Back from a couple of crazy days in D.C. Spending a few hours at home tonight before a quick turnaround for a morning flight to Cincinnati.Before I forget, I wanted to pass along this anecdote: As Wednesday night's game plodded along, on its way toward a 13th inning, Charlie Manuel turned to Jamie Moyer and posed a reasonable question.
"Are you gonna leave?" Manuel said, wondering if Moyer would head back to the hotel and get a full night's rest before starting today's matinee at RFK Stadium. It's customary -- and perfectly acceptable -- for starting pitchers to do something like that.
"What do you mean?" Moyer asked. "Do I ever leave?"
It's been written in this blog and elsewhere that Moyer's biggest asset to the Phillies this season will be his veteran experience and professionalism. Once again, Moyer showed why he's been able to stay in the game for more than 20 years. Not only did he stay for all 13 innings Wednesday night, but after the game, as the clock approached midnight, he was still sitting in the clubhouse, talking with catcher Carlos Ruiz. Then, Moyer went out and tossed eight scoreless innings before allowing two runs in the ninth. Tom Gordon white-knuckled his way to a save, and the Phillies won 4-2.
"He means a lot to our ballclub," Manuel said of Moyer. "He's a leader. He's a professional in every way. He's all baseball, too. He's a great team guy."
I'll try to respond to some of your comments once I get to Cincy. Meanwhile, keep those responses coming, and thanks, as always, for helping to keep this blog fresh and interesting. Talk to you from Cincinnati.
4 comments:
In 1987, I was a teenager working in a drug store in south-central PA and a customer came in. While ringing up his order, he told me that his son (or son-in-law, I forget) was a major league pitcher and showed me a Cubs card of Jamie Moyer. I'll never forget how proud that guy was.
It blows my mind that Moyer's still kicking butt. As long as he's out there, I won't feel old. :)
Moyer is a godsend to this club. I am not there in the clubhouse or in the dugout but it seems like the other players listen and respect him more than the coaching staff. Is that way off?
Yes, Chris. Way off. Don't bother posting again.
Charley
Chris: You're not way off in the sense that Moyer has the respect of his peers. But I wouldn't say he commands more respect than the coaches. I've described Moyer as the "Yoda" of the Phillies' pitching staff, a sage veteran who can answer almost any question a younger pitch may have and is willing to offer counsel if he's asked. It wouldn't surprise me to see Moyer become a coach, assuming he ever stops pitching. Then again, I've asked him if he's interested in coaching, and it's clear that his first post-playing career priority will be spending more time with his family.
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