The Mother of All Press Releases? Martinez, Moyer and more
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The Mother of All Press Releases? Martinez, Moyer and more
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Well, the press release that just landed in my inbox doesn't lack for fodder. We'll cover the nuts and bolts first, then deal with some analysis. Pedro Martinez will make his Phillies debut on Wednesday at Wrigley Field. To make room for him in the rotation, the club has informed veteran lefthander Jamie Moyer that he will be pitching out of the bullpen for the forseeable future. Also, J.A. Happ will pitch tomorrow night on his normal turn in the rotation, bumping Cliff Lee back until Thursday. Lee could have started on normal rest tomorrow. Instead, he'll start on six days rest on Thursday. That leaves Joe Blanton pitching Friday against the Braves, although the press release did not specifically say that, and Cole Hamels pitching Saturday on an extra day's rest.
Oh, and by the way, Chad Durbin was activated from the disabled list, while Rodrigo Lopez was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Now. . .some thoughts.
1) It looks to me like the Phillies went with the schedule that would keep all of their pitchers closest to their normal turn in the rotation. Happ will be pitching on five days rest, Martinez on six days rest, Lee on six days rest, Blanton on five days rest, and Hamels on five days rest.
2) Moyer to the bullpen is an interesting move. The Phillies have said all along that they don't view Moyer as a reliever. But just because he is in the "bullpen" doesn't mean he will be utilized as a normal reliever. Hey, there's a good chance they tell him to prepare as if he were starting every five days, making him available each time Martinez pitches. Who knows.
3) My initial reaction was curious, seeing as though the Phils bumped Lee back to Thursday. But now that I look at the schedule, it makes sense. By pitching him on Thursday, he won't be available this weekend in Atlanta for a big series against the Braves, but he will get to face them at Citizens Bank Park at the end of August. Had he pitched Tuesday, Lee would have missed that second series against the Braves. So Lee gets the same number of starts, faces the Braves the same number of times, and nobody in the rotation has an extended layoff.
4) How does the rest of the month set-up?
- Tues - at CHC - J.A. Happ
- Wed - at CHC - Pedro Martinez
- Thur - at CHC - Cliff Lee
- Fri - at ATL - Joe Blanton
- Sat - at ATL - Cole Hamels
- Sun - at ATL - J.A. Happ
- Mon - OFF - None
- Tue - ARI - Pedro Martinez
- 8/19 - ARI - Cliff Lee
- 8/20 - ARI - Joe Blanton
- 8/21 - at NYM - Cole Hamels
- 8/22 - at NYM - J.A. Happ
- 8/23 - at NYM - Pedro Martinez
- 8/24 - at NYM - Cliff Lee
- 8/25 - at PIT - Joe Blanton
- 8/26 - at PIT - Cole Hamels
- 8/27 - at PIT - J.A. Happ
- 8/28 - ATL - Pedro Martinez
- 8/29 - ATL - Cliff Lee
- 8/30 - ATL - Joe Blanton
- 8/31 - OFF -
Comments (93)
8/23 Pedro vs the "Muts" can't wait for that game!— usonis- Jamie Moyer received a nice ovation at the ballpark yesterday when he left the game despite a mediocre pitching performance. Moyer has been a class act and I was glad to see the crowd show him proper respect. That said, the Phils are in a pennant-race and winning games trumps senior honors. Bring on Pedro.— smel4727
- Rich Dubee is the worst pitching coach in baseball. Since the Cliff Lee trade last Thursday, Cliff Lee is 2-0 and the other Dubee dreck starters that he contaminated are 1-8. FIRE RICH DUBEE NOW! Replace him with Leo Mazzone for the strecth run for a wake up call! FIRE RICH DUBEE NOW!— Dr. Michael
- Agreed, smel— JimG
- nice Lee on lidge bobble head night; could he pitch a complete game and leave Lidge off the field?— freddymc13
- nice - no lidge on bobble head night; lee pitches CGS— freddymc13
Comment removed.- Yeah he wins the WS last year and now he's the worst coach ever. You are a genius.— cdedrick05
- Lidge bobble heads should come complete with a built to scale tape measure for assessing the long home runs he gives up. Maybe an optional Albert Pujols complimentary bobble head as well.— maximusud
- A shouted out thanks to Moyer, you're still here Jamie keep it light. I certainly hope Pedro does well but by what we've seen so far I don't see it happening, c'mon Martinez, prove me wrong, please!!!— DJ
This also gives the best break between left and right handed pitchers. Only back to back lefties are Hamels/Happ.- What is the hurry to start Pedro? Should have given him one more start in the minors and then added him to the rotation in Moyers spot.— abspe
- Jamie will be back in the rotation---either mid-Aug, Sept or next April. In the meantime, might I suggest the Phils use Moyer instead of Eric Bruntlett in the 25th man, jack-of-all-trades role. Sure, he's left-handed and a pitcher by trade. But he has a higher on-base percentage than Bruntlett (.263 vs. .200).— hankOceann
- I'm pumped.. You hold you breath evey time Jamie takes the mound. Let's see if we can catch a lighting in the bottle with Pedro.. None of us can feel to bad for Moyer he collects the rest of this year's 7 million with next year's 7 coming. Be a good soldier help the staff with your support...— ejw2381
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- Murph, your coverage of the Phils this season continues to be spot on. Exactly what we want to know, when we need to know it, and with no stone unturned. Thanks for going the extra mile on this blog to keep us informed.— bobo_29
- None of this will matter as much if they don't start scoring some runs more consistently.— tdubburns3
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- No loyalty?? How about Moyer holding out for another season during contract negotiations last offseason. I genuinely like the guy, but he's been on borrowed time for quite a while now. He certainly didn't give his team the "hometown discount" when they got him his ring last fall.— Lambostik
- Philly10: Moyer has one of the worst (if not worst) ERAs of starters with 100 or so innings. This is an occupation where performance matters. And PLEASE, stop using all caps and stop thinking that a pitcher's wins tell the whole story— 93phils
- Good point, Lambostick. Moyer held the Phils HOSTAGE in the offseason. Remember the Milwaukee rumors? He should have taken a hometown discount but did not. Why is everyone forgetting this? He did nothing in the playoffs last year too!!— 93phils
- Philly 10 is right. Why coulnt the Phillies have let Jamie stay in the rotation until they see how Martinez will pitch? Martinez hasnt pitched well since 2005. Jamie hasnt missed a start since he joined the Phils. Last year he was the most consistantly good pitcher. He is a classy "team" guy; not a "me" guy like Martinez. I look forward to when Jamie is back as a starter.— Chris Chapin
- They should put the bobble head on backwards.
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- hank...funny. Seriously, can't they bring up Cairo or Cervenak? Or do something? Now just replace Lidge with Myers and we'll be okay.— aerussel
- Chapin: Unfortunately, "last year" and "classy guy" dont translate to being what is best for the Phils right now. Pedro deserves a few starts to see what he has— 93phils
- The rate at which the Phils starters make earlier exits I think Jamie will still get some goo innings. BTW, Dubee is so bad that's why the Phillies bullpen has been among the best for the last couple years and he helped mold whiny Park into a pretty good long relief guy. Also, Moyer looked pretty good for a little while yesterday so coupling him with Pedro until Pedro works toward 7 or 8 innings may actually work out. I just hope they will be able to share their Cy Young award and we can all live happily ever after!— Phils_World_Champs
- I figure this experiment will last three starts. Jamie will look good at that point. The grass always looks greener...— Bobphxville
- I think Pedro has been eyeing up Charlie's head. I think he figures that if he bounced Zimmers head against the turf, he probably could take Charlie...— Bobphxville
- I agree with Doc - How about replacing Dubee with Jaime Moyer. Do fans really think Rich Dubee has control of the pitching staff... I don't— BurtonT
- Lopez to 'pigs. One of 'pigs to Reading, one of Reading hurlers to Lakewood or Clearwater. In any event we have one too many people. Can we agree that it is time to ship PHILLY10 to the Mars Maruaders ? There is 'no loyalty" available to a washed up CAPS blogger.— mick314
- Philly10 - you are really over-praising Meyers who has had a lot of runs to work with. He is scary now. I think Martinez is not going to pitch very well but would you rather have Happ taken out of the rotation?— sportsdead
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- Who goes when they activate Pedro -- Tyler Walker, I guess. But then there isn't room for both Condrey and JC.— RichNC
- Lee was bumped back so that everyone would get at least 5 days of rest but no one would have more than 6 days of rest.— JimG
- Hey Dr.Michael our pitching has been fine you moron. If you followed baseball the Phillies in the last 11 games are the worst in the NL in runs per game at 2.6. If they just gave some sign of life for hitting we wouldn't be in a slump. Dubee is a great coach, I mean to be honest all of us last year thought our pitching staff was bad and he got the best out of all of them and we won a World Series. So chill out and get your facts right before you put your idiotic opinion on here.— Joe WS
- Bring on Malzone. He at least knows how to handle pitchers, where Dubee has screwed up every pitcher on the staff. Good Bye Dubee..sooner the better— tulsaphil
- They messed up a possible Lee Vs Lincecum AGAIN!!! I bought a ticket too... grr.— Mo Biggsley
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- HarryErney-I have a Phd and you are a psychotic. Facts are facts-do you have a man crush on Rich Dubee?— Dr. Michael
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- JoeWS-you are a moron if you think Dubee is any good. All of the pitchers have regressed this year and 10 or more have been on the DL with injuries due to bad mechanics. It's obvious that you went to a community college and have an IQ below 80. Are you a government worker too?— Dr. Michael
- This is a good move and Moyer must have seen the writing on the wall. As for signing Smoltz or Glavine over Pedro, I've never heard anything more ridiculous. The Sox gave Smoltz around 7mill for his terrible outings. 1mill for Pedro is a deal even if it doesn't work out. Remember, this is a business and tough decisions have to be made regardless of everyone's feelings for Moyer.— jonnyb0916
- Philly10, take the caps lock off for chrissakes.— jonnyb0916
- Philly10, turn the CAPS LOCK off— mgm1117
- Jamie Moyer and his agent held up the Phillies front office for a second year on his contract in the offseason. He doesn't need any reminders that this is a business. That said, I wish nothing but the best for Jamie. He is a class act.— Rick Wise Guy
- If Dubee is so bad, how did Phillies pitchers manage to have the sixth best ERA in the major leagues last year and the best ERA in the playoffs on the way to winning the World Series? How did pitchers like Romero, Blanton, Moyer, Condrey, Hamels, Lidge, Madson and Durbin manage to improve their statistics while working under Dubee vs. their performances in previous years? Seriously, what accounts for all that success? It all happened despite Dubee? Does anyone have evidence he has no contact with his pitchers, or that they explicitly ignore everything he ever says? Also, please detail the bad mechanics taught by Dubee that have landed these "10 or more" pitchers on the DL, as opposed to the healthful mechanics they employed prior. Or could it be that almost all our pitchers are on the DL because they all logged more innings than normal last year and are older players (age is highly correlated with increased injury. See: life, the Mets)... Please feel free to use any facts or Phd's you might have to aid in your reply.— PhilaLogic
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- ejw, I agree, how can we feel bad for a multi millionare. He is a class act and there could not be a Phillies fan that does not repect him or appreciate his efforts, but we need to attempt to win and this looks like a more promising move.— SmartAlec
- Philalogic-Why dont you have another World Series ceremony from LAST YEAR? This year 10 pitchers plus on the DL, Lidge, Hamels, Moyer 3 key guys are a friggin mess. It's obvious that you have a short attention span and do not retain facts well. Instead, you spew your emotions in lieu of facts. Did you go to community college?— Dr. Michael
- Speaking of idiots. Philly10 is back. Dude, all you kept saying was "Get Halladay, PLEASE don't get Cliff Lee". You're another genius. You and Dr Michael should start your own website. He's a name for it ... iamclueless.com— Grazman
- Dr -- YOU are the one with the theory about Dubee being responsible for the failure of and injuries to our pitchers. Last year IS evidence that contradicts and quite possibly disproves your theory outright. I'll say this slowly: Do .. you .. understand .. that? Then I offered an alternative theory for the high number of injuries this season, one consistent with fairly well-known data about innings pitched and pitchers' ages. You failed to contradict my evidence or offer any data of your own. Again, how did the staff flourish so well under Dubee last year -- as well as remain one of the healthiest staffs in recent baseball history? Has Rich Dubee entirely reversed his approach this season? And if so, how? The floor is yours to be taken seriously, but please offer evidence to support your claim as well as evidence to explain away the facts which contradict your claim directly. If not, I'll join those ignoring you and the adults can continue the conversation.— PhilaLogic
- Philalogic...You are a dope for presenting your opinion as fact. I will not argue with an idiot such as yourself. The Phillies overcame a lackluster pitching coach this year and will not repeat that. Brad Lidge is a mess and so is COle Hamels. It is the pitching coach's job for that not to happen and he has failed. Just as you have failed masquerading as an intellectual.— Dr. Michael
- GRazman-are you from Fishtown? You vernacular emotes a no class, low IQ dope.— Dr. Michael
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- Dr. Michael: your arrogance is really quite striking. I venture to say I know at least 100 Ph.Ds (I have one myself, but don't feel the need to trumpet it like yourself), some of whom are extremely bright, some of whom are as thick as two planks, some of whom are humble, and some of whom are, like yourself, believers that the sun shines out their butts, but most likely none of them knows as much about professional baseball as Charlie Manuel, for example. I would suggest that he has forgotten more about baseball than you will ever know. Your need to establish for all of us that you have a doctorate says more about your own inadequacies and insecurities than the alleged stupidity of other posters. As for your vendetta against Dubee, it lacks credibility. Hamels threw more innings last year than at any time in his career and has always been fragile. Lidge hurt his knee in the pileup at the end of the World Series and has clearly favored it ever since. Moyer is nearing 50. Joe Blanton has been lights out this year as has Happ. Madsen has improved dramatically. Your call for Leo Mazzone is funny; the bloom is off the rose for him. You must have missed it, but his Orioles pitching staff for the two years he was there had the second worst ERA in the entire major leagues. You overrate the impact of pitching coaches, whether Joe Kerrigan, Johnny Padres, Leo Mazzone, Dave Righetti &c. Their job is to maintain the egos and machanics of pitchers, not turn them into superstars. By the way, having read your posts, your claim for superiority is drastically misplaced.— chuckw
- Speaking of bobbleheads..............has ANYONE noticed that they now have their rotation set up as Lee, Blanton, Hamels, Happ, and Pedro? They are ready for the post season. I would have liked to see Happ flip flopped with Hamels for the #3 starter, but those are the 4 for the post season. Remember , we are still the defending WORLD CHAMPS, and we are STILL in first place! Charlie, Dubee, and Ruben know what they are doing. It's up to the players to hit, field,throw, and WIN!— SEEK313
- Martinez needs to be given a shot. Jamie's there as a fallback. By starting Pedro now the rotation can be settled by playoff time. We just have to hope Hamels turns into a playoff pitcher by then too. Hamels is now scaring me more than Lidge was 2-3 weeks ago.— s
- Chuck W-I did not "trumpet it." I was asked, so I revealed it. Secondly, I doubt you have a Phd with a silly, juvenile name like "Chuck." You seem to be very insecure. Did your parents divorce when you were very young?— Dr. Michael
- Chuck W...As I am employed as a scout for a MLB baseball team and a former pitching coach myself in college, I find your remarks infantile and your intellect that of a 3rd grader. What man of any consequence calls himself, Chuck? Also, I find it absurd that you know over "100 Phds"....your insecurity and passive aggresive attitude toward me, a man you never met, and know nothing about, is comical. I was an am responding to personal attacks made to me by other people here. It is obvious you do not have a doctoral degree, so please stop misrepresenting yourself.— Dr. Michael
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- I don't think its a permanent replacement unless martinez pitches well. Moyers wins equates to run support. I love the guy and he has pitched OK especially for 46. I think its worth giving pedro a shot and see if he has any magic left. This could potentially be a great five man roster if they all pitch well. That's what it takes to win it. That's what we did last year.— fej
- philly10...you are an idiot...and stop 'shouting'. by all rights jamie should be released...they did the right thing and are taking up a spot in the 'pen (which he doesn't have the stuff to perform in) which should be used for someone with a lower ERA (meaning virtually anyone else in the majors). he only has 10 wins by virtue of the phils' offense...which has been missing for the last couple weeks.
- oh yeah...forgot to say...thanks for the memories and time served jamie! we still love you, but...
- i like the competition here ... it can only help the phillies and make the team stronger. moyer's leadership and presence will still help and the onus will be on martinez to perform. it will be interesting when and if myers can come back in september.— PhilliGuy
- philly10 why are all your posts in CAPS LOCK? Don't you realize that no one takes you seriously anyway. I love Moyer as much as the next guy and he was instrumental to our World Series win last year, but he's clearly the weak link in the rotation right now and the tough decision had to be made— AbsoluteIrish
- hahaha and i love Dr. Michaels assumption that anyone named Chuck cannot possibly have a PhD brilliant stuff Doc— AbsoluteIrish
- If u haven't noticed pedro is a hothead. If they didn't give him a shot he would never b happy in the pen. This is genious. Three starts n we have that wicked curvball of his in the pen..I think hamels should get a break scheduled in there also— utleyrls
- My son and I were at the game on Sunday - one of the most annoying games I've ever seen. It was like a bad movie - The March Of The Soon-To-Be-Forgotten Starring Moyer, Walker, Lopez, Kendrick,with a special farewell we can always hope by Bruntlett. 2008 was special.
- If we are all Phillies fans here, which I thought we were, why would you openly root for Pedro to pitch badly? And as far as loyalty is concerned the fact that the Phils signed Moyer to a two year contract is a pretty genuine show of loyalty to me.— The Time Is Now
- See ya later Jamie. We lost in the 07 playoffs because Cholly had to get you a start so your feelings wouldn't be hurt. He used Loshe out of the pen when he never pitched out of there before just so you could start. We lost in 07 because of you and you sucked in the playoffs last year winning exactly Zero playoff games,if it wasn't for the other starters we never would have won. You forced the hand of the owners to sign you to two years when no one else was offering a 2nd year. The Phillies didn't want to look bad to the fans and gave in so take your 14 million dollars and ride off into the sunset.— sjphilsphan
- Chase Utley is batting .148 this month. Jayson Werth is batting .185 this month. Ryan Howard is batting .226. Shane Victorino is batting .227. The way this team hits with men on base, unless the Phillies pitchers hold the other team to one run or less, the Phillies aren't going to win. Pedro needs to pitch like the Pedro of 1994 for the Phillies to beat out both the Marlins and the Braves.— Gnip Gnop
- Moyer lead the team in wins last year and is leading again this year. Experts who are a lot smarter than I made the decision to replace Moyer with Pedro. Who am I to question this decision? Moyer usually is less effective in late August and September. This year, he was only working 5 innings. Two starts in July, Moyer went 5 innings and won those games because of the Phillies hot bats rather then his pitching. Again, I am no expert but I would have sat Hamels for 2 starts to get his attention. Pitching Pedro now makes sense, if he fails, he simply walks away from the game. I do not believe that he is going to fail because his pitches had movement last season before he got hurt. The says he is much better this year. So I am inclined to believe that Pedro can effectively get most hitters out. I am not writing that he will dominant the hitters but he will get more outs while keeping his team in the for 6-7 innings or more.— jpelle36
- Caps Lock?^^^— TexKolb
- Dr. Michael - how many WS-winning staffs has Mazzone coached? HankOcean - Good point on Moyer's OBP...now if he can field grounders I'm totally on board. Bruntlett stinks. Durbin, Romero, Condrey, Myers, Madson, Lidge = a pretty fearsome pen in October.— tdcuse
- I hope Martinez lasts more than a couple of innings— Gold
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- Jamie Moyer is not exactly Robin Roberts. He is a journeyman pitcher who is out of gas.Look at his ERA.— wildwood guy
- Betcha, Pedro doesen't make it past the the 3rd inning.— fed-up
- Dubee's record kind of speaks for itself. But, someone did ask for an example of a pitcher not listening to him and that would be Myers not doing the long toss between starts that Dubee wanted him to do last year. In fact, Dubee attributed Myers problems last year to not doing long pitch (not sure why that would make a difference). Again, I am not one saying Dubee should be fired; but, just responding to an inquiry.— Master Dreamz
- Stupid DN poll. Who deserves the last spot in the rotation? It should have asked if Martinez deserves a start. Now the DN will say that 2/3 of their responders favor Martinez. How do I know who I prefer? Moyer stinks and Martinez could be worse. Who thinks up these idiotic polls.— abnrgr
- philly10, and Moyer is not washed up? He looks exhausted. SHUT UP! Let Pedro have a chance.— chase2kspc
- philly10 - just because you "shout it" - doesn't make it true. Moyer has had a lot of room and rope this year - and he hasn't gone the Smoltz route and be designated for reassignment. Pedro wasn't signed to be a cheer leader or a bullpen guy - he's shown management that he should get a shot st starting. If it makes the Phillies a better team, isn't that the goal? We all know how valuable Moyer was last season and what he provides in teaching and leadership. However, the goal is to win - and if winning means making this type of move- so be it. They could always be "loyal losers"...— mebphila
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- One of the best boards ever! But people can we please stay on topic and get back to conversations about Murphy's Fonzie jacket?— BudSelig_isthenext_MrBurns
- philly10 Moyer's fastball is between 80-82 mph while Pedro is in the lower to mid 90s. Go figure. Moyer's fastball can be hit by players on the little league.— z03mbm
- Highest ERA of any starter in the NL. The Phils owe Moyer nothing other than his paycheck which he will continue to get. Maybe Pedro will be better maybe he won't. But anyone suggesting Jamie should stay in the rotation is a dope. 10 Wins? BFD. Eaton had 10 wins in 07. Were you clamoring to keep him in the rotation? And as far as leadership A) He is still on the team so he can still "lead" and B)you have no idea whether he is or isn't a leader. Stop pretending you do. C) Who is he helphing this year? Hamels? Come on now. I thank him for last year but Moyer is done and hopefully he does the right thing and retires after the season. And if Pedro doesn't work out I'd rather see a call up be put in the 5th starter spot than Grandfather time.— Captain
hankOceann, say it isn't so...and philly10 let's wait and see what Pedro does before proclaiming he's washed up. We know that Moyer already is--third highest starter ERA in the league. As for Pedro, we will all find out together AFTER WATCHING. This isn't the Psychic Friends Network--nobody knows YET.- Moyer is being well payed for this year and next. I think he will get a start down the line, and if Petey (or others)fail, he'll be back in the rotation.— bristowvw
- moyer was terrible this year. as any starter, for a championship team.— eric6655
- LJL- You keep that fantasy while your touching yourself. Jamie Moyer was done prior to getting here. His wins are a direct result of run support.— sjphilsphan
- LJL- You keep that fantasy while your touching yourself. Jamie Moyer was done prior to getting here. His wins are a direct result of run support.— sjphilsphan
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