The Weaver predicament

The issue shouldn’t be what’s best for Jeff Weaver. It’s what’s best for the Mariners.

Weaver, now 0-4 with an earned run average that looks like the miles-per-gallon rating on his SUV, says he needs to get back to pitching and work through his problems. He believes he’ll find the answer sooner or later, hopefully sooner.

Problem is, the Mariners can’t deal with any more short outings from Weaver. He’s not only hurting himself, he’s killing a bullpen that can’t afford to bail him out every fifth day.

Manager Mike Hargrove won’t say if Weaver will start Friday at New York when his turn in the rotation comes up again, but he hinted that it’s best for a veteran to keep pitching in order to work through his problems.

OK, so maybe Weaver deserves a break — and another start. The leash should be short, however, because there are guys like Cha Seung Baek, Jake Woods, Sean White and even Brandon Morrow capable of doing better than what we’ve seen from Weaver so far.