Weathers report

David Weathers is a good teammate and he wants to win, so he wasan't about to complain when the Reds signed Francisco Cordero. But he admits it stung a bit.

“I was a little disappointed when everything happened and the way it did,” Weather said. “You have your best season and you get demoted. As they say, you take on the chin and keep fighting. That’s the way my whole career has been.”

Weathers understands why Cordero was added. Weathers was good last year -- converting 33 of 39 saves -- but the Reds bullpen overall was awful. The Reds finished last in National League in relief pitching with a 5.13 ERA.

“We needed a guy like Francisco,” Weathers said. “We had to have that because it makes our team that much better. But I would have hoped to be in that slot. That’s human nature.”

Weathers has always been afterthought with the Reds. That was the case when he signed his current contract.

In 2006, he was closer until the Reds traded for Eddie Guardado and after Guardado got hurt. Still, the Reds didn’t jump at the chance to bring Weathers back.
They signed Mike Stanton first. Weathers wanted to come back but the Reds weren’t willing to pay what they paid Stanton.

Weathers left to a $10 million, three-year deal from San Francisco on the table to sign with the Reds for two years and $5 million -- $500,000 less than Stanton’s deal.

“It took so long to get a deal done,” Weathers said. “If compared me to what every other guy was doing, I was doing my job as well better as anyone – with the saves, the holds and all that.

“You’re only human. You do feel underappreciated – or taken for granted,” Weathers said. “I felt that way. You sit around and see everyone else get rewarded.”