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Moyer hurt but demotion does make sense

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Jon Paul Morosi

Jon Paul Morosi is a national MLB writer for FOXSports.com. He previously covered baseball for the Detroit Free Press and Seattle Post-Intelligencer. He began his journalism career at the Bay City Times in his native Michigan. Follow him on Twitter.

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Updated Aug 12, 2009 8:33 PM ET
     
 

CHICAGO

For so long, the numbers that mattered were on Jamie Moyer's side. Age be damned. Velocity be damned. The forty-something, stirrup-wearing left-hander knew how to make pitches, get outs and win ballgames better than pretty much anyone else in baseball. He didn't look like a normal pitcher. He didn't act like a normal pitcher. He didn't perform like one, either, with 138 wins since 2000. That's more than Roy Oswalt, more than Mike Mussina, more than Greg Maddux, more than Roy Halladay.
But this decade is ending. And so, too, is Moyer's time as a starting pitcher in the big leagues. The Phillies demoted him from their rotation Monday. Moyer, 46, was still upset about it on Tuesday. None of that should surprise you. The team made the right baseball decision by sending Moyer to the bullpen in favor of Pedro Martinez. Moyer may lead the team with 10 wins, but he also had the highest ERA of any starter in the National League. Phillies officials and scouts have turned in encouraging reports on Martinez. They need to see what the former Red Sox ace has left. "People who have seen both of them," pitching coach Rich Dubee said, "feel that Pedro's ready to help us." It's hard for a dispassionate observer to find fault with that reasoning. This just in: When it comes to his own career, Jamie Moyer is not dispassionate. On Tuesday afternoon, he said he felt like the Philadelphia front office "misled" him during contract negotiations last winter. He said he signed a two-year, $13-million contract with assurances from club president David Montgomery and general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. that a move from the rotation to the bullpen "would not happen." Now that it has, Moyer feels "a little disheartened." Moyer said this while sprawled out in Row 5, Seat 1 of a section immediately beside the visiting dugout at Wrigley Field. He made a three-minute statement to a ring of reporters but didn't take any questions. Atypical player. Atypical press conference. "I'm really not happy with this decision," Moyer said. "I will take what they have asked me to do, but I'm not real excited about the decision." At one point, Moyer said, "You can't promise anything in this game." With those words, he explained the decision he found so disagreeable. What was the precise nature of those winter talks between Moyer and the Philly front office? A handshake agreement? A verbal guarantee? We can't know for certain. Amaro said through a spokesman that the team intended for Moyer to be a starting pitcher but that "circumstances have changed." Those "circumstances," in no particular order: Martinez, Cliff Lee and Moyer's 5.47 ERA. I can't say for sure if the Phillies deceived Moyer in December. If they did, shame on them. But if we're talking about a team that changed its mind about a player when his performance declined, then I'd invite you to come back for the next 29 installments of the groundbreaking FOXSports.com series: When Baseball Teams Lie . The Braves wanted Tom Glavine to be in their rotation this year. The Red Sox wanted John Smoltz to be in their rotation this year. The Phillies certainly didn't expect to send Brett Myers to the minors last season. But plans evolve, even when it comes to the best players, and Moyer has been a member of that group for quite some time. Gary Matthews understands. He made an All-Star team with the Braves in 1979. He finished his career with more than 2,000 hits. He was a regular for the Cubs in 1986, the same year a 23-year-old from Souderton, Pa., named Jamie Moyer joined the team. On Opening Day that year, Cubs manager Jim Frey opted to start Brian Dayett, not Matthews, in left field. More than 20 years later, the memory hasn't faded. "We all go through it," said Matthews, a former Cubs hitting coach under Dusty Baker and current Phillies television analyst. "Those are things that stand out in your mind — that you'll never forget: Dayett ended up starting. "When I look back on it, I have no regrets or animosity. But those things stick out in your mind, when it's taken away from you and you feel you still have something to contribute. "Any athlete that has had success never feels that it's over. ... You have to feel fortunate to play for as many years as Jamie has played. He's had such a great career. You never want it to end." On Tuesday, Moyer had his Brian Dayett Moment. But let's not confuse Martinez with Dayett, who retired with 110 big league hits. Pedro has won 214 games in the big leagues, even if only 17 have come since 2005. Martinez also happens to be a Moyer fan, saying Tuesday that he has "all the respect in the world" for the man with 256 victories and a World Series ring. Martinez, 37, said Moyer is "blessed with some things I might not be." He's right. Moyer's remarkable command enabled him to win 138 games after his 37th birthday. It's hard to imagine Martinez coming close to that number over the remainder of his career. Right now, though, the Phillies believe Martinez gives them a better chance to win. As Dubee put it, "He's not the Pedro of '98, but he's not the Pedro of '08, either." Well said. Martinez is as ready as he's going to be. We're about to find out how much the younger old guy has left.
Tagged: Roy Oswalt, Red Sox, Cliff Lee, Blue Jays, Braves, Cubs, Roy Halladay, Astros, Brett Myers, Phillies

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