Jered Weaver Learns a Lesson

After conducting their own investigation, the Angels decided not to discipline Jered Weaver for a Feb. 9 incident in which the pitching prospect was cited for public intoxication in Long Beach, but Manager Mike Scioscia did provide some counseling for the right-hander.

“He said you’re not an average Joe from Simi Valley anymore,” said Weaver, who met Sunday morning with Scioscia, General Manager Bill Stoneman and pitching coach Bud Black.

“That’s not to say I’m a standout or anything, but people are going to know who you are when you hang out. Just keep it to a minimum, have your few and go home. Try to stay out of harm’s way is what I guess he was trying to tell me.”

Weaver was exiting the Basement Lounge in Long Beach and said he felt “antagonized” by a bar manager who was ushering a large number of patrons out the door. Weaver also believed he was “singled out” by the officer who cited him.

Skip Kerr, an officer with the Long Beach Police Department, said the report filed on the incident stated that Weaver “had too much to drink; he was unable to care for himself or to be in the presence of others.”

Weaver, a 2004 first-round pick who signed for $4 million last May, was not arrested, but he was taken into custody, fingerprinted and spent 12 hours in the city jail before being released.

“You see some things you’ve never seen before,” Weaver said of his time in the holding tank. “I wouldn’t say it was cool to experience, but it was a trip to see people you’d never even see on ‘Cops.’ It was crazy.”

Stoneman said the Angels’ resident agent -- each major league team retains a local law-enforcement official to deal with such matters -- looked into the incident.

“Early indications are that it’s pretty much as Jered said it was,” Stoneman said. “We talked to him, and he was apologetic.... To impose discipline beyond what the authorities are going to do is not necessary.”

Added Scioscia: “As far as we’re concerned, it’s a done issue. He’ll move on and grow from the experience.”

Weaver, who had not informed the team about the incident, was remorseful.

“Bad things happen sometimes; you’ve got to learn from it and move on,” Weaver said. “ ... I apologize to the team if it was a burden on anyone. It’s definitely not going to happen again. I learned my lesson.”

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The deadline for teams to petition Major League Baseball to bar players from the World Baseball Classic is Tuesday, but the Angels will have seen ace Bartolo Colon, who is recovering from a shoulder tear, and pitcher Kelvim Escobar, who missed much of 2005 because of elbow injuries, throw only three bullpen sessions by then.

“I don’t know if we’ll know by Tuesday if they’ll be ready,” Scioscia said. “Hopefully, they’ll be ready to pitch in the WBC, because that means they’ll be ready to pitch for us.”

After Tuesday, teams must rely on players to pull out of the Classic if they feel they’ll be at too big a risk for injury.

“We understand the passion these guys have to compete for the country, and we support that,” Stoneman said. “But if there’s an injury and we think a guy has the potential to put himself in a position to aggravate it, we’re going to raise a red flag.”

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There seems to be a perception outside the organization that Cuban defector Kendry Morales will challenge for the Angels’ designated hitter job this spring, but Scioscia said Sunday that it “would be a stretch” for Morales to break camp with the big league club.

Morales began 2005 with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga, batting .344 with five home runs and 17 RBIs in 22 games, and finished at double-A Arkansas, where he hit .306 with 17 homers and 54 RBIs in 74 games. He also played in the Arizona Fall League.

Though Scioscia believes the switch-hitting Morales has an “explosive” bat with 30-homer potential, “You can also see some things he needs to work on to hit major league pitching,” Scioscia said. “This guy needs experience.”