When Did Jeff Weaver Learn to Pitch?
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by user Jeeves
When did Jeff Weaver learn to pitch? Can someone fill me in? Is it the moustache?
Either the Cards secretly inserted Jeff's brother Jered into the lineup or maybe Jeff finally tapped into that potential that everyone kept raving about.
I guess it comes down to pitch selection and his attack plan.
In his first start of the playoffs, Weaver lived on a steady diet of curveballs. He threw curveball after curveball to the Padres and ended up pitching 5 scoreless innings, while only giving up 2 hits. He wasn't a trainwreck like everyone thought he would be.
Coming into tonight's game, the question everyone had on their minds was which Weaver would show up? The maestro from the NLDS or the same guy that's bounced around the majors and was cut in favor of his younger brother. Seriosuly, that had to be painful. Older brothers NEVER like to lose to their younger brothers, let along lose their job to them.
Well, the maestro showed up today, mostly. He was there for all but one pitch; a Carlos Beltran two-run shot, which served as the difference in the ball game. Before that homer, Weaver absolutely dominated the high-powered Mets' offense. Even though he got the L today, I think his outing today was even better than his showing against the Pads. First off, this was against the Mets. He had to get by the likes of Reyes, Beltran, Delgado, and Wright. Second, he had a longer outing, going 5 2/3.
He also he attacked batters today. Unlike his first start, when he lived on curveballs, he reached back and threw a fastball that reached 96 on the gun and was regularly around 94-05 mph. In Beltran's first AB, Weaver challenged him with an inside fastball. That's a big step for Jeff; in years past I think he would have tried to nibble the corners. I don't know if this is something that he's always done, or something that I've notice only now after watching Jose Contreras, but Weaver throws from different arm angles. If this is something new, the arm angles may be part of his new found success. On the night, he went 5 2/3 and gave up only 4 hits. Not half bad.
I hope we get to see Weaver again this series. I'm curious to see whether we get the head case or the maestro. If he has another good outing, I think it's high-time to send Buehrle over to to the place where Weaver learned to pitch.
This is from Chi-Sox Blog (www.chisoxblog.blogspot.com)
