Cy of Relief: Jered Weaver Guides Angels' Success, Pulls Ahead in Cy Young Race

It's hard to imagine how this weekend's pummeling of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at the hands of the Boston Red Sox could have been worse. Maybe they could have been shut out in all four games instead of just the last two. 

Thank God for Jered Weaver. 

The Angels’ savior guided his team to its first win in five games with a spectacular performance against the Oakland A’s. For the second time in as many starts, Weaver tossed a complete game shutout, striking out 10 batters while walking just one. 

With the win, Weaver is the clear early-season favorite for the American League Cy Young award, setting a major league record as the first starting pitcher to record six victories before April 25. And the Angels have needed every single one of them. 

Weaver’s impact on his team cannot be overstated. Without him, and perhaps co-ace Dan Haren, the current Angels squad is an uninspiring bunch of decent players who defend well but struggle like mad to score. 

Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu are finally starting to act their age at the plate, often failing to generate even productive outs with men on base. The Vernon Wells experiment is, thus far, a miserable failure. 

Rookies like Mark Trumbo, Peter Bourjos, and Hank Conger all have nice qualities, but are by no means irreplaceable at this point in their careers. Only time will tell if that changes. 

The rest of the names—Erick Aybar, Howie Kendrick, Jeff Mathis, Ervin Santana, Hisanori Takahashi—do not strike fear in the hearts of the opposition. All are serviceable players, but plug in just about any other name from around the league instead and you would never notice. 

Not the case with Weaver. After leading the majors in strikeouts last season, he has blossomed into the game’s best pitcher in 2011 and is, without question, the driving force behind any success the Angels will enjoy. 

Numbers don’t lie. Weaver leads the majors in wins (six), ERA (.99), and strikeouts (49). He also stands second in the AL in WHIP (.79)—right behind his good buddy Haren. 

The two combined have earned 10 of the Angels’ 13 wins this season. No doubt, a friendly rivalry between teammates is enhancing their competitive edge. 

After his sixth win in as many starts, Weaver said it’s easier when the offense comes alive the way it did against the A’s. That’s a nice, politically correct statement, but it’s much more likely to be the other way around. 

Weaver’s influence on the Angels runs much deeper than just his total dominance of the opposition. Just look at Monday’s 5-0 drubbing the Angels put on Oakland. 

A’s starter Gio Gonzalez is a tremendous up-and-coming lefty who entered the game with a 2-1 record and a 1.80 ERA in five starts. His devastating repertoire, anchored by big, sweeping sliders, would have typically had the Angels swinging wildly out of the zone at almost every pitch. 

Instead, however, they looked patient. They laid off bad pitches. They took walks. And they found their stroke with men in scoring position. 

Dropping four straight to Boston was demoralizing experience. However, where players like Wells and Hunter are ending rallies left and right, Weaver is protecting against prolonged losing streaks, something Bartolo Colon excelled at during his Cy Young campaign for the Angels in 2005. 

When Weaver takes the hill every fifth day, he inspires confidence in his team. Angel batters walk taller and carry their big sticks with confidence; even pride. And with the uplift in attitude comes the natural rise in hits and runs. 

That kind of dominance also affects the opposing pitcher, who suddenly feels like he has to be perfect just to keep his team in the game. 

It’s only April, though. Baseball is a long season and Weaver has about 25 more starts to get through before we can crown him the third Cy Young winner in Angels history.

But if the first month is any indication, he means as much or more to his team than any other pitcher in the league.