Dream Weaver Weekend

Fire up the DVR and get ready for some long blonde hair blowing in the breeze in SoCal this weekend. Sorry, there's not going to be a Baywatch reunion. It's a battle of brothers as Jeff Weaver takes on his younger brother Jered in Anaheim.

The elder Weaver has pitched well enough so far this season. He's appeared in ten games, three starts, and sports a 3 and 1 record and an ERA under four. The right hander has had a roller coaster career, as has been well documented, but came up big for the Cardinals a couple of years back. But Dave Duncan always seems to make gold out of nickel. Weaver has worked his way into the rotation for Joe Torre in LA and has been servicable enough for the Dodgers. He doesn't work very deep into the games which could cause the bullpen to get some extra work.

His younger brother has had a bit more luck staying consistent with the Angels. Jered is coming off of his first career shut out this past Sunday against the Padres, six to nothing. He is 7 and 2 this season with an era barely over two. He is also showing off his control with a 3 to 1 K to BB ratio. Over the past five games, the younger Weaver has a 1.29 ERA. In any league, that is an amazing stat.

If you had a carnival game and the prize was picking one of the two Weaver boys, you'd obviously take the younger. He has solidified himself as a solid number two start (if not a number one on most teams) and with all the health problems and tragedy the Angels, and their pitching staff, have faced this year, he has come up huge for them.

With all that said, I think Saturday night's match up will be a great one. Anyone who has ever competed against a sibling can attest to that little extra fire you get in your belly. The Angels are playing some good ball of late and the Dodgers continue to stay atop the NL West without Manny Ramirez in their clubhouse. I lean towards picking the Angels, but would not be at all surprised if Jeff can resurrect some of his early career magic to show his little brother he is still in charge.