Anderson said he enjoyed his visit in Johnson City, a town of 56,000 and the home of East Tennessee State University.

\     \“We definitely got to see a lot of Johnson City on days off,\” he said. \“We only had about three days off. When we had those days, we tried to take advantage of them - go do something new have fun.\”

\     Steve Gonzalez and Anderson would switch off at their position. He would catch two games and Gonzalez would catch one.

\     \“In high school, most of the guys I caught threw pretty much straight fastballs,\” Anderson said \“When you get up there, the guys throw harder and they have a lomore movement on their pitches. Their fastballs will sink. It takes time to get used to that.\” He said it was often difficult to communicate with pitchers who spoke no or little English. \“I learned a little bit of Spanish,\” Anderson said. \“How to say certain pitches in Spanish. I developed a little bit of a relationship with most of the Latino pitchers.\” The pitchers would get the basics of what Anderson was taking about, but if there was a hard time understanding anything, he\’d call over Steward Chacin of Venezuelaan infielder, who could act as a translator.

\     He said the skill level of the pros was a challenge. \“The group of guys you are playing are all older,\” Anderson said. \“I was out there. They\’re just bigger and stronger. They can do everything a lot better.\”

\     Regarding the pitching, Anderson said that \“they really come at you hard with their fastball.\” And when a pitcher gets ahead of the batter in the count, he\’ll throw his off-speed stuff.

\     To try to counter this, Anderson said he tried to be \“aggressive\” at the plate. \“Once I got a good pitch to hit, I just tried to do the best I could with it.\”

\     As he played, he learned.

\     Anderson said he\’s especially appreciative of the team\’s hitting coach, Joe Almaraz, who worked with him in the cage on what to look for in the batter\’s box and what to do with certain pitches on certain counts. \“That first fastball you get - if it\’s a good pitch to swing at, hit it,\” Anderson said. \“Don\’t just take it. You\’ve got to make the best of it.\”

\     While it\’s a possibility that Anderson could play for another short-season team, the State College Spikes, he said he would hope to be moved up to Single-A in Davenport, Iowa for the 2006 season.

\     After that, he hopes to make the climb to the Advanced-A Palm Beach Cardinals, the Double-A Springfield (Mo.) Cardinals, the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds - and eventually the major league St. Louis Cardinals.

\     \“I\’m going to come into spring training in good shape,\” Anderson said. \“... Whatever happens happens, I\’m going to try my hardest.\”

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