JEFF WEAVER NEEDS TO GO...NOW!

I consider myself a reasonable and rational person. Sometimes I have patience in things and sometimes I don't. In this case I did, but after yesterday's pitching (if you can call it that) performance by Jeff Weaver I have run out of it. Jeff Weaver needs to go....NOW, if not sooner. I am tired of looking at the pitching matchups and seeing his name. Because when I do I just write off the game as a loss.

Let's go back to last July, 2002. The Yankees, as had been the case in recent times, needed pitching help. Brian Cashman went forth into the trade market world and found, what he considered, a diamond in the rough. A California kid, pitching on the worst team in the AL Central Division, the Detroit Tigers. This kid was 25, had an array of pitches, including a 95 mph fastball, an ERA of 3.18 and his strikeout-to-walk ratio was better than 2-to-1. So on July 5th the Yankees grabbed this kid in a 3-way deal involving the Oakland Athletics and Detroit Tigers. The kid's name was Jeff Weaver. Oakland landed Ted Lilly and two of the Yankees' top propects. They sent outfielder John-Ford Griffin, the team's then No. 1 pick, and right-hander Jason Arnold to the A's. Detroit also acquired minor league right-hander Franklyn German and a player to be named from Oakland. Regarding the trade Brian Cashman's words were, "We had to seize the moment and acquire one of the best young starters in baseball. We're a pitching-oriented organization. Pitching is what's going to make or break us." I wonder what words Cashman would be using today to describe the trade. Words like "bust" or "screwed" come to mind. But let us continue our sojourn into history.

Weaver threw his first game for the Yankees on July 7th. He had a mediocre start. He got a 10-6 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays. Weaver's next decision came on July 27th in a losing effort against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. In fact, he didn't win his next game until September 10th when he notched a 3-1 decision against the Baltimore Orioles. Between July 27th and September 10th Weaver spent a lot of time coming out of the bullpen or when he did start getting a no-decision. Afterwards, Weaver finished strong by winning 3 more games and finishing his regular season with the Yankees 5-3 with an ERA of 4.04. Not too bad, if you consider that Roger Clemens, the 2001 Cy Young Award winner finished the season with a record of 13-6 and had an ERA of 4.35. The Yankees went into the post-season against the current World Champion Anaheim Angels and as eveyone remembers the Yankees got blown out of the ALDS in an embarrassing fashion. Yours truly sat through both losses at Edison Field. I still have nightmares. Where was I? Oh yes! Everyone figured, ok, this was Weaver's first exposure to the Bronx. He finished strong so let's give him the benefit of the doubt.

In the off-season the Yankees dumped Mike Stanton and Ramiro Mendoza. They acquired Chris Hammond and Steve Karsay, whom they picked up in 2002, was slated to be Mariano Rivera's set up man. The Yankees needed one more pitcher and in a classic duel between the Bombers and the Boston Red Sox the Yankees acquired the pitching services of highly touted Jose Contreras. Contreras, like Orlando Hernandez before him, had pitched for the Cuban National Team. The Yankees signed Contreras to a 3-year, $24 million contract that so incensed Red Sox President Larry Lucchino he dubbed the Yankees "the evil empire."

The Yankee nation was all abuzz with the prospects of the pitching corps. Pre-season prognosticators inked the Yankees as the odds on favorites to win their 6th consecutive AL East title. The first four spots in the rotation were cemented in the persons of Roger Clemens, Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte and David Wells. Manager Joe Torre hadn't made up his mind as to who the 5th starter would be. So he pitted Jeff Weaver against Jose Contreras. Weaver outshined his teammate and the $8 million-per-year Contreras was sent to the bullpen. The Yankees rotation was now set for the 2003 season. Early on in the year Contreras had a myriad of problems while trying to learn the ropes in major league baseball. On April 22nd over the objections of manager Joe Torre, Contreras is sent to Tampa to work with pitching guru Billy Conner. The move to the Yankees' minor league complex had been orchestrated by owner George Steinbrenner. Torre had wanted to sent Contreras down to the minors to pitch and continue working, but Steinbrenner would have none of it. In the end Steinbrenner had his way.

In the meantime, Weaver had his own problems. The strong finish in 2002 was soon forgotten as he started out the new season with two victories and then things unraveled for Weaver. He struggled in his next two starts before winning his 3rd game on May 15th. Since that date Weaver has gone 2-6 and his ERA is the worst on the starting staff (5.40 ). Adding to Weaver's woes was the return of Jose Contreras from his minor league stint and Contreras promptly took Weaver's spot in the rotation. Contreras pitched brilliantly, earning two wins in a row before shoulder problems landed him on the disabled list.

Once again, fate and fortune smiled on Jeff Weaver. With Contreras going down Weaver was handed the ball and told to go forth and pitch. Weaver went forth, but the pitching didn't. Weaver struggled in start after start. He continually pitched from behind and usually about the 5th inning the opposing batters would catch up to him and chase Weaver from the game. More times than not Weaver didn't give his team a chance to win. Finally, on July 13th Weaver pitched the type of game the Yankees had hoped he would pitch from the moment they got him from Detroit. Weaver pitched 8 strong innings while giving up only 2 runs on 4 hits, while striking out 7 and walking none. This was the kind of performance that would give a struggling pitcher confidence. The kind of performance that Weaver could build on.

Jeff Weaver had 8 days between starts due to the all-star break. He had time to savor his win; time to watch film and study his mechanics; time to work with Mel Stottlemyre to correct any problems and time to get ready for his next start. So what did you do during your time off Jeff? Obviously, nothing to improve your pitching. Last night Weaver reverted to form and continually pitched from behind. He threw breaking balls that didn't break and fastballs that were offered over the center of the plate. The Toronto Blue Jays, who are second in the league in runs scored, did what every good hitting team does. They hit. The pounded Weaver and the Yankees all over the yard and by the time Joe Torre came out of the dugout to pull Weaver out of the wreckage he created the Yankees were down by 5 runs. The Blue Jays collected 11 hits off Weaver. The Yankees ended up getting shut out 8-0.

In case you haven't noticed, the Yankees are in a real dogfight this year. Boston is still in our rearview mirror and Toronto is lurking in the background too. The Bronx Bombers, because of a very leaky bullpen, can't afford to have a guaranteed loss every fifth game. That is just about how you would describe Weaver's starts. A guaranteed loss. This kid is never going to make it in the Bronx. I think he has amply proven that he doesn't have what it takes to pitch for the New York Yankees. Every time he goes out and has a game like this it's one more time his ego is damaged. The Yankees need to move this kid and very quickly before the psychological damage is irreversible.

I think Jeff Weaver can still be an effective pitcher. He just can't be effective in New York. If the Yankees can fashion a deal to get some quality in return for him I say pull the trigger and get him out of Dodge City. If they don't they may not make it to the finish line in first place.

Thanks for playing Jeff. Now GO!