Jeff Weaver passed his physical and is now a member of the Seattle Mariners:

The deal with the includes $1 million in performance bonuses for the 30-year-old right-hander, who helped the St. Louis win its first World Series title since 1982: $300,000 each for 180 innings or 28 starts, and 190 innings or 30 starts, and $400,000 for 200 innings or 32 starts.

Weaver also would receive $50,000 if he makes the All-Star team, $200,000 for winning the Cy Young Award and $50,000 for a Gold Glove award. Should the Mariners, who have finished last in the AL West for three consecutive seasons, have an astounding year, Weaver could get $50,000 for being the MVP of the AL championship series and $100,000 for being the World Series MVP.

That's fine, Weaver probably needs the motivation. But what is this?

"We felt that signing Jeff gave us a great opportunity to add another veteran starter to our young mix," Seattle general manger Bill Bavasi said. "Jeff has consistently pitched deep into ball games, and gives his club a chance to win. He has appeared in the postseason in four of the last five years, so he knows what it takes to get to that level, and to succeed in those situations."

Just what I expect from Bavasi, GM spin for "he's not very good, so we'll make something up." He may go deep into games, but over the last two seasons he's been a time bomb waiting to go off in the 5th through 7th. Maybe he needed a few months of Dave Duncan to turn him around. Maybe he'll finally show the promise of his youth. I think the odds are against that, however.