May 18, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels catcher Bobby Wilson (46) reacts after starting pitcher Jered Weaver (not pictured) singled to lead off the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park.: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

In the off season Jerry Dipoto effectively put an end to Mike Scioscia’s addiction that was playing Jeff  Mathis. As the saying goes:  ”you can only help someone who wants to help themselves”. So wisely Dipoto just took the ability to use Mathis away from Scioscia. You cant play what you cant see. Since Chris Ianetta went on the disabled list ( on May 11th) Mike Scioscia has found a new crazy drug –  its called Bobby Wilson. In 33 games Wilson has put up numbers that would even make Jeff Mathis laugh at him .167/.224/.167 . Yes that is right kids –  the batting average matches the slugging PCT. For those of you who still drink Pabst and like RBI’s – Wilson has 2 of them in 78 at bats!! 

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Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

As HH writer Tyler Brett pointed out, Jered Weaver will miss his personal catcher, Jeff Mathis, who was traded to Toronto this offseason. That makes one. But I’ll miss Mathis too. His incredibly poor performance as a hitter made him an easy punching bag. And I showed up for this season in the worst condition of my life. My fingers are all flabby and my typing cardio is awful and now I don’t have Mathis to whip up on during Spring Training (points at eyes, points at Vernon Wells‘ eyes, points back to my eyes).

I’ll be fine, though, and so will Jered Weaver. Weaver struck out two in his Spring Training debut but loaded the bases on three hits before escaping the second inning without allowing a run. He only threw fastballs and curves but don’t just take it from me. MLB.com lets me embed some videos now…

I suspect Weaver and new catcher Chris Iannetta will be just fine as a new battery. Plus not having to pencil in a .174/.225/.259 line from the catcher spot can only help Weaver’s meaningless win totals. Even if the Angels decide to give Mark Trumbo the opportunity to butcher third base, that shouldn’t trouble a flyball pitcher like Weaver too much either.

Weaver finished second in AL Cy Young voting to Justin Verlander in 2011 but was arguably the second best pitcher on the Angels (Dan Haren is really good). An argument can be made that Weaver was somewhat underrated until last year. Weaver is one of 12 pitchers, along with Haren, to accumulate over a 20 bWAR (Baseball-Reference wins above replacement) since 2007.

Of course, the advanced metrics (FIP, xFIP, SIERA) don’t think Weaver has been as good as his ERA has suggested over the past two years. But he’ll still be playing in the same friendly home park with Peter Bourjos (and hopefully Mike Trout soon enough) running down flyballs for him. He might just land a Cy Young one of these years.

Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE

The Angels have suffered offensively at the catcher position for years. They willingly accepted the offensive shortcomings of Jeff Mathis for six seasons, including last year, because of the way he worked with the pitching staff defensively. However, the team finally decided to move to upgrade from the career .194 hitting Mathis this off-season as they traded their long-time catcher to Toronto and made a deal that sent young pitcher Tyler Chatwood to Colorado for the free-swinging backstop Chris Ianetta. The new catcher brings a career .235 batting average with good pop and a cerebral catching style that has made him successful in Colorado. The move is nearly unilaterally seen as an upgrade from Mathis, but at least one Angel is going to miss the departed Mathis behind the plate.

Angels’ ace Jared Weaver has worked almost exclusively over the last couple of seasons. During that time, Weaver has come into his own and become of the top pitchers in baseball. After working with the new guy for the first time this spring, Weaver pined for his departed former catcher:

“I’m definitely going to miss Jeff. When you’ve had that kind of relationship with somebody, you pretty much know what each other’s thinking and what each other wants to do,” Weaver said. “It’s going to be a little different, no doubt about it, when you get a new guy — the way he catches a ball, the way he sets up, the way he calls a game.

“I mean, it’s all going to be different, so it’s going to take a little while to get on the same page, but he’s a workhorse. He wants to win, he’s a competitor and he wants to get better.”

The first outing went off without a hitch. Weaver pitched two scoreless innings, working his way out of a bases loaded jam while using nothing but fastball and changeup for his first outing this spring.

Familiarity may be comforting for Weaver, but the chemistry between he and Iannetta will come in time. The extra bat in the lineup will be a huge boost for the Angels going forward, and everybody will quickly forget the spot was Mathis’ for so long…no matter how familiar some pitchers were with him.