ANGELS NOTEBOOK: TACTICS PUZZLED WEAVER.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

BOSTON - Jered Weaver lost a year of his baseball life while negotiations with the Angels dragged on to the last possible moment. And while Weaver said Saturday he's putting the saga behind him, a slight hint of a sour taste might be lingering.

``They ended up pulling the offer off the table (in March), which I didn't understand,'' Weaver said on a conference call in his first comments since agreeing to a $4 million bonus just before the 9 p.m. Monday deadline to sign with the Angels or re-enter the draft.

``If they wanted me in there by spring training I don't know why they did that. We didn't plan on it coming down to the deadline, but it did and it came down to my decision to stay at home.''

Weaver, the Long Beach State star and Simi Valley High graduate, headed to Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday to work out and be evaluated by Angels roving pitching instructor Mike Butcher. Within the next two weeks, he should get his first game action since Long Beach was eliminated by Arizona in a 2004 NCAA Super Regional.

Weaver insists he did not cave to the Angels' offer of $4 million, which was extended in February and rescinded on March 3 after he failed to accept it. He called it a ``family-based decision'' and said he did not fear hurting his leverage by re-entering the draft.

--Revealing video: A review of videotape by manager Mike Scioscia and pitching coach Bud Black confirmed the reason for reliever Brendan Donnelly's recent woes: He's overthrowing.

``In baseball when you try to do more, you end up doing less,'' said Donnelly, who had allowed five earned runs in three outings entering Saturday. ``The cliche, 'Stay within yourself,' applies here. If you try to throw it through a wall, you're a thrower, not a pitcher.''

--Moving on: Jarrod Washburn figures to throw far more than one pitch in his start today. His last outing at Fenway Park ended when David Ortiz parked his first-pitch slider over the Green Monster to end last year's division series, Washburn's only career relief appearance.