Jered Weaver - a tribute to a franchise ace

Weaver was a starting pitcher who to put his heart and soul for the Angels, winning 150 games for the franchise - he was a hot shot rookie posted an 11-2 W-L mark with the Angels in 2006 and established himself as an No. 1 guy several seasons later.

In his prime, Weaver chose to stay with the franchise on a 'hometown' discount - he won 20 games and threw a no-hitter in 2012.

There might have been a natural inclination to compare Jered with older brother Jeff, who was already a veteran MLB pitcher - when Jered was starring at Long Beach State.

However, Jered seemed so much better than his older brother - even if Jered's last couple of years in an Angels uniform were tough, especially as his velocity had drastically declined.

The last time I saw Weaver in-person was when he was with the San Diego Padres in spring training - he was participating in a bunting drill with the other Padres starting pitchers.

No one is going to remember Weaver's final MLB season with the Padres, where he was 0-5 and allowed 16 home runs in 42 innings - it would have been nice for him to enjoy some kind of bounce back season, though that never did materialize and after 12 big league seasons, the 34-year-old made the decision to retire.

Featured autograph - Jim Abbott

Picking up this certified autograph card for about $13 gave me a reason to ‘buy into’ a 2015 Topps Archives Signature Series without paying at least $45-$55 for a pack - I needed a 1992 Topps All-Star subset #406 card of Abbott for my Angels frankenset and while Abbott has probably has made his share of appearances, I haven’t made it to any of them.

Because it is for a project, I've broken the Topps Archives Signature seal and free the card from the one-touch holder - besides being autographed, certified and stamped as a card from a 2015 product, the other wrinkle is the buyback card used is the Gold Winners parallel.

Jason Grilli

I thought Grilli was a journeyman who was out of baseball years ago - but he's actually pitched with the Pittsburgh Pirates for parts of the last four seasons until being traded to the Angels.

An All-Star last year, he struck out out 164 batters in 108.2 innings combined in 2012 and 2013 - hopefully he still has some juice in his right arm to help the Angels in the later innings whether as a set-up man or a guy that can close out some games.

Jered Weaver - sweet news to all Angels fans

So Jered Weaver and the Angels have agreed to a contract paying him around $85 million for the next five seasons - with the way he has been pitching over the last few seasons, it is nice to see Angels general manager Tony Reagins get something done to lock him up for the long haul.

A professional athlete in his prime, looking for that next long-term contract that is going to take his relative wealth to a whole new level is understandable - but sometimes the athlete doesn't experience the same level of success and despite being paid more than he has ever had before, alters the course of his professional career in a downward spiral.

As a potential free agent, Weaver may have gotten a minimum of $120 million or more as a starting point - it maybe refreshing to assume he has had it good in Anaheim and didn't want to drastically change his lifestyle.

It seems like Weaver has really built up an ardent fan base and while he may not come across as being having a superstar persona - he gets fans interested by his performances as the ace pitcher of the Angels staff.

Hopefully Weaver is still a pitcher on the rise and the Angels investment will pay off - there have been pitchers [like Brandon Webb, Jake Peavy, Johan Santana] who have broken down and stumbled in their early 30s, after enjoying much success through their prime years like Weaver has had.

2010 MLB All-Star break events - a recap of sorts

Even though I was excited about All-Star break in Anaheim - I didn't bother with the events people cared about like the Home Run Derby [maybe $60 or so for a ticket to get into Angel Stadium] and the actual All-Star Game [maybe $150 for a ticket to get into Angel Stadium].

It seemed easy to 'whiff' on these events, because when I'm wired to look for autographs - paying $60-$150 for tickets just to be a 'non-VIP' spectator is just isn't going to cut it.

I did spend time at the Futures Game / Taco Bell Celebrity / Legends softball game[$20 for a ticket] the Sunday before the game was played and got a handful of prospects' autographs there including players like Mike Moustakas [U.S.A.], Eric Hosmer [U.S.A.] and Brett Lawrie [World] - though I didn't bother to get Angels' uber prospect Mike Trout and eventual game MVP Hank Conger.

I was able to also snag Jennie Finch's autograph as well as Fred Lynn's - even though I failed to account for the fact Mike Piazza was going to be around.

My goal as far as picking up autographs of the active players was to get some 'big fish' along the way - I wasn't not going to try and make it a goose chase with no results to show for the huffing and puffing. In the end, I didn't get much, but the following players signed and I was able to get them.

Marlon Byrd (2) - was able to get him twice.
Trevor Cahill 3/3 - signed three cards at one time.
Troy Tulowitzki (1) - my best success from an active player during the A.S. break, this was totally a fluke. The item he signed was actually a 6x8 sized 2007 Topps Turkey Red Cabinet.
Vernon Wells 2/2, 2/2 - he signed a bunch and was able to get him on two cards, two different times.

2008 All-Star Game - it is the fans who select the starting lineup and every year, there is a tendency to assume we the people will vote on who they we to see as opposed as who is sometimes more deserving.

On the other hand, Major League Baseball gives fans so little these days - we need something like being able to vote for the all-star game starters to make us think we are more than just paying customers.

For the National League, I want these guys to start - Catcher - Geovany Soto, First base - Lance Berkman [Houston Astros], Third base - Chipper Jones [Atlanta Braves], Shortstop - Hanley Ramirez [Florida Marlins], Outfield - Ken Griffey Jr. [Cincinnati Reds], Ryan Braun [Milwaukee Brewers] and Aaron Rowand [San Francisco Giants].

At second base, I've flip flopped - Chase Utley was having a heck of a year, but he has slumped recently. I think I'd rather see Dan Uggla start for the National League, since he's more of an 'underdog' guy playing for a surprise team in the National League East.

Junior Griffey at times has been a guy who would rather spend time with family and basically do something else than attend an all-star game as a player - yet I think he should start this year, even he pulls out, just because he's done so much.

If I was picking a starting pitcher in the NL, the nod has to go to Tim Lincecum [San Francisco Giants]- I don't get to watch him often, but I've heard all about him. While some of the other National League starting pitchers [Edinson Volquez, Brandon Webb and Carlos Zambrano] are great, Lincecum represents the future realized with an 8-1 record and a 2.21 ERA, for a mediocre Giants team. In 97 innings, he has struck out 95 and walked 38 and I'd rather see him on the mound as a young up-and-coming stud.

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For the American League, I want these guys to start - Catcher - A.J. Pierzynski [even though he is an ass otherwise], First base - Justin Morneau [Minnesota Twins], Second base - Placido Polanco [Detroit Tigers], Shortstop - Derek Jeter [New York Yankees], Outfield - Josh Hamilton [Texas Rangers], Milton Bradley[Texas Rangers] and Manny Ramirez [Boston Red Sox]. As my designated hitter, I've chosen Hideki Matsui [New York Yankees].

At first base - I think Morneau has been having a solid season, though Jason Giambi [who is having a renaissance season of sorts] will probably get the nod, especially with the game in New York.

There is no way Bradley is going to start the game - but he's gone through a lot in his career and while he doesn't get the same sympathy for his own troubles as Hamilton does [for his troubles], Bradley has been killing the ball as well as anyone in the American League.

If I was picking a starting pitcher in the AL, the nod has to go to Cliff Lee [San Cleveland Indians]- I would have given the nod to Joe Saunders [Los Angeles Angels], since Saunders is from my local Major League team. On the other hand Lee has been a little better in the first half, coming back from an ineffective season in 2007. In 88 innings pitched so far, the Indians' lefthander has struck out 76 and walked only 14, giving the Tribe someone to lean on when C.C. Sabathia wasn't doing so well.