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)
Jamie, there is no "I" in "TEAM"! Of course your ego is bruised right now. If you can't deal with being in the bullpen, then please announce your retirement soon. Thank you for your years of service to the Phillies and retire gracefully while the getting out is good.— sspn09- Oh...Oh...Oh...Jamie's crying...— scottash
- I have no problem with Jamie Moyer publicly stating his displeasure. I'd be surprised if he didn't. But, it has to stop here. Any continued public display of negative feelings by Moyer will be unprofessional and selfish on his part. We'll see what happens.— Fan of Philly
- I thought Moyer was a classy guy and a clubhouse leader. Sure, he had an agreement with Amaro, but at some point it became clear that Moyer couldn't hold up his end of the deal by maintaining a reasonable ERA. He should consider himself lucky, another team might have assigned him outright...look at Smoltz.
- Jamie...You have the second-highest ERA in the NL. Which other World Series winner that you were on carried a starting pitcher that performed as poorly as you have? Who told you to give up so many early runs this year? We need to find someone who can do better.
- Jamie you can still help us....this is not last year when everything clicked. We will need some extra effort from everybody to repeat this year. Everyone must swallow their pride sometime in life and just follow the status quo. You may be back in the rotation sooner than you think! Help us out in the bullpen and get another ring...what could be sweeter than that!— flabird1954
- This is about what is good for the Phillies. Jamie needs to realize that it's not open ended with repsect to being a starting pitcher. He hedl the Phillies up for a second year on his contract whcih will turn out to be a big gift for an outdated pitcher. He is only effective with a liberal umpire whi gives him hte questionable corners on the plate. He has the highest ERA on team. If Phillies don't score average 7 plus runs, he take a lose. Baseball is about wins, loses and winning world series. Lets stop acting like Moyer is the sometype of layal Phillies player. He has only been with team for just over 2 years. We aren't talking aboout Jimmy Rollins or Chase Utley.— thebaron
- Does anyone think that Pedro is any better than Jamie Moyer? I am neither for or against the move, the Phillies should be able to do what they think is best for the team to win. FYI, Pedro has been lit up in a few innings by by Double and Triple A hitters. What do you think the big boys are going to do to him? I predict that Moyer will be back in the starting lineup by September.— doocer
- Bring Moyer out of the pen only when umps with strike zones extending to Bucks County (Feasterville) are working behind the plate. Otherwise, keep him there to teach Lidge how not to be a head case. Moyer will be back as a starter tossing fat ones with agonizing regularity when Pedro implodes, or sooner if Hamels doesn't emerge from his maternity-leave stupor.— rollskreet
I have no problem with what he said but, as Champ said at the begining of the comments, as long as we don't hear it again after today. Of course some "reporter" will ask him about it again, and I just hope he "no comments" them back. Jamie's the consumate professional and a true competitor AND HE HAS MORE WINS THAN ANYONE ELSE ON THE TEAM, so he's earned the right to be upset about this AND the right to gripe about it in public - once. My 30+ years of watching this sport tells me that he'll be back again before the end of the regular season, so don't go pushing him out to retirement just yet. Plus, who says Pedro's not going to get smacked around - there's a reason AAA hitters are not on big league rosters, you know.- Bullpen or waiver wire. He needs to look at his numbers, horrible. Not to mention he only goes 5 innings.— Nezhy
Comment removed.- He needs to pitch better if he wants to remain a starter.— ChrisM
- Not going to be a distraction, Jaime? You just made yourself one!!! I thought you had a lot more class than this....take one for the team this time around. Man up! You've stunk this year!— Phront_Runner
- The team was mislead Jamie, you told them you could still pitch and held them up for a 2 year deal.— brs50
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