ANAHEIM, Calif. – Jered Weaver still plans on making several more starts for the Angels this season, but the date of his next one is clearly in doubt.
A case of shoulder tendinitis will force the right-hander to miss his scheduled assignment this weekend against the Detroit Tigers, and he probably won't return to the rotation until the discomfort subsides completely – or close to it.
But he insisted Friday afternoon that he intends to pitch again this season.
"I'm not taking the rest of the year off, I'll tell you that," Weaver said. "If I have to go out there at 80 percent, I'm going to go back out there. But for right now, the best decision is to give it a little rest and see if it can't get better before I have to make another four or five starts."
Losing their best pitcher for even one start could have an impact on the Angels' playoff chances. They're in the midst of a crucial stretch of games, playing the Tigers three times this weekend and the Oakland A's four times next week. All three teams are chasing wild card spots in the American League.
"It definitely didn't make the decision very easy," Weaver said of the decision to miss a start. "We're trying to make a push here in September, and I want to be a part of that. I want to take the ball every fifth day."
It was clear, however, that he hasn't been feeling right for the past month. He said he started sensing tightness in his shoulder during his complete game shutout of the Oakland A's on Aug. 6, which improved his record to 15-1 and marked his 10th consecutive win.
Since then, the right-hander is 1-3 in five starts and has given up 20 earned runs in 29 1/3 innings, a 6.18 ERA.
"It's been lingering ever since," he said. "I've pitched through it before and usually can throw through it, do the treatment in between starts and it works its way out. But it's been kind of lingering, and when it feels like it's getting better, I've had to go out there and throw another 100, 120 pitches and it sets me back.
"I had to make a little decision. I couldn't keep going back out there at 75-80 percent. Obviously, I want to take the ball every fifth day, but I just couldn't keep doing it. I needed to take some time off and get it looked at."
The Angels aren't going to push Weaver to return before he's completely recovered, although they'd probably like to have him available for one of the Oakland games. But right now, he's hoping to throw from a distance of 75-90 feet on Saturday and see how his shoulder responds.
"This is something Weav's been dealing with for probably a handful of starts," manager Mike Scioscia said. "It got to a level where we all feel it's important to take a half step backward and evaluate him to see where he is.
"There's not a pitcher in baseball that isn't nicked up to some level. Guys are pitching with things, and Weav has pitched very well when he's not 100 percent."
Weaver was emphatic that the tendinitis was not related to the line drive he took off his right shoulder last Saturday from Seattle's Dustin Ackley.
He's still sporting a large bruise from that incident, but he insisted he's fine.
"The line drive has nothing to do with anything," he said. "I've pitched through a lot more than a bruise. Let's just get that out of the way."
"Besides," he added, "I'm not giving Ackley the satisfaction."
