Jeff Weaver. Middle name not mentioned.
Lilly was considered a great prospect. He did well after leaving the Yankees, and lots of people said the Yankees never should have gotten rid of him. Wrong: He was never going to handle the pressure of pitching in New York.
Weaver sure as hell didn't. As a Yankee, he was 12-12 with a 5.35 ERA and a WHIP of 1.492. A whopping WHIP. He should never have been on the 2003 World Series roster: He almost prevented the Yankees from making the Playoffs that season. But Joe Torre trusted him in extra innings in Game 4. With one pitch to Alex González of the Florida Marlins, Weaver turned a good shot at being up 3 games to 1 to losing the Series 4 games to 2.
Weaver's middle name is Charles. Since the 2003 World Series, however, in the tradition of what Red Sox fans call Bucky Dent, I have continually referred to him as "Jeff Fucking Weaver." The Yankees wasted little time in getting rid of him.
When the Los Angeles Dodgers made their 1st trip to New York to play the Mets in 2004, I bought a ticket -- just to yell at Weaver. The Met fans, who apparently never watch the World Series unless their team is in it (in other words, hardly ever), were clueless. I mean, more so than usual.
Then again, maybe getting rid of him was an even worse idea. On December 13, 2003, the Yankees traded Weaver, Yhency Brazoban and Brandon Weeden to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Kevin Brown.
Brown had won the World Series with the 1997 Marlins and the Pennant with the 1998 San Diego Padres. Before that, he had pitched well for the Texas Rangers, especially against the Yankees. (Having him to start in Games 1 and 4, and maybe 7 if it got that far, was a big reason Padre fans and Yankee Haters thought the Padres would win the 1998 World Series. Instead, the Yankees swept.) The Dodgers signed him to baseball's 1st $100+ million contract for 1999, and he wasn't terrible: He won 18 games that year, and led the NL in ERA the next.
Although he would be 39 on Opening Day 2004, he was good the season before, and, having lost Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte to free agency, the Yankees thought he was worth a shot. But he only went 10-6. Late in the season, after a defeat, he punched the dugout wall and broke his hand.
He wasn't out for the season. The Yankees might have been better off if he was: Torre looked at his exhausted staff, and decided that Brown was the best choice to start Game 7 of the 2004 AL Championship Series. My 78-year-old grandmother might have been a better choice: It was the single most embarrassing game in Yankee history.
He went 4-7 for the Yankees the next year, was not re-signed, and retired. He was 211-144 with a 127 ERA+ and a 1.222 WHIP, but his very decent career had a terribly indecent last year and change.
Meanwhile, Weaver helped the Dodgers win the NL Western Division in 2004 and 2009. In between, he was with the St. Louis Cardinals, and helped them win the 2006 World Series. Think about that for a moment: Ty Cobb, Ted Williams, Ernie Banks, Carl Yastrzemski and Don Mattingly don't have a single World Series ring between them, but Jeff Weaver does. Jeff Weaver has as many World Series rings as Willie Mays, as many as Hank Aaron, as many as Tom Seaver, as many as Nolan Ryan, as many as Jackie Robinson.
The hell?
He went 4-7 for the Yankees the next year, was not re-signed, and retired. He was 211-144 with a 127 ERA+ and a 1.222 WHIP, but his very decent career had a terribly indecent last year and change.
Meanwhile, Weaver helped the Dodgers win the NL Western Division in 2004 and 2009. In between, he was with the St. Louis Cardinals, and helped them win the 2006 World Series. Think about that for a moment: Ty Cobb, Ted Williams, Ernie Banks, Carl Yastrzemski and Don Mattingly don't have a single World Series ring between them, but Jeff Weaver does. Jeff Weaver has as many World Series rings as Willie Mays, as many as Hank Aaron, as many as Tom Seaver, as many as Nolan Ryan, as many as Jackie Robinson.
The hell?
*
July 5, 2002 was a Friday. This was the day that one of the greatest of all baseball legends, Ted Williams, died, from complications from several strokes, at the age of 83.
These Major League Baseball games were played that day:
* The New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-3 at Yankee Stadium. Orlando "El Duque" Hernádez was the winning pitcher. Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada hit home runs. Derek Jeter did not play.
* The New York Mets beat the Florida Marlins, 5-3 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.
* The Boston Red Sox lost to the Detroit Tigers, 9-5 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The Montreal Expos beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-3 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-3 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros, 4-3 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-6 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-2 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-5 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.
* The Anaheim Angels beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 6-5 at Edison International Field of Anaheim (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). David Eckstein singled home Scott Spiezio in the bottom of the 10th inning.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-6 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.
* The Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres, 9-6 at Coors Field in Denver.
* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the San Francisco Giants, 2-1 at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) in Phoenix.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Kansas City Royals, 4-3 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the Network Associates Coliseum).
* And the Minnesota Twins beat the Seattle Mariners, 8-4 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.
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