Moyer's career could be in jeopardy
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Moyer's career could be in jeopardy
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
ST. LOUIS -- For 25 years, Jamie Moyer has defied all odds. He's soft-tossed his way into record books, pitching well beyond any expectations ever set.
At age 47, his incredible major-league career could be in serious jeopardy.
Moyer will go to the disabled list with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament and strained flexor pronator tendon in his left elbow. Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. would only say Moyer will miss a significant amount of time.
Amaro disclosed that Moyer had been pitching with pain in his elbow recently. On Tuesday, Moyer was asked if the injury was suffered before his start and declined to answer.
"He had some discomfort in his elbow earlier," Amaro said. "It got to the point where it became a real issue for him."
The lefthander had an MRI Thursday that revealed the injuries. He will have more testing done to determine the severity of the injuries. Surgery could be needed to repair the ligaments and tendons.
If the sprain in Moyer's ulnar collateral ligament is severe enough, he would require Tommy John surgery. At age 47, it's not a stretch to consider Moyer declining the surgery and calling it quits.
But Moyer had two surgeries this past off-season and returned to full health before opening day to earn a spot in the Phillies' rotation. The difference then was the injuries weren't to his pitching elbow.
"He's going to be out quite some time," Amaro said.
ROTATION SET
If the Phillies are to make a trade for pitching, it likely will not happen before this weekend.
Kyle Kendrick and J.A. Happ will be recalled from the minors to make starts against Colorado on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Amaro, when asked if he has any trades in the works, declined to comment.
"I'm not going to get into that," he said.
Read more in Friday's Inquirer.
If Moyer would have stayed healthy I think he may have ended up being traded at the deadline or in August for prospects as the Phils seem destined to continue to fade out of the race.— borncynic- Thanks for the memories, Jamie! I was fortunate enough to be at game 3 of the 2008 World Series. You pitched well though didn't get the win, but it was the most memorable game I ever attended and one of the most memorable moments of my life! 45,000 people screaming and hugging after the biggest little hit in Phillies history. Thanks and be well.— phillyinsd
- Three things I want to comment on. First, I hope Jamie`s injury isn`t as bad as it seems. Most Philly fans were complaining about him and saying that he was washed up, although many of those fans won`t admit that now. Moyer has done his best to hold this team together. Secondly, I don`t understand why everybody is so upset with Happ coming back. You gotta give the guy a shot. Everybody was down on him too last year, saying he wasn`t good enough, and he proved everybody wrong. Lastly, I`m really happy Hamels is starting to shut up his critics now too.— FaithInMcNabb
- I was also at game 3 of ws and i recall his coach from college called into sports radio that night and he said jaime's heart was as big as the ocean. he pitched an amazing game and has shut people up over and over through the years. the yanks' prolific offense was shut down recently by moyer. he's had an amazing career although it wouldn't be surprising if he decided to undergo surgery to his arm. i saw him at the parade and he stretched his head over the truck to see the fans' faces as closely as possible and he had this look of joy. i'll never forget that.— liberty_bell
- Sometimes athletes stay too long and their careers end on a sour note: Ali, Carlton, Mays, and even Ashburn with that awful Mets team are a few examples. Jamie should have retired after the championship season. At times, when it's time to call it quits, they still defy logic and show flashes of their past brilliance, like Ali at age 36, considered very old in boxing, beating Leon Spinks to reclaim the heavyweight crown for a record third time and Moyer making history the other day by stringing a few pretty good starts where he reached his 4,000 career innings and in inching closer to the 300 victory plateau. And they still think they have it… Nevertheless, the bottom line is you can’t mess with Father Time and Mother Nature. Ali, at age 37, thought he could still fight and was embarrassed by a younger Larry Holmes and later lost to Trevor Berbick and finally retired. Now Moyer is probably facing Tommy John after spending the last off-season rehabbing from two surgeries. Is a pretty good bet he won’t pitch again this season. But knowing him, he will give it another try... All I have to say is thank you for all the thrills and a remarkable career. But please, it’s time to spend more time with your family. PS: Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1984, a disease very common in boxers, because of the head trauma that comes with the discipline, and is painful for all of us who admired him to watch him walk now, not to mention talk.— EL Zorro
Comment removed.- get well jamie.....rest ,and relaxation.and hey ruben,better get more arms before the deadline,maybe...a top starter........— t_darb_56
- At least he won't have to worry about paying the bills like so many of the people I know today do.— jraab12
- This is a tough one for us guys over 40 pulling for JMo... Hope to see ya heal up bro, hope the doc's got it wrong, and you can pitch again still later this season. It you can, I'm pulling for ya. If not, i'm tipping my hat and raising my glass. A class act, surely.
- Was At Game 3 of 08 WS also and Mr. Moyer was spectacular. Hats off to you sir. Hope you get well soon.— Bob65S
- Oswalt says to ESPN that he prefers St. Louis to Philly....he's the new public enemy number 1 now if he's traded there. F ANY PLAYER THAT SAYS THAT WE'RE NOT THEIR NUMBER 1!!!!— MOJR
- We would of never have needed Oswalt if the batboy had not traded Cliff Lee.— Bob65S
- cliff lee leads major league history this year in strikout to walks ratio. leads league in era.... thank goodness we replenished our minor league system with a bunch of nobodys. of course, it wouldn't hurt to have some offense, either. guess it's easy to see why so few teams have repeated 3 times. congrats to jamie for a great career!— stopbooing
As he demonstated last year, NOT a nice guy and VERY MUCH out for himself. Good riddance!- Angry Al is not only a bitter loser, but he also can't spell.— phillyinsd
