Yardbarker: Jeff Weaver

TOP 10 GREATEST YANKEES FOR YANKEE HATERS

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:29:47 -0500

by DMtShooter, Five Tool Tool

Note... this isn't a list of the worst Yankee players ever. Rather, this is the list of Yankees that me and my brethren enjoyed watching in pinstripes, because we knew they disappointed you so, Yankee Fan. (Inspired by the increasingly obvious rotting smell in the Bronx, as well as return to the public eye of Carl Pavano and Hideki Irabu. Welcome back, gentlemen!)

10. Irabu. The Fat Pussy Toad didn't actually keep the Yankees from winning, received two World Series rings for relatively little work, and his 29-20 won-loss record hardly seems worth the hate. But in terms of pure ire, it's hard to top the man that cost the then-exorbitant $12.8 million. New York was so disgusted with the guy, they sent him to Montreal with Jake Westbrook, getting back future whipping boy Ted Lilly. Now causing drunken scenes in Osaka bars.

9. Ed Whitson. This one might be before the time of most readers, but Whitson's epic flameout as a member of the 1986 Yankees was punctuated by death threats and people visiting his home. Ah, for the simpler time when millionaire ballplayers didn't live in gated communities with security personnel...

8. Dale Berra. Maybe he wasn't much in the way of real disappointment, in that it was pretty well established that he wasn't much of a player in the 8 years he spent mucking around Pittsburgh. But his 90 games of .230 hitting was punctuated by one spectacular play in Chicago in a nationally televised game, where he was one of several Yankees tagged out by Carlton Fisk in a baserunning blunder for the ages. When you think of the mid-'80s teams that were such delightful failures, you think of the Berra Play.

7. Kyle Farnsworth. Perhaps the greatest symbol of late era Yankee failure, this eternal whipping child threw hard, threw straight, threw often and generally made Yankee fan throw up. As the final piece de resistance, he brought them Ivan Rodriguez in trade, who hasn't hit worth a damn, seeing that he's cursed with Farnsy's essence. (On the bright side, Yankee Fan, Farnsy's got a 7+ ERA with the Kittens.)

6. Jason Giambi. From hell's heart the Oakland A's stab at thee! The one-time AL MVP and OPS machine has delivered far less than the $90 million of salary he's sucked up from the Evil Empire, and while his 201 homers in 7 years in pinstripes seems OK, much more was expected from a hitter who seemed tailor-made for The Stadium. Plus, there's the whole Steroid Embarrassment thing going on.

5. Kei Igawa. This contract flameout may have crippled a lesser team with just the posting bonus paid to his old team, but Yankee Fan has been more or less spared his tender touch. How evil has the Keimaster been for the Pinstripes? His career ERA: 6.66. He's the lefthander of the Beast!

4. Ken Phelps. An '80s era DH who statheads liked because he combined patience with power, the Yankees acquired him from Seattle only to watch his doubles-gap power become long fly ball outs in the Stadium. After 130 games of .230 hitting with 17 homers and 51 RBIs, they gave up and sent him to Oakland. Too bad that the short-term rental cost them a mildly notable player named Jay Buhner. (Good grief, how good would the late '90s Yankees been with Buhner?)

3. Kevin Brown. What a spectacular contract flameout this was. For the $31 million and rights to Jeff Weaver (well, OK, that was a good thing to avoid) that the Yankees paid him, Brown gave them a 14-11 record, a 5+ ERA, and an utterly brutal start in the 2004 ALCS choke job to the Red Sox. Let's just say that if he gets to Cooperstown (and he's got a case), he won't be wearing pinstripes.

2. Randy Johnson. From the word go, the Unit was a bad fit in the Bronx, with snarls for from the start. The Unit went 34-19 in two regular seasons, but when it mattered -- i.e., the post-season, he was terrible, giving them two of the worst efforts of his career and a 7-run ERA. He's one more Hall of Famer (and an absolute lock of one) that won't be wearing pinstripes when he takes the call, and given that he destroyed them as a Diamondback, it's even more bitter.

1. Don Mattingly. The fact that Yankee Fan's greatest man crush was also the poster child for one of the longest championship-free eras of the team's existence is tragic to Yankee Fan, and proof of a God with some tender mercies for the rest of us. Isn't it nice, Yankee Fan, that we can agree on something?

(Oh, and if you really want Pavano on this list, I won't argue with you. Just give him a few more weeks to add to the legacy...)

Super Pre-Trade Deadline Update for the Cleveland Indians

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:56:46 -0500

A minor league update including Rob Bryson's injury, Brad Snyder's copy cat night in Buffalo's win, and Lonnie Chisenhall carries the Scrappers to a win. Also Cleveland Indians rumors on Paul Byrd's trade possibilities, some chatter on Ryan Garko, Asdrubal Cabrera and Rafael Betancourt putting their hard times behind them, Grady Sizemore's camera shy attitude, Ben Francisco's busted slump and Kelly Shoppach's historic night.

Minor League Update: Kelvin De La Cruz Dominant

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 09:54:26 -0500

Young Cleveland Indians Prospect Kelvin De La Cruz took the mound a few days after his good friend and fellow Dominican Fausto Carmona did on a rehab assignment. De La Cruz struck out eight in six innings of dominance. Buffalo had another big offensive night to back Jeff Weaver.

About that Verlander-Sabathia match-up

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:08:21 -0500

For those of you looking forward to Justin Verlander and CC Sabathia locking horns (as if they were deer, what a dumb expression that is) on Tuesday night, you might have to settle for Justin Verlander and Jeff Weaver. That's almost the same thing right? Sabathia has been traded to the Milwaukee Brewers [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "About that Verlander-Sabathia match-up", url: "http://www.detroittigersweblog.com/2008/07/about-that-verlander-sabathia-match-up/" });

Bottom-Feeding Front Office Signs Jeff Weaver

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 16:53:29 -0500

Step aside Morgan Ensberg, we have a new underachiever in town. Typically, I would be excited to hear that the Indians signed a former first-round draft choice. However, with the recent news, I can't help but be less than thrilled… The Cleveland Indians today signed RHP JEFF WEAVER to a free agent minor league contract. He will report to AAA Buffalo. Who's next? Kris Benson? Can I get a R.A. Dickey? For a team that had their wallet padlocked in the off-season, they sure are tossing out all sorts of coin at guys who are likely posting classified ads on Craigslist. Yes, it is the same Weaver that won 14 games back in 2005, and actually helped a team in 2006 when he won three postseason games with the St. Louis Cardinals. But it's also the same Weaver that has a career record under .500 (93-114) and had an ERA of 6.20 last season. Couple that with him being cut by the Brewers after pitching simply awful baseball (5 innings, 64 hits, nine home runs) for their Triple-A affiliate, and this reeks of a move that is just filling recently vacated roster spots (Slocum, Lewis). Fun fact: Weaver was selected six spots ahead of C.C. Sabathia back in 1998. Oddly enough, it was six years ago today that Jeff Weaver was traded to the Yankees for Ted Lilly in the deal that netted the Tigers Jeremy Bonderman, and would eventually land Carlos Pena in Tampa Bay (via Oakland et al). Something tells me that the Yankees wouldn't mind getting that one back. The fact that Paul Hoynes is even considering the journeyman Weaver to be C.C. Sabathia's replacement is just scary. I guess all we can hope for is that he could provide something better than what Paul Byrd or Jeremy Sowers have shown us over the last month. At least we can still look forward to David Huff. Right?

Indians Sign Jeff Weaver

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 14:01:07 -0500

The Cleveland Indians sign Jeff Weaver to a minor league deal.

Nothing goes right for the Brewers

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 18:19:38 -0500

I waited to talk about yesterday's game because I was hoping the sickening feeling I had watching it would have gone away by now, but time has still not healed that wound. I shouldn't have been surprised because it seems like the Twins always spank the Brewers when they come to Miller Park and Friday night's 10-2 loss to the Twins was no different.

Who pitches opening day for Angels?

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:29:32 -0500

With pitchers John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar both out indefinitely, who starts Opening Day for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Manager Mike Scioscia still hasn't announced his starting rotation members or the order of the players. But if you look at the Angels current spring rotation, you can easily break it down and figure which young gun it is. So who is it?

MLB Monthly Power Rankings

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 20:53:53 -0500

Power Rankings of all the teams in the MLB from the Top (Boston) to the Bottom (Tampa Bay) and everywhere in between.

All Overrated Team

Sat, 23 Jun 2007 19:00:42 -0500

My last post covered the All Underrated Team now let's take a look at my all overrated team. Most of these guys come from big markets. C Jason Kendall A's: With a .217 Avg. (.186 at home) and 1 HR and 20 RBIs to his credit, he's either great on defense or he's dating the manager's daughter. 1B Richie Sexson Mariners: Standing 6'8", Big Sexy has a very large strike zone to protect. That might explain the low average (.204) and high strike out numbers in spite of good power stats. 2B Craig Biggio Astros: Alright, this guy is close to 3,000 hits and he's had a heck of a career but 2nd in NL All-Star Voting? Gimme a break. He needs seven more hits for 3,000. Batting at a .237 pace that should happen by September. SS: J.J Hardy Brewers: Nice player, posting some good stats but he's way ahead of Jimmy Rollins in All-Star voiting. He can thank the Brewer fans for that. 3B Scott Rolen Cardinals: His .265 Avg. is 20 points below is career levels. Can't hit lefty pitching batting only .185. Bad power numbers for a guy his size. OF Johnny Damon Yankees: How 'about these stats .296 Avg. 9 HR , 38 RBIs pretty good huh? Too bad those stats belong to Curtis Granderson while Damon is at .249, 4 and 23. Put Granderson in NY and he has a plaque and a major shoe deal. Put Damon in Detroit and he's just another guy. OF J.D Drew Red Sox: Classic underachiever, not even the BoSox uniform has helped him. OK he's a lefty at Fenway, but 6 HR's is weak. Hitting 40 points below his career avg. yet is in the top 10 in All-Star voting. Why?????? OF Andruw Jones Braves: Hitting .199 may put him in the running for all-time worst performance in a contract year. Not a very good negotiating strategy. Should look good in a Royals uniform. SP Jeff Weaver Mariners: Go figure. The guy gets pulled out of the recycle bin by the Cardinals and he beats the Tigers in the World Series. They must have known he was on borrowed time when they dropped him after the season. Boasting an 8.56 ERA Weaver is not anywhere near the pitcher his brother Jered (not the Subway guy) is. RP B.J Ryan Blue Jays: My how the mighty have fallen. Once an All-Star fixture, he's now watching General Hospital while on 60 day DL. Hopefully when he gets back he can improve on a 12.46 ERA. Can't do much worse.

Tiger, Weaver, and Giambi

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 19:08:17 -0500

Tiger's doing roids, Weaver throws a no hitter, and Giambi is friends with Selig

Weaver Gets Win #1

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 04:52:59 -0500

Obviously we are talking about x-Angel Jeff Weaver, not current Angel Jered Weaver. Older brother Jeff who is worth $8million got his 1st win tonight against the the Pirates. The now 1-6 Weaver held the Pittsburgh to 4 hits in 9 innings, allowing no runs.

Jeff Weaver lands on DL

Sat, 12 May 2007 01:54:34 -0500

The Mariners are buying a little time before they have to decide the fate of struggling Jeff Weaver. Weaver lands on the DL for the first time in his career. What were they thinking, signing this guy to a $8 million-and-change contract to be their number five guy?

Jeff Weaver: Back on the Pot

Thu, 03 May 2007 09:55:48 -0500

Saturday of this weekend while I was at the NFL draft, Jeff Weaver was losing. This wasn't any kind of losing, though, this fucker was getting firebombed like the Germans at Dresden. By the Royals! Kurt Vonnegut, wrote an entire book out of his experience, all I'll try to do is bang out a few paragraphs.

Its Opening Day?

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 16:11:01 -0500

It's a weird feeling to be 2000 miles away from the team you really care about, and be in a land where the local team is not generating a lot of excitement...just sort of minimizes the whole opening day mystique. Let's put it this way, when I woke up this morning and realized it's the Mariners home opener, the only thought that went through my head? "That means traffic is going to suck." Which, from a quick sample of the general population here isn't a very strange reaction.