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Daily Dodger in review: Jeff Weaver provides only half of a good season

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JEFF WEAVER, 34, relief pitcher

Final 2010 stats: 5-1, 6.09 ERA, no saves, 26 strikeouts, 20 walks, 1.53 WHIP in 44 1/3 innings.

Contract status: Free agent.

The good: Well, he did go 5-1. Had a 3.54 ERA before the All-Star break. Appeared in a career-high 43 games, not starting a game for the first time in his career. Pitched in nine of the first 14 games before going on the disabled list with a lower back strain. Allowed only six of 29 inherited runners to score (20.7%).

The bad: Had a 10.47 ERA after the All-Star break. His strikeouts per nine innings pitched went from 7.29 in 2009 to 5.28 last season. Went on the DL for a second time with knee tendinitis at the end of September and sported a 15.43 ERA in four September games upon his return.

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What’s next: After a fairly solid 2009, he earned only a non-roster invite to camp last year. Again a free agent, that’s probably the best he could hope for next spring.

The take: Weaver said he’d like to pitch one more season. You don’t lose anything by inviting him to camp, but General Manager Ned Colletti knows he has to improve his bullpen and there figures to be some additions before spring training. Hopefully, fairly significant ones.

Weaver has been given up on plenty of times before and bounced back, so I’d be leery of writing him off. The bullpen needs an upgrade, and he’s a long ways from a lock, but it figures to be worth a non-roster invite to see if injuries were what brought him down so badly in last season’s second half.

-- Steve Dilbeck

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