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I really wanted to see this game. Two irresistible forces colliding to make this a grit my teeth, hit the ATM, and not take my accountant’s calls for a few days, kind of event.
You have Pedro Martinez, one of the finest pitchers of this generation, making likely his last tour around the league. I’ve never seen him in person, and it seems like there’s something wrong about not having witnessed the great one in person.
And Jeff Samardzija, making his first career start for the Chicago Cubs. This is what they paid for. This is where the hopes and dreams for Jeff lie. Would he shine? Would he find a way to get his team a win? Could he take the heat against the World Series champs, and cement his stature as something more significant than a nice reliever, in need of work?
Couple that with a Cubs team very much in need of a win, having lost four of the last five, and this may have been the defining game of the season.
What was the Cubs’ response to all of this excitement and pressure? Implosion. Jeff Samardzija would get knocked around like a stumblebum, and the Phillies would go on to wear the Cubs out 12-5 on Wednesday.
And don’t think that this is all on Samardzija, though he was terrible. The Phillies were standing him up, and wearing him out from the start, scoring a pair of runs in the first inning on some of the hardest hit balls that I’ve seen. I’ll spare you the hyperbole, but let me say it like this; when you’re giving up two easy triples, one of which is by Ryan Howard, you are getting racked.
It only got worse from there.
Shane Victorino would serve him with a two-run homer in the third, a blast into the cheap seats in right field. Then, the Phillies would erupt on the Cubs in the fourth, chasing Samardzija, batting around in the inning, and scoring eight runs in all, to make this whole affair sad.
The Cubs just couldn’t stop the bleeding; hit after hit, first off Samardzjja, then off of his relief, Sean Marshall. It went like this all inning, until finally Raul Ibanez put the exclamation point on, with a three-run rocket off of Marshall.
Fortunately, Marshall settled down enough to hang around for a few innings, to keep from adding insult to injury by having to burn through the bullpen to boot, in this shoddy affair. But that’s about the only good thing that I can say about the game.
Jeff Samardzija, your bus to Iowa is calling. I saw better work from the Cubs’ Triple-A relievers on Sunday. This is probably a good time to talk about swapping him out for Justin Berg.
And as for Pedro Martinez?
Well, this wasn’t the Pedro “I’ve got more pitches than a used car salesman” Martinez, but he was still a pleasure to watch. He’d hang around for five, before getting the early hook. There’s really nothing that I can say right now past that he looked very, very hittable, and I suspect a more competent offensive team would have sent him to the showers even earlier.
It will be very interesting to see if he can give the Phillies something down the stretch, especially in their homer dome of a park.
Two quick side notes: Check back later in the media gallery for photos of last night’s game. I think you’ll really enjoy them. And thanks to smash! for providing the winning caption for our little Baseball Reference contest. And Cubbie-Tim, well, that White Sox Beer Guy bobblehead is waiting for you.
I am not a Phillies fan and not a Cubs fan.
I am a Mets fan looking at one of the best pitchers in all time, Pedro Martinez, make his comeback start.
Not to take anything away from Pedro (he was amazing and made it look easy), but he did not end up the biggest part of the game for me.
In the fifth inning with the bases loaded and one out, Shane Victorino made a key catch while being doused with beer.
That made me angry. I know it is not all Cubs fans and that could have happened in Citi Field or Yankee Stadium. I bet there is even a Cardinal fan out there that could have done that.
So its not about the Cubs fans, but it is about the Cubs.
Why is it about the Cubs?
Because the Cubs are going to need to go to Citizens Bank Park again.
Maybe not this year, but I know Phillies fans are not going to let this go, and I think they shouldn’t.
And it may be this season, it looks like it may even be the NLDS. And the first game would be at Philadelphia.
The Cubs do not lead the central, but they are in the race with the Cardinals.
You’ve got to defend your players, and that may be part of our job as fans.
Phillies fans are the fans that I love to hate the most, and I know that they are not just regular fans.
All these Phillies fans are lovers of there team and will do what ever it takes to make their players safe.
Kind of like Red Sox Nation, just in Philadelphia.
The Phillies fans will not just shower the Cubs fans in beer next time the Cubs go on the road for a NL East trip through Philadelphia, they will shower the Cubs players like it’s their wedding night.
And I am not sure if it is only Phillies fans who are angry with this. I know I am very angry at the Cubs right now.
As I said before it is not their fault, but it does happen to be their fan at their home.
I would not do anything because I am a wimp and too young to drink beer at a baseball game. But I do hope other fans, even Mets fans, get back at the Cubs for doing this to the Phillies.
And baseball should not let this go, the commissioner should do something to the Cubs about it.
Maybe they should forfeit today’s game to make up for it, anything to make it so this never happens again.
I know that in some soccer games in Europe, if the home fans do crazy things they have the next game with no fans allowed in the stadium.
Ether way, this should not just pass with nothing happening about it. Baseball should do something.
Or the Phillies will.
Many of you will comment that I am being childish and that the Phillies fans will not do anything about it. Well, I say you are half right.
I am being childish, but Phillies fans will do it.
It can even be done in the bottom of the eighth with the Phillies ether winning big time or losing big time. One fan that buys a $20 ticket in the pavilion deck.
So watch out Cubs fans—all it takes is one Phillies fan.
After Wednesday’s start against the Cubs, it seems that Pedro Martinez does indeed have something left in the tank. That probably means that Jamie Moyer’s long career as a starter has come to an abrupt end.
Though Pedro’s numbers (3 runs on 7 hits through 5) were hardly brilliant, he only got into serious trouble in the last of his 5 innings. He was not expected to be at full strength quite yet, so it wasn’t surprising that he got sloppy when his pitch count neared 100.
The wind was blowing out, and the few mistakes Martinez did make can be attributed to the huge early lead. Even the fastball looked great, topping out around 92 mph. All Jamie Moyer could do was watch silently and seethe.
Moyer’s frustration is understandable. Taking his frustration to the press behind the Phillies dugout before Tuesday’s game surely was not.
Last winter, fresh off their first Championship in a very long time, the Phillies re-signed Jamie Moyer. Jamie was a fan favorite who had a major role in Philadelphia’s recent string of successful seasons. Put simply, Moyer had a knife to the back of the Phillies front office. Failing to re-sign Moyer would have been a PR nightmare, so Moyer used that leverage to get a fat contract he didn’t deserve.
Now he has gone to the press with the tired “Promises were made” garbage. Two years and $13-million for an inconsistent 46 year old pitcher is highway robbery in itself, but it appears that Moyer expected even more goodwill from Philadelphia.
During the impromptu press conference, Moyer talked about respect. Apparently, a journeyman fossil deserves more than a 3-time Cy Young winner.
I don’t care how nice your story is, the best players play. Moyer might be a great guy, but if he thinks he is entitled to a spot in the starting rotation, he is sorely mistaken. The 2009 Phillies are in great position to win back-to-back World Series. Why should they severely hurt those chances to appease an overpaid crybaby?
Whether you like Moyer or not, there was no acceptable alternative. The Phillies signed Pedro as a starter, the least they can do is give him and his $1-million contract a fair shot. Hamels and Lee are obviously untouchable. Blanton eats up innings and consistently keeps the Phils in games. It also helps that his ERA is hovering around four, while Moyer’s is approaching six.
There was talk of sending Happ back to the pen to make room. Happ started the season there, and the bullpen has been downright awful since he left. Then he turned in a complete game, 4 hit shutout against the Rockies, and reminded Philadelphia just how talented a young starter he was.
A six-man rotation was another possible solution, but it makes little sense. The Phils are rolling right now, and going to six starters would only throw off their rhythm. Besides, if someone else in the East closes down the stretch, it would be unconscionable to take a start away from a Lee or a Hamels or a Happ and give it to Moyer.
In the end, the only thing the Phillies could do was send Moyer to the bullpen. It might not be all bad. Moyer has superb command, and he isn’t easy to run on. And the Phils have already been successful this season turning a awful starter into a effective reliever(Chan Ho Park). Reinforcements are coming, in the form of J.C. Romero, Clay Condrey, Chad Durbin, and possibly Brett Myers. Moyer may be just what the doctor ordered as the pen waits to heal.
How comes fans aren’t calling Cubs’ fans “classless” or “the worst” because of what happened tonight, as Philadelphia so often hears.
The incident occurred in the bottom of the fifth with bases loaded and the Phillies leading 12-1. Jake Fox hit a long fly ball and Shane Victorino made the catch on the warning track.
As Victorino made the catch, a beer thrown by a fan hit him in the back.
The incident luckily was relatively minor. The same play would have occurred regardless of the thrown beer, and security took the man away rather quickly.
However, what if this caused the ball to drop or hit him in the head?
If this happened in Philadelphia all hell would have broken loose. ESPN would be running cover stories on it and they would have the top 10 Philadelphia fan moments which would include Michael Irvin, Santa, JD Drew, Tie Domi and the most recent incident involving the death of a fan outside the stadium.
Chicago fans are going to try and defend themselves by claiming that it was only one fan. Well so was the Tie Domi incident and 98 percent of other “incidents” which are reasons why Philly is deemed the home of the worst fans.
A few weeks ago, a laser pointer showed up at the Philadelphia-St. Louis game. Now I do not condone this and thought it was absurd someone would do it. But there was massive outcry about how despicable Philly fans are. A quick search on Google will get over 10 pages worth of hits.
Will there be the same number of stories, Web sites and videos devoted to this incident? Probably not.
Why?
Simply put, it did not happen in Philadelphia and happened to a Philadelphia player. So the rest of the baseball and sporting world will probably just shrug it off. Honestly, I cannot think of one time where a fan threw a beer at a player during play in Philadelphia.
Is the beer going to cause the same controversy? No!
Jamie Moyer is supposed to be the ultimate team player. His recent comments on being demoted to the bullpen suggest anything but.
Moyer recently told reporters that the Phillies misled him during his offseason negotiations and that he was told by both Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. and team president David Montgomery that a situation like this (being removed from the starting rotation) would not occur.
He went on to say that he deserved more respect than what he was shown by the team in making this decision.
Moyer needs to look in the mirror. The Phillies did him a favor by signing him to a guaranteed two-year deal worth $13 million this past offseason. No other team in the league would have given him as much money, let alone a second year.
The only reason Amaro did this was out of respect and loyalty for the 46-year-old relic, so Moyer needs to shut up about being misled and disrespected by the Phillies front office.
The Philadelphia Eagles are a perfect example of not letting sentimentality affect offseason decisions, something many people felt the Phillies failed to do when they re-signed Moyer.
Moyer also needs to look at his statistics. The fact that his 5.47 ERA is the worst among NL starters that qualify should be reason enough to be removed.
Yes, he does lead the team with 10 wins, but considering how many runs the team scores in those wins has masked how bad Moyer has been this year.
Moyer also leads the team in home runs allowed (22), WHIP (1.51), and averages the least amount of innings pitched per start for Phillies starters with at least 20+ starts.
The bottom line is that if the Phillies have any shot at holding onto their three-and-a-half game lead in the NL East, Moyer had to be removed.
Considering that the Phillies had no problem telling Adam Eaton to go home last season after posting one of the league’s worst ERA, I’m surprised the Phillies waited until now to finally remove him.
It will be interesting to see what Moyer has to say once he is left off the postseason roster as well. Call me unsentimental, but the Phillies should just eat Moyer’s contract in 2010 and release him or tell him to retire.
There are no promises in baseball. Jamie Moyer knows that. But that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be upset about the decision to move him to the bullpen to make room in the rotation for former Cy Young Award winning pitcher Pedro Martinez. The 46-year-old Moyer feels a little betrayed.
He sat alone in the fifth row of the Wrigley Field stands before last night’s game just staring, and thinking. After letting his new role sink in for a few minutes, he called the traveling media over.
Moyer, who is the consummate professional addressed the situation as only he could.
“I most certainly don’t want to be a distraction to my team, so I hope you guys will respect that,” Moyer began. “I’m just going to tell you that, you know what, I’m really not happy with this decision that the Phillies have made.”
Moyer tried hard not to create a side story, but certainly showed his frustration. Frustration he certainly warrants having, after winning the team ten games already.
Moyer continued his soliloquy by expressing frustration with general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr.
“Ultimately, I’m a little disheartened because I know this past winter when I was negotiating with the Phillies, this was a sore thumb, if you will, about this potentially happening. You can’t promise anything in this game, but I really felt that Ruben kind of parlayed to me that this type of situation would not happen.
I actually even had some conversation with David [Montgomery], and them reassuring me this type of situation won’t happen. Again, I’m a little disheartened by the way it’s happened, how it’s happened. We’re still in first place.”
But Moyer agrees the only way to get through this is to be a professional.
“I feel disheartened and misled, but I refuse to be a distraction,” he said.
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, who ultimately agreed with Amaro on sending Moyer into a relief role said this has been among the hardest decisions he’s ever had to make.
“It was the toughest decisions I ever made because of who it was,” Manuel said. But he ultimately believed that Martinez “deserves a chance.”
And he will get a chance tonight in Chicago against Jeff Samardzija, who is 1-1 with an ERA over 6.00 in sixteen games for the Cubs.
Who knows, maybe he’ll be like the Pedro Martinez of old, but if he comes back as the washed up pitcher he was last year for the Mets, Moyer will be ready to reclaim his spot.
It may not be right away, as Martinez is guaranteed more than one start.
“He has to go more than one time,” Manuel reasoned. “He should get a chance.”
But the manager will also count on Moyer’s aid from his new role.
“He will be ready,” Manuel said. “And I won’t be afraid to use him.”
The 2009 edition of the Phillies’ pitching staff should be associated with a few popular television shows like Full House and Survivor.
The first show speaks for itself as the rotation is becoming a logjam of high quality pitchers. Top to bottom, five starters (anyway it’s setup) have the potential to dominate a game. Along with the rotation, there is the bullpen that is salvaging late inning heroics and showcasing talent left to right, amid the frustration of inconsistency.
The latter show may be where the problem lies within it all.
Someone has to get voted off the island.
For the rotation, let’s review the five pitchers as of August 12. The first and most popular is Cole Hamels, coming off a legendary 2008 post-season. Yet, as of 2009, his brilliance has fizzled and his role as ace has been questioned lately. Cole currently has a 7-7 record with a 4.77 ERA. He’s under control with just 28 walks in 128 innings, but his 20 home runs allowed and 144 hits are warning signs.
Then there’s the newly acquired Cliff Lee, who’s coming off his own legendary 2008 (regular) season though with a Cy Young trophy attached to it. His two starts as a Phillies have proved worth and indicate promise.
Thirdly, there’s Joe Blanton. After a slow April, his ERA has trickled down from 5.17 on June 12 to 4.02 on August 12.
The outlook on young J.A. Happ is bright, as an 8-2 record and stable statistics are leading him to a possible NL Rookie of the Year Award.
The fifth and final spot belongs to the venerable Pedro Martinez. The 37-year-old might be lightning in a bottle. This is what the rotation needs, compared to the 46-year-old Jamie Moyer who unfortunately has proven that his time is just about done. Jamie lost his spot due to horrendous starts, inefficient innings, and lackluster hope that anything will improve.
Martinez is a necessary experiment that may pay off.
For the bullpen, rumors have swirled faster than twister on who’s in and who’s out. From the top, Brad Lidge’s closer role is secure. For now.
He recently blew his Major League leading seventh save versus the Cubs, yet it’s too much of a burden to persecute him. Rumblings have Brett Myers (in his quest to make a late comeback from a hip injury) to replace Lidge. Even reports of Scott Mathieson returning in the future of closer role from his second Tommy John surgery give Lidge reason to work harder.
As long as Ryan Madson remains the bridge, then our closer should feel more comfortable with just finishing off the game since his perfect 2008 is long gone. He’s not Billy Wagner or Tom Gordon. For now.
Lessons can be learned from 2009. Who knew that there could be more pitchers means more opportunities? Look at how the young and spry prospects like Andrew Carpenter and Antonio Bastardo were utilized.
The once forgotten Rodrigo Lopez was in a wasteland for pitchers (known as Coors Field) but achieved an ounce of optimism by pitching well in July for the Phillies. Although the three pitchers mentioned above are on the outs, the Phillies have an arsenal ready to strike if the worst happens similar to Brett Myers.
Give Ruben Amaro Jr. credit for piecing together a fine mess.
It’s a sight that’s become all too familiar for Phillies fans this season: Brad Lidge walking off the mound after a blown save.
Lidge recorded his seventh blown save of 2009 on Tuesday night against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley, but fortunately didn’t record his fifth loss.
Ben Francisco made up for the righty closer’s struggles by homering in the top of the 12th to put the Phillies ahead 4-3, a lead that Chad Durbin successfully saved in the bottom half of the inning.
Lidge’s season thus far has been an extremely far cry from his output last season, which of course, everyone knows was perfect.
Coming into this year, Phillies fans almost instinctively knew the perfection wouldn’t last forever, and it’s safe to say no one expected him to be perfect again. But they certainly expected better numbers than they’ve seen.
I’m not going to sit here and quote statistics. If you’ve been watching all season you’re aware that they’re less than spectacular, and in some cases they’re the worst in the league among relief pitchers.
What I will discuss is what I think might be wrong and what could potentially be done.
Let me start by saying that this is by no means a time for the Phillies to panic.
Despite a horrid stretch lately, they still hold a 3.5-game lead in the NL East Division over the Florida Marlins, and a 4.5-game advantage over the Atlanta Braves. The New York Mets, a preseason pick to contend for the division title, are a distant 11 games back in third place.
I do, however, think there is some reason for concern going into the final stretch of the season. As last season showed, an effective closer is a cornerstone to building a successful playoff run.
For whatever the reason Lidge just doesn’t seem to have it this year. He was shaky at best before spending 15 days on the disabled list with a knee injury, and hasn’t been much better since. You almost wonder if his knee ever truly healed.
Perhaps his struggles are related to a nagging injury. Perhaps it’s something else: confidence.
Last season, Lidge’s confidence couldn’t have been higher. He had a swagger on the mound. He knew he could get you out. It was all a matter of how he was going to do it.
This season, Lidge has looked more like the pitcher who couldn’t find the strike zone to save his life in 2006 and 2007, the two seasons that followed a 2005 National League Championship with the Houston Astros.
He’s simply looked lost out there on the mound. Maybe it’s the dreaded “World Series Hangover.” Whatever it is, it’s got to be taken care of if the Phillies want any chance at a repeat.
I admire Charlie Manuel for sticking with Lidge and continuing to have faith in him, because Charlie’s an honest guy, and so is Lidge. You know that Lidge is giving everything he’s got every time he takes the hill.
However, his best just isn’t good enough this year, and I honestly don’t know what he can do to change that. If he is indeed hurt, he probably can’t do much. If not, he needs to find a way to dig deep and get that extra adrenaline rush that made him so devastating in the past.
Or maybe he just needs some motivation. Just take a second to imagine what might happen if Brett Myers came back healthy and on schedule and Manuel elected to give him a shot at the closer’s role.
What do you think Lidge would do? Would he continue to struggle? Or would that push him to do that much better?
In either case, the odds are in favor of the Phillies that one of them would prove successful in the role, as they’ve both done it in the past.
Or maybe they could go in a completely different direction and go with a closer by committee approach. It’s not the best option in my opinion, but if it’s what ends up working for the team then I’m all for it.
Of course, this could just be my eccentric nature getting the best of me.
Maybe Manuel’s faith in Lidge will finally be rewarded, and he’ll go perfect for the remainder of the season and playoffs (if indeed they hold on to make them).
Maybe there’s no cause for concern at all, but I’m still questioning whether or not Brad Lidge should remain in the closer’s role.
What I do know for sure is that the Phillies need a competent closer; they need a confident closer; and they need for those two to be the same closer. Who fits the bill doesn’t matter to me, as long as they can get the job done.
Similar scenario happened tonight.
Phillies are up 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning, enter Brad Lidge, and boom! It’s tied.
Another blown save for Lidge.
The Phillies still held on to win 4-3 in 12 innings courtesy of Ben Francisco’s home run, and in the process took the first game of the series with the Chicago Cubs, but it was shaky.
What would have been automatic for Lidge has now become anything but.
Last year’s postseason hero converted 41 of 41 save opportunities during the regular season and seven of seven during the playoffs, including the final out of the first World Series Championship for the Phillies in 28 seasons.
This season?
Lidge has seven blown saves after tonight. His 7.35 ERA is close to four times what it was last year. He’s pitched in 46 games and given up a run in 21 of those appearances. That’s almost half the time.
Compare that to last year when Lidge blew no saves, posted a 1.95 ERA, and gave up runs in 12 of his 72 appearances, just one-sixth of his games.
Last season was magical. I know that.
It’s unfair to expect a repeat performance of a perfect season, in which Lidge finished eighth in the National League MVP voting, earned the MLB Comeback Player of the Year award, and DHL Delivery Man of the Year award.
And that World Series trophy, along with the image of a victorious Lidge moments after he struck out Eric Hinske to end Game 5 of the World Series, is priceless.
Lidge set the bar pretty high in his first season, and I had a feeling he would slump a little this year.
I thought that ERA might double to a mark around 3.50 or close to 4.00, and I expected a handful, maybe three or four, blown saves.
But a 7.24 ERA and seven blown saves? That’s absurd.
The walks aren’t so much the problem. Lidge has struggled with his control this season, but even last season he walked his fair share of hitters.
2008: 4.5 walks per nine innings
2009: 5.3 walks per nine innings
That’s definitely a decline in Lidge’s performance, but the more telling numbers are the rise in home runs allowed, hits allowed, and the decrease in strikeouts per nine innings pitched.
2008: 0.3 home runs / 6.5 hits / 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings
2009: 2.2 home runs / 10.5 hits / 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings
There reaches a point in which Lidge needs to have his closer role taken away from him.
It’s that time.
Someone else needs to take over the role of the team’s closer.
I think Ryan Madson is the best choice. He is arguably our best relief pitcher and has been on the team for quite some time. He even has experience as a closer from earlier this season when Lidge was on the DL.
Brett Myers has some experience as a closer, remember 2007 when Myers struck out Wily Mo Pena to win the division, but he is still injured.
I think Madson should take over the duties for now. If he does well, he should stay in that role. If he struggles, I would put Myers as the closer when he returns.
Lidge has lost his closing job before. He’s had an up-and-down career, to say the least. I have faith in him that he can battle back and regain his closer role.
The bottom line is the Phillies appear to be going to the playoffs, and you cannot win in the postseason with a closer who can’t close games.
It cannot be done.
The Philadelphia Phillies announced Monday that Jamie Moyer will make the transition to the bullpen due to the arrival of Pedro Martinez.
Speculation on whether the Phillies would load themselves with a six-man rotation, send Moyer to the DL, or move J.A. Happ to the bullpen has been put to rest.
The least popular choice amongst fans, as it turns out, is the actual outcome.
While moving the 46-year-old Moyer to the bullpen had been mentioned, the naysayers argued that he doesn’t belong there, especially because of his age.
A reliever is required to have the ability to pitch more often, which is something Moyer may have trouble with. Although he will primarily be used in the long relief role, entering games twice in five days rather than just once will be a more difficult task for him.
The left-handed Moyer, whose 10 wins and 5.47 ERA rank first and last in the rotation, respectively, is most effective in the first few innings of his starts. Now that he will be used for two to three innings at a time, his effectiveness may improve.
This may be the only positive I see from the entire situation.
I simply can’t envision Jamie Moyer as a long relief pitcher. The majority of his tosses top out around 79 mph, which can be costly in this particular role.
A better solution, in my point of view, would have involved moving Moyer to the 15-day DL.
Here’s why:
1. Pedro Martinez has the opportunity to showcase his talents, while Moyer’s role isn’t affected during that time.
As of now, Moyer’s role on the team completely changes. He is no longer a starting pitcher. Transitioning back to that role could be difficult.
If Pedro Martinez doesn’t work out, you would have the ability to move him to the bullpen when Moyer returns. Martinez makes more sense as a reliever, and he likely wouldn’t object (he has stated he just wants to contribute).
Even a six-man rotation would remain a possibility if he were sent to the DL. Now, there isn’t much of a chance that could occur due to the switching of his roles.
2. Moyer is able to rest and possibly work on straightening out his problems.
The oldest active player in the major leagues requires time off eventually. If he continued to start every fifth day, his velocity and control would slowly decrease.
With his DL-stint would come some down-time in which he could tweak the weaker points of his game. Now that he has been moved to the bullpen, he won’t have much time to tweak anything. He’ll be pitching more often.
3. Moyer wasn’t even pitching all that bad…sort of.
Let’s face it; Cole Hamels hasn’t been all that better than Moyer recently. Leaving the more likely possibility of a return to the rotation for Moyer wouldn’t have been such a bad thing. His ERA is a dismal 5.47, which ranks second to last amongst eligible starting pitchers, but he has been decent.
His inconsistency was concerning, but some rest may have been able to improve that.
I suppose that having a much needed arm in the bullpen is a logical decision. Charlie Manuel usually knows his players, and he knows when to push them.
There aren’t many players on the roster that could handle a switch as late in their career as well as Moyer has, which helps the transition feel smoother.
I’ll continue to disagree with the decision that was made, but I trust Manuel and the moves he makes. He has proved himself worthy of that.
At least J.A. Happ is staying in the rotation. Now that really would’ve been a total mess up.
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