Moyer already all-business

LAKELAND, Fla. – Even after 20 seasons in the majors, Jamie Moyer won't recite the tired mantra veterans often employ about getting his work in during rough spring-training games. Moyer wants to succeed, especially now that he's on a team built to win immediately.

His manager, Charlie Manuel, loves that.

"Any time you go out on the field you should feel that way," Manuel said yesterday after his club's 9-7 loss to the Tigers in the teams' Grapefruit League opener.

The Phillies featured some bright spots – Greg Dobbs hit his second homer in as many days and went 3-for-4, Fabio Castro dealt three scoreless innings, Karim Garcia had two RBI hits – but some shoddy fielding, poor pitching and generally indifferent play cost the Phillies, who committed three errors.

"If every one of our players felt [like Moyer] it would be good," Manuel said. "There's no slacking off in baseball. There might not be any crying in baseball, but there's no slacking off, either."

Moyer never slacks off.

He put runners on first and third in the second inning.

"There, I'm thinking, 'damage control,' " Moyer said. "One run or less."

A long sacrifice fly and a strikeout controlled the damage.

The third inning, as Moyer said, was a "different story."

Pudge Rodriguez walked, Placido Polanco singled and offseason acquisition Gary Sheffield crushed a three-run home run to left-centerfield, ending Moyer's day.

"I need a ground ball there. He's a fly-ball hitter, and a pretty good fly-ball hitter. He beat me," Moyer said.

Moyer wasn't distraught. After all, the Tigers are the defending American League champions. Sheffield is very good, and he seemed to have Moyer's number in his first at-bat, too, before he grounded out.

Besides, it is only spring training. Moyer is just preparing to help a team built for success - the first such team he has been on in a while, having endured the past two springs as a mentor for spotty Mariners teams.

"There's a little more meaning than the last 2 years in Seattle," Moyer said. "Every pitch counts. Every inning counts."

So, when he faces situations such as yesterday's, he might bear down a little more. His mindset: "Let's go out today and try to get as close as you can to emulate what's going to take place."

When it matters, Moyer will be a little sharper.

Yesterday he threw one curveball for a strike, which Sheffield fouled off in his first at-bat. Moyer faced a solid team with only a fastball and changeup, and his fastball location was only so-so after his efficient first inning.

He won't even throw his cutter on flat ground until sometime this weekend. He says his arm isn't strong enough at this stage of spring training; throwing it now would create bad habits.

Still, he was happy to stay in the game past the second inning and reach a 45-pitch count, throwing 49. He'll hit 60 in his next start, on Tuesday.

"I'd rather be pushed than babied," said Moyer, now 44.

He was pushed, and pushed into tight situations.

"That," Moyer said, "is what keeps me going."

Fabio Castro's strong showing as a starter in the Dominican winter league has helped set him up to make the Phillies' roster, and he demonstrated that yesterday. The 22-year-old lefty dealt three scoreless innings , allowing two hits with no walks and two strikeouts.

"I do," Castro said (through an interpreter) when asked if he thought his winter pitching gave him an advantage. "I think pitching winter ball helped me out. I was able to work on fastball location, and I had that today, as well as my breaking ball."

He will not be graded on a curve:

"I don't care what kind of advantage he's got," Manuel said.

Near the start of Phillies batting practice at the Tigers' spring site, Joker Marchant Stadium, Jimmy Rollins' rap song, "Wish List," came over the stadium's speakers - to the delight of Charlie Manuel and hitting coach Milt Thompson. Rollins, taking ground balls at shortstop, had to tip his cap to those two fans.

The song was part of a 2005 compilation album of athletes who performed mostly covers. The record's proceeds went to charity. Rollins, who has since begun his own record label, "Bay Sluggas Inc.," handled the potentially embarrassing moment with aplomb.

He even performed a dance move when a portion of the song paid homage to his Oakland roots.

"It's played in stadiums where I was before," Rollins said.

After a couple of weeks of expectedly fruitless negotiations on a long-term deal, the Phillies are expected to announce today a 1-year contract for reigning NL MVP Ryan Howard worth in excess of $1 million. Howard is the only Phillie unsigned. He will be eligible for arbitration after next season . . . Non-roster invitee RHP Kyle Drabek, the franchise's first-round pick in 2006, yesterday was reassigned to minor league camp. He started Wednesday's exhibition against Florida State . . . Shane Victorino went 2-for-3 in the No. 2 hole and looked very good. *