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 - Jake Arrieta

It's fun to dig up at least a signed card [if nothing else] of an ace pitcher who has just thrown his second no-hitter in as many seasons - who knows how long this run of excellence will last for Arrieta, but it's fun to watch a pitcher use his arsenal of pitches to impose their will against opposing batters.

I think I got this card signed [along with three others] when Arrieta was a rookie with the Baltimore Orioles back in 2010 - he had emerged in the minors as someone who could be a decent major league starter, but after floundering for parts of four seasons with the Orioles, it took a trade to the Cubs before Arrieta would start to blossom.

Felix Hernandez bends but doesn't break

Despite Mike Trout's two-run blast, King Felix struck out 11 Angels hitters in six innings of work on Opening Night - it's one damn game, but it looks like the Angels bullpen will blow again in 2014.

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.

The future of John Lackey in Boston

There are a lot of things I can say about John Lackey - though I choose to look forward to what the Angels have to do, since they've lost their big gun on top of the starting rotation.

The most disappointing thing about losing Lackey, who apparently signed a five-year contract with the Boston Red Sox, is the Angels never pulled the trigger on a trade for Roy Halladay - if talks were taking place over the winter meetings, then the Angels should have jumped at the chance to trade four or five spare parts, for one staff ace.

Maybe the Angels are one more starting pitcher away [Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez, Jair Jurrjens, Matt Cain?] - from basically having the same rotation that led to an American League West title in 2009.

It isn't doom and gloom, since the Angels still have four competent starting pitcher - the trade for Scott Kazmir this past season looms larger, especially if he can match Lackey's numbers.

The fact Kazmir probably can't match Lackey's intensity is good in the sense - he won't be showing up his teammates, his pitching coach and manager if things aren't going his way.

On the other hand, the fact that Lackey is an ornery son-of-a-gun is what makes him the pitcher that he is - the positives of having the starting pitcher with a little swagger and a lot of attitude is what the Angels will probably hard pressed to recapture.

The future of John Lackey?

The Los Angeles Angels will probably try hardest to re-sign this SOB, because he is the face of the starting pitching rotation - he bitches, whines, snarls and grovels for every pitch.

Simply put, Lackey has the intangibles of being a bully in the front end of the Angels rotation - losing him would probably as close to losing Nolan Ryan back in the late 70s.

As badly as the Angels want Lackey to come back however – the team will be content to move on if Lackey demands too many years and too much money and somehow a deal cannot be reached.

It is a two-way street for Lackey and the Angels – Lackey doesn’t have to choose the highest bidder and if he feels the Angels have made him an offer that falls a little bit short of what others are offering, but still fair enough for him to be with the Angels, he should take it.

While he has turned into an ace and some say may have matured, he still tends to have his bitter beer face moments - the good and the bad is what makes Lackey a fun pitcher too watch.

His swagger and cockiness maybe a little over the top and may not even be necessary at times when he is really imploding on the mound - but I shudder to think if the Red Sox or Yankees add Lackey to their starting rotation.