Moyer says Phils "misled" him, Phils respond
I was on the radio before the clubhouse opened and was asked if Moyer would criticize the team for moving him to the bullpen. I said no, Jamie Moyer might be privately grousing, but he is way to savvy and protective of his own image to rip the team in public. I was very, very, wrong.
Moyer says Phils "misled" him, Phils respond
Andy Martino
I was on the radio before the clubhouse opened and was asked if Moyer would criticize the team for moving him to the bullpen. I said no, Jamie Moyer might be privately grousing, but he is way to savvy and protective of his own image to rip the team in public. I was very, very, wrong.
Here's a more fully fleshed out description of the events as they unfolded:
Jamie Moyer sat alone in the stands at Wrigley Field this afternoon, staring at the infield. He made his major league debut here on June 16, 1986, pitching for the Cubs against the Phillies and his boyhood hero, Steve Carlton.
After a few silent minutes, he sent for the media, and expressed strong displeasure about a late-career development. Moyer, 46, is 10-9, with a 5.47 earned run average this season, and Monday was assigned to the bullpen to accommodate Pedro Martinez, who will make his Phillies debut today as a member of the starting rotation.
“I’m really not happy with this decision that the Phillies have made,” Moyer said. “I will take what they’ve asked me to do, but I’m not real excited about the decision that’s been made.”
Moyer said that, when he negotiated his TK contract with the Phils last winter, he felt that an understanding existed between him, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. and owner David Montgomery that he would start.
"I feel like I've been misled,” Moyer said. “I’m a little disheartened a little bit 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. Ruben [Amaro Jr.], 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.”
Amaro and Montgomery were not in Chicago with the team. Amaro said through a team representative that “When we signed Jamie Moyer it was under the pretense of him being a starter. But right now circumstances have changed….we’re not going to get into any contract negotiations. That’s between players and club.”
Manager Charlie Manuel said that the decision to remove Moyer from the rotation was agonizing. “The toughest decision I ever made,” Manuel said. “It was very hard. What do you want me to say?”
Manuel added that while he did not know what Moyer’s role in the bullpen would be, he would feel comfortable utilizing the lefty as he does Scott Eyre, in hey situations against lefthanded hitters.
“We will look for places to pitch him and keep him sharp and you never know what’s going to happen,” he said.
Martinez said that “he has all the regard in the world” for Moyer. “I don’t have enough words to say how I feel about Jamie.”
Moyer, on the other hand, has no trouble finding words. “Whether I like it or not, this is the situation I’m in,” he said. “I will deal with it. I will deal with it in a respectful way. I’ll be respectful to my teammates. I do not want to be a distraction, and I refuse to be a distraction. It’s about the 25 players that are here and are playing. We all have to pick each other up. We all have to support each other And we all have to be professional."
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You be the judge: Was HE being professional today?
Comments (130)
I have no problem with this as long as the complaints stop here. I didnt expect him to be like "this... is... AWESOME! I cannot wait to sit in the bullpen all game!". if he said he wasnt dissapointed, then I would have a problem. hell, I would tell him to retire. as long as he doesnt complain or whine about it after today, I am fine with this. jamie was part of great story last year, and I hope the fans give him a huge ovation when he steps out of the bullpen and on to the mound for the 1st time in philly.— ChampAnderson
Comment removed.- Moyer is 6-2 with a 3.88 ERA on the road. Just start him on the road. Why is that so difficult to figure out??— Gnip Gnop
- If he didnt want to complain......how and why did say what he said to the papers.....I am suprised....— schwike
- what did you expect him to say? "I stink, im a loser, such a letdown." cmon, Moyer has some pride, he's just displaying that fire. leave it alone.
- Moyer needs to shut up and act like a man. He won his championship and Carrassco could not win a spot in spring training, plus the phillies stuck to their word and gave Chan Ho Park the 5th spot they promised him when they signed him. Think how much better the record would be if we let Happ have the spot in the rotation he deserved from day 1. The Phillies have been loyal to the old man, but there are limits, and his ineffectiveness has proven detrimental to the team. Play-off baseball is much tighter then regular season, every pitch matters, and you cannot spot a team 5 runs through 2 frames and expect to win in a 7 game series. Whether or not he wins the rotation spot back this year or not, he should do the honorable thing and retire, he is stealing money this year and he is not getting any better...the phillies will not cut him, they would still be responsible for his salary, if he retires they are off the hook. The phillies would be better off bringing up Andrew Carpenter or Kyle Kendrick, who have both been extremely effective in Lehigh this year. Thanks for the memories of last year, take your ball and go home.— tkohl
- Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
- He held the Phils up for a second year on his contract. So far, it looks like a big gift for him. Would he rather be in Kansas City?— StevenT
- TIME TO MOW THE LAWN, JAMIE... 2 YRS. CONTRACT WAS YOUR GIFT
- TIME TO MOW THE LAWN, JAMIE... 2 YRS. CONTRACT WAS YOUR GIFT
- What did you want Jamie, a guarantee that as much as you could suck, you will always have a position in the rotation? That's not the way life works. I constantly hear what a professional he is. If he is such a professional, TEAM player - he should keep his mouth shut and stop whining. I think Pedro is going to flop anyway, so in the next month he will be back. Why should I think Pedro is going to be successful - he sucked in the minor leagues, and by the 5th inning he was toast.— Bobphxville
- Thanks for pouring your heart out for the team and the city Jamie...Hopefully, there's a few more big time performances left in that arm of yours...There was no way to predict that Myers would get injured; Hamels would struggle; they'd sign Pedro; Happ would excel; and They'd pull of the excellent trade for Lee and that he'd actually be great. Don't burn any bridges and perhaps the light will shine on you as the season progresses. But the change had to be made.— hope55
- C'mon Jamie you really think you were guaranteed a spot in the rotation no matter the performance of your pitching? Your contract is guaranteed so its not like you will be losing any money. Your ERA is atrociously high and you have all those wins because of the Phillies offense. Phillies have to whats best for them and giving Pedro a chance to pitch is what they need to do.— pdditty
- moyer has had his 15 minutes of spotlight last year. He needs to know his skills are diminishing and take a seat in the pen and teach the young pitchers how to pitch like a crafty old pro. He has more value as a coach than a player now and the phillies should fire dubee and give moyer his job.— bull48
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