Angels All-Star Torii Hunter questions snub of Jered Weaver
This is the first question Torii Hunter asked Sunday: “Did Weaver make it?”
His friend, the one who called the Angels center fielder to tell him he made the All-Star roster as a reserve, delivered the bad news: Jered Weaver, the Angels’ ace right-hander who leads the major leagues with 124 strikeouts, did not.
“That’s pretty weird,” Hunter said.
Hunter received his fourth All-Star selection via balloting. He said it’s nice to make the American League roster because the Angels are playing host to the game, but said he felt bad for Weaver.
“I’ve seen a lot of guys get snubbed in my day, and he was one of them,” Hunter said. “Especially for a team that was hosting the All-Star game. I thought there’d be at least two of us.”
Weaver downplayed his chances in recent weeks, and Sunday he used cliches — “It is what it is.… Life goes on” — to express his feelings. But he clearly seemed upset as he sat on the couch in the clubhouse.
Angels reliever Scot Shields said that Weaver should’ve been a candidate to be the starting pitcher for the AL.
That Weaver was not selected, Shields said, was baffling.
“I’m flabbergasted,” he said.
Angels starter Joe Saunders called the snub of Weaver “the dumbest thing ever,” and Manager Mike Scioscia said “there’s no doubt that he’s an All Star.”
As he has in the past, Scioscia criticized the selection process, which mandates that at least one player from each team be on the roster.
“I feel that if in a given year, if a team doesn’t have an All-Star, then, hey, what’s wrong with skipping that team that year and going out and picking guys that are worthy on other teams that are having All-Star-caliber seasons?” he said. “I see nothing wrong with that.”
Hunter said he’s looking forward to representing the Angels at the game.
“I’m going to host the whole thing,” he said. “That’s what I decided a long time ago. If I’m here, I’m going to host it, have some fun, smile, kiss some babies.”
Leaning to the left
The Angels called up left-handed-hitting veterans Cory Aldridge, a 31-year-old outfielder, and Paul McAnulty, a 29-year-old infielder, from triple-A Salt Lake in an effort to bolster the offense.
To make room on the roster, infielder Robb Quinlan and pitcher Sean O’Sullivan were sent to Salt Lake, Quinlan so he can get regular playing time and O’Sullivan so he can stretch out as a starter.
“We’re looking at this window right now to hopefully get through this week with 11 pitchers,” Scioscia said. “If we have to adjust, we can, but it gives us a chance to get a little deeper offensive look, which we do need.”
Aldridge batted .309 in 67 games for the Bees, McAnulty .360 in 29 games.
Short hops
Outfielder Juan Rivera, who has dealt with blurred vision issues, was out of the lineup for a fifth consecutive game, but Scioscia said Rivera was available to play.… Right-hander Trevor Bell will start Monday for Salt Lake, not for the Angels, as The Times reported Saturday.
Times staff writer Bill Shaikin contributed to this report.
Clicking on Green Links will take you to a third-party e-commerce site. These sites are not operated by the Los Angeles Times. The Times Editorial staff is not involved in any way with Green Links or with these third-party sites.
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
