Sept. 17--REPORTING FROM MINNEAPOLIS -- Jered Weaver was a man of few words on Thursday when asked to respond to harsh comments by Seattle third baseman Kyle Seager, who said the Angels pitcher "quit on his team" by getting ejected from Wednesday night's game for hitting Seager with a pitch after a heated fifth-inning exchange between the two.
But the 10-year veteran and three-time All-Star still got his point across. After responding with the word, "Nope," when initially asked if he had any thoughts on Seager's quotes and if he had seen them, Weaver was asked if he took offense to the comments.
"I don't even know who this kid is," Weaver said.
Weaver and Seager, a four-year veteran and one-time All-Star, jawed at each other after Weaver felt Seager disrupted his rhythm by raising his arm and asking for time while he had both feet in the batter's box.
Weaver's next pitch, an 83-mph fastball, hit Seager in the front arm, and home plate umpire Brian O'Nora, believing the pitch was intentional, ejected Weaver. Though Major League Baseball is investigating the incident, Weaver is not expected to get suspended.
Weaver is in line to pitch against the Mariners when they come to Anaheim on Sept. 25-27. Will there be bad blood between the teams?
"I don't know," Weaver said.
Did Weaver have any regrets about what happened? "Nope."
Then Weaver opened up a bit.
"I tried to throw a fastball in, what are you gonna do?" he said before the opener of a four-game series against the American League wild card-contending Minnesota Twins. "I was just out there pitching."
Told he has excellent control, Weaver chafed.
"If you guys have been watching all season, my two-seamers in to left-handers have been atrocious, so obviously I don't have control in there," he said. "I've hit more guys this year than I have in my entire career. So my control has not been as good as it has been. Hence, the 5.00 earned-run average."
Weaver has hit 11 batters this season, four more than his previous career-high of seven in 2013. Manager Mike Scioscia insisted Weaver's last one wasn't intentional. Nor did he believe Weaver quit on his team.
"I know Weav was trying to get a ball in on him for the purpose of trying to get him out," Scioscia said. "There is nobody that gives more out there on the mound than Weave."
