Goodbye Moyer, How Quickly We Forget...

Lately, there has been a lot of talk about the Phillies’ starting pitching rotation. Everyone wants to know who will remain in the rotation and who will go to the bullpen once future hall-of-famer Pedro Martinez is ready for the big leagues. According to local radio stations and Internet message boards, popular opinion seems to be that Jamie Moyer should be the one that is bumped from the rotation. Lately, there has been a lot of talk about the Phillies’ starting pitching rotation. Everyone wants to know who will remain in the rotation and who will go to the bullpen once future hall-of-famer Pedro Martinez is ready for the big leagues. According to local radio stations and Internet message boards, popular opinion seems to be that Jamie Moyer should be the one that is bumped from the rotation.

Sure, Moyer’s start Tuesday night start against Colorado was a rough one, but before that, in the entire month of July, he had a 3.30 earned run average and a four and one record. Most teams would give the world for their fifth starter to put up those kinds of numbers.

Granted, Jamie Moyer struggled throughout the first half of the season, but other than a small hiccup earlier this week, seems to have righted the ship in the second half. Not even supposed “Ace” Cole Hamels has put together a stretch like Moyer did in July this entire season. Looking at the numbers and the logic, it simply makes more sense to put a guy like recently signed Pedro Martinez into the bullpen than it does a guy who is putting up some pretty stellar second half numbers like Moyer.

Think about it. Pedro hasn’t even thrown a Major League pitch this year and by all accounts, probably couldn’t go any more than five innings in a game while Moyer, in his last ten starts, has gone at least six innings in more than half of them. Pedro hasn’t even thrown more than eighty-two pitches this season, a feat that he’s only accomplished once. Not to mention the fact that Martinez even volunteered to pitch out of the bullpen if needed.

On a club that has been as fair as possible to everyone from Chan Ho Park, who no one actually thought would last as a starter, to Brad Lidge, who if not for a perfect 2008 season would be relegated to a mop up role and possibly booed out of Philadelphia, it seems completely ridiculous to simply bump Moyer because he had a shaky first half, especially since he’s been so solid of late.

To make a rash decision based on one poor performance, three nights ago, would be completely unfair to a guy who has done nothing but give everything he has to the Phillies and their fans, including winning sixteen games in 2008 to help lead the team to only it’s second world championship in franchise history. How quickly we forget.