Forty-five, he was told.
One month short of 46.
"Man," said Maddux, running his hand through gray hair. "He's old."
Moyer laughed when told this yesterday. Maddux is 42. Once the most coveted ace of the National League, he had to sweat out Joe Torre's postseason roster decisions but is once again a member of a playoff team, even if it's as a long man out of the bullpen for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Jamie Moyer is, of course, a little more important than that. For the third time in the last two seasons, he will have a chance to push the Phillies franchise beyond barriers, both self-made and psychological, when he starts Game 3 of the NL
Division Series against the Brewers tonight. Moyer won the final Sunday game that finally pushed the Phillies into the playoffs last season, and this season allowed Cole Hamels to re-energize when he sealed the deal on the final Saturday.
He won 16 games this season. He did it with the same fastball he's had since his days at St. Joe's, the one that rarely gets higher than the low-80s, the same one he came into the league with 23 seasons ago. Someone asked him yesterday about an old scouting report that he keeps in his shaving kit, more as a method to focus, not motivate.
"It more or less just says, 'You know what? He has average stuff, he likes to compete,' " Moyer said. "He's learning how to pitch and he's lefthanded, so you never know what can happen."
We all know what happened. Moyer studied pitchers and pitching. Especially the guys who looked as if they, too, had average stuff. Especially the guys who looked as if they had really learned how to pitch.
Rick Sutcliffe, that very first major league season, he said after yesterday's Phillies workout. Charlie Hough, the knuckleballer. Nolan Ryan the fireballer.
Maddux, even now.
"I like watching him pitch because every pitch has a purpose," Maddux was saying in the visitor's clubhouse of Wrigley Field last week. "It's not just a pitch because that's what he throws. He tailors it to the
situation. That's what makes it fun to watch him pitch. He mixes up his locations, his speed."
It's a club out there. But good luck getting a full membership list. Maddux and Moyer will tell you what young guys they like watching. "I love watching Roy Halladay pitch," Moyer said.
They won't tell you, though, who they don't like to watch.
But they will tell you what they don't like to watch. "Look at how he acts," Moyer said. "Look at his demeanor. Look at how he competes. Oh, look, he's covering first. Doing all the little things he's supposed to do. Backing up bases. And when you see that you say, 'You know what? That's a complete pitcher.'
"It's disheartening to see guys who have good stuff, and know they have good stuff, and maybe not quite have the desire that they should have. They say, 'I'll just get by with my good stuff. Yeah, you will most times. But when you don't have it, what happens? Are you out of character? Or are you still the same person."
It's why he likes Halladay.
"I saw him as a young player come into the league and he had good stuff but, boy, did he struggle. But you know what I really respect with Roy? They sent him back to the minor leagues and he retaught himself how to pitch and he's come back as fantastic pitcher. And I tip my hat to him. Because he's worked at his craft."
So has Moyer, Maddux said.
He became better with age, especially middle age. He's won more games since he turned 36 than in the 10 years before. The more aggressive a team is, the younger it's hitters, the more pronounced his tutorial on pitching becomes.
He wins with stuff that lures opposing hitters into a false sense of cockiness.
"If I was hitting against him," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said yesterday, "I'd look at him and say, 'Yeah, I can get this guy.' " *
Send e-mail to donnels@phillynews.com.
For recent columns, go to: go.philly.com/donnellon.
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