Feb. 23 -- DAY 9: FATHERLY INFLUENCE

The other day, I wrote about Jamie Moyer (left with Brett Myers), the 44-year-old left-hander who is sort of the Yoda of the Phillies' pitching staff. Long before many of his teammates reached adolescence, Moyer was already in the big leagues. And, as he enters his 21st season, he's the wise man who sits at his locker in the clubhouse and dispenses advice to anyone who'll listen. During the first half of his career, Moyer occasionally pitched against Doug Drabek, the former Cy Young Award winner for the Pittsburgh Pirates. This spring, Drabek's 19-year-old son, Kyle, is in his first major-league camp. Kyle, the Phillies' first-round pick last June, has gravitated toward Moyer, much to the delight of his father, who dropped by the workout today. "He's talking to a guy who's been through it all and is more in tune with other things that go along with it," Doug said. "I don't want to call Jamie old, but it's almost like having a dad out there." Moyer said he enjoys talking about pitching with younger players. "We don't just take from this game," he said. "We give back, too."

I asked Moyer if he'd ever be interested in coaching, assuming he ever stops pitching. He said he wouldn't rule it out, but he also would like to spend time with his wife Karen and their six children, varying in age from 15 to 2. Their interests range from baseball and football to appearing in a Seattle-area performance of La Boheme.

Other sights and sounds:

* The workout ended later than usual, primarily because the Phillies worked longer on fundamentals. If you haven't already noticed, that's been a HUGE theme of spring training this year now that new bench coach Jimy Williams is on board. During some of the infield drills, Chris Coste, Greg Dobbs and even outfielder Jayson Werth took reps at first base.

* Greg Golson is one of the Phillies' top prospects, but he's still making a name for himself. And it isn't easy. The speedy outfielder received a shipment of bats upon which his surname was misspelled as "Golsom." No respect.

* Spotted former third-base coach Bill Dancy on the field. Dancy, reassigned to another instructor position in the organization, is assisting in spring training.

* The Phillies are in the process of picking teams for a golf tournament, and everyone's name and handicap has been listed on a dry-erase board in Charlie Manuel's office. Next to RHP Scott Mathieson's name, it says "Putt only!!" Mathieson, of course, is recovering from Tommy John elbow surgery.

Time to write. More later.