Living in Phoenix now, I rarely get an opportunity to watch the Phillies at the ballpark. However, last night I was treated to a fantastic performance, especially since I had never seen Jamie Moyer pitch live and in-person before. The Southpaw may be turning 47 later this year, but last night he pitched with the heart and determination of a man in his prime.
It didn't start that way, though. Early on, he was battered and bruised by Arizona and the home crowd enjoyed some good natured kidding about the veteran's vintage age. Some of my favorite lines included: "Hey Jamie, you don't need to pitch. Just collect your social security."
Or, "Moyer, why am I yelling at you? There's no way you can hear me at your age."
In the first three innings, Moyer indeed looked rattled by the Diamondback hitters. His control was shaky as he gave up walks and base hits like candy at Halloween.
In fact, the D-Backs had two baserunners on in the first, three in the second and two in the third.
But the old man was stubborn and crafty. At one point, I was convinced he was on the ropes. He faced the worst situation a pitcher can face: bases loaded with no outs. Yet, he got out of it without giving up a single run. Strikeout. Double play. Wow.
At that point, the home crowd turned its attention to complaining about the D-Backs players for not stepping up and the insults about retirement and walking canes slowly faded away. Moyer regained control and ended up pitching quite a gem: no runs in 6 2/3 innings. He left the game with a 6 to 0 lead well on his way to his tenth victory of the season.
The tone of the crowd had changed a lot by then. One Phillies fans turned to his neighbors in Diamondback red and said, "Can you believe he came into the game tonight with a 9-7 record and he's 46? Isn't that amazing?"
Of course, the home fans had to agree. The old man is pitching in his 23rd season in the major leagues. He's a journeyman who has played for seven different teams. He has pitched in a whopping 657 games! He has notched 256 wins and over 2,300 strikeouts.
And, he has accomplished all of that by pitching a fastball that clocks in around 80 mph. How? Simple. He is a finesse pitcher and he never stops working hard and studying the game.
I'll be the first to admit I haven't been crazy about the fact that Moyer's ERA has been north of 5.0 this year, but I will always acknowledge that the man is one Hell of a workhorse.
I saw that firsthand last night. He firmly stood his ground when his control failed him and he trudged his way through the hard innings pretty much on willpower alone. On a night when he could have easily given in and sat early (thus, taxing the bullpen), he opted to face his struggles head on, eat up some innings, and come away with a gutty performance that I won't forget anytime soon.
Well done, old man. Well done, indeed.
In the bottom of the 7th inning last night, the Phillies met
on the mound to discuss Moyer's upcoming 47th birthday
in November (if my lip-reading is accurate). I believe Charlie
Manuel said: "We are considering throwing you a surprise
party, but nobody wants to give you a heart attack, Jamie."
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