08.25.07
The redemption of Jeff Weaver and the Mariners
Jeff Weaver, whose Yahoo player ranking was 1,157 (a ranking of one being the best) has a home on my fantasy team. And he’s doing just fine, helping me out as I’m one of the four teams contending for the title. (I’ve also had the surprising Gil Meche on my roster, who despite some recent struggles has had a decent season). After a horrible start to the season which included an ERA of more than 18 for a time, Weaver has settled into a groove. I admit I was among those calling for Bavasi’s head, for what seemed at the time to be one of the worst free agency signings in Mariners history, but then again Weaver is prone to slow starts. I’m still uncertain about his $S8.3 million salary, but Weaver has been more than serviceable the last couple months. The P-I’s Jim Moore gave Weaver his props last week . Moore wrote a column during Weaver’s struggles when he couldn’t have gotten Mario Mendoza out, imploring M’s fans to give him another chance, saying he was a good guy and would get things figured out. He has three complete games and a couple shutouts and is 4-0 in his last four starts. He is 6-10 with a 5.51 ERA, still below average, but also remarkable considering his disatrous April. Since he started out 0-6 with a 14.32 ERA, he’s gone 6-4 with a 3.37 ERA since. I added him to my team before this latest hot streak and it’s paid off. Even after a couple good starts after he came back from what the team called a shoulder injury, a lot of us still probably thought he would eventually implode again. To his credit, it hasn’t happened and he’s a one of the reasons the M’s have the third-best record in baseball. Granted, most of his wins are against lesser opponents (the Angels and Tigers knocked him around pretty good even during the good stretch), but he’s solid as a No. 5 starter right now. He was huge down the stretch for St. Louis last year and won the World Series clincher. Could he be on another Series winner in Seattle? A championship in the the most unexpected of years? The Mariners have proven they can beat Boston, the best team in the American League and all of baseball, and they’ve almost caught the Angels. They’ve got a better record than anyone in the National League. As M’s fans learned in the 116-win season of 2001, there are no guarantees. But you have to like an underdog that’s one of the most surprising teams in baseball this season.
