The up-and-down journey for Jeff Weaver hit another peak on Thursday, as he was recalled by the Dodgers to help steady a struggling staff. To make room on the 40-man roster, Doug Mientkiewicz was switched to the 60-day DL.
Weaver wasted no time in getting to work, as he came on in the 2nd for an ineffective James McDonald and pitched 4 fantastic innings of shutout ball, K'ing 4. Talk about making an impact in no time.
Give Weaver this - he doesn't give up. He started his career as a young stud with the Tigers. With so much going for him, he went to the Yankees and proceeded to really struggle in the New York spotlight. Needing a fresh start, the Dodgers luckily got George Steinbrenner take trade him for Kevin Brown, and he became an effective starter for 2 years. He's bounced around to the Cardinals and Mariners, before being out of baseball altogether last season. And now he's back.
There's not a whole lot he hasn't experienced. In case you've forgotten, he was the guy on the mound in Game 5 of the 2006 World Series for the Cardinals, getting the win against his old team, the Tigers. He's pitched in many places and many big games, so I think he can handle pressure situations.
Even with the rotation struggling at times, I would think Weaver would be asked to be the long reliever, especially after how well he did Thursday. But stay tuned, because that could easily change at any moment.
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