I Want To See An Oriole Game, Soon

Jamie Moyer pitching for Tidewater

Jamie Moyer has a good chance for being called up from Triple A Tidewater to Baltimore in the next couple of days. If he does, I want to see an Oriole game. The Mid Atlantic Sports Network Website has a posting about the "what-if's." I am in wait-and-see mode - the Orioles have been winning, so getting tickets can be a bit more of a challenge. We are used to going to games with teams like the Red Sox and the stands being full of their fans. If Moyer makes it back to the Majors, I will be pulling for him to have another win, no earned runs, no walks, and a bunch of confused sluggers wiffing the air.

Decisions pending on Moyer and Reimold (and note)

Roch Kubatko
June 21, 2012 11:31 AM

Left-hander Jamie Moyer made his third start for Triple-A Norfolk last night, throwing 77 pitches in four innings against Buffalo. Now the Orioles are on deck. Moyer can opt out of his contract if the Orioles don't select it from Norfolk and bring him back to the majors. As one team official said, it's "up or opt." Catchy. Moyer isn't listed among Norfolk's upcoming starters. Zach Britton starts today, followed by Chris Tillman on Friday, Dontrelle Willis on Saturday, Jason Berken on Sunday and Miguel Gonzalez on Monday. Moyer has allowed three earned runs (four total) and 11 hits in 16 innings, with no walks and 16 strikeouts. He was removed after the fourth inning last night because of his pitch count. International League batters haven't figured out what to do with Moyer's upper-70s fastball, and Mets knuckleballer R.A Dickey provided a recent example to the Orioles that speed doesn't always matter. At this point, they appear to be leaning toward bringing Moyer to Baltimore, where he pitched from 1993-1995, but nothing is official. The rotation can be adjusted next week because the Orioles are off again on Monday. Moyer could bump Tommy Hunter, Jake Arrieta or Brian Matusz. And executive vice president Dan Duquette continues to look outside the organization for pitching help. Stay tuned.
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To follow up on some of the news about Moyer's journey from release by the Rockies to the Orioles' Triple A team, click here, here, here, here, and here.

Number 50 is 49

Rockies uniform

I hadn't kept up with the baseball news the past week while in Ireland. When checking to see how former Seattle Mariner Jamie Moyer was doing - hoping for a win with the Colorado Rockies, and knowing he wasn't getting a lot of back up support by his teammates' hitting - I saw the editorial below from the Denver Post. Jan heard somewhere that the forties are the old age of youth, and the fifties the youth of old age - I wonder what will happen with Moyer next season, if he plays in his "youthful" fifties.

Opinion
Editorial: For Jamie Moyer, a classic victory by a classy pitcher
By The Denver Post

How 'bout that Jamie Moyer?

Not only did the Rockies' crafty lefty become the oldest pitcher to win a game in major league history Tuesday night — he's 49 —   but he did it the same way he's been doing it for 25 years, with his own blend of wits and guts and a fastball that barely catches the eye of a radar gun. So how old is 49 in baseball years? In the classic movie "The Natural," and in the not-quite-as-classic "The Rookie," heroes Roy Hobbs and Jimmy Morris are over-the-hill ballplayers who attempt to have one last hurrah before the game passes them by. Their age: 35. And Crash Davis, whom Kevin Costner's character was based on in "Bull Durham"? He was 33 when he finished his career. Heck, when Jamie Moyer was 35, he was still in the first half of his career.And when his career began with the Chicago Cubs in 1986, Wrigley Field didn't have lights, Pete Rose was still playing, and the Colorado Rockies were just a mountain range. But Moyer isn't just a classic — he's also one of the game's classiest. A devout Catholic and father of eight, Moyer's charitable work is as impressive as his athletic feats In 2000, he and his wife Karen established the Moyer Foundation, which serves children in severe distress. The foundation's Camp Erin program, with nearly 40 camps nationwide, is designed to help children aged 6-17 who are grieving the loss of a loved one. Compared to many of his record-setting contemporaries in what can be considered baseball's Steroid Age (think Bonds, Clemens, Canseco), the Rockies' new elder statesman is a breath of fresh Mile High air. He's won baseball's prestigious Branch Rickey and Roberto Clemente Awards, and in 2009 he and his wife were given honorary doctoral degrees by Philadelphia's Holy Family University for their public service. And now he's baseball's oldest winning pitcher. "It's a historic night for one tremendous human being," said Rockies manager Jim Tracy after Moyer's 268th career win. "It couldn't happen to a better guy." The good news for Rockies fans: Moyer leads the team in ERA this season — and will likely be breaking his record again soon.

From: Updated:   04/18/2012 04:09:07 PM MDT

Too bad it couldn't have happened in Seattle.

Still Crazy After All These Years

County of Denver Ballpark

I have been watching and wondering with anticipation through MLB Spring Training - will Jamie Moyer make a place on the Colorado Rockies rotation, and put another record in the books? The New York Times ran a good article today - the latest of a string of novelty articles around the country pointing towards the potential for more baseball history in the making. I hope the season turns out being more than a novelty, and his wins record continues to climb, the ERA goes down, and the number of home runs given up stays just where they are right now. I guess you have to be focused and crazy to keep running (and throwing) after all of these years - still crazy after all these years.
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Another good article here, from his former team town Philadelphia.

Old Dog - Old Tricks

Moyer - at 49 years old

It can be common-place for pitchers - throw, injure, recover, throw, injure, recover.... Jamie Moyer is up to his old tricks. My favorite pitcher of all time - on his quest for another comeback.

Jamie Moyer Starts Big League Comeback

Former Philadelphia Phillies star Jamie Moyer is in Clearwater attempting to the near-impossible: return to the big league at the age of 49 after surgery.

Moyer had Tommy John surgery in December to repair ligament damage. He is not under contract to the Phillies but Moyer is working with the Phillies and their team doctors, with Ruben Amaro’s permission, to rehab.

Moyer’s goal is to make it to spring training and make the 25-man roster of a major league team. "We're providing him our space in Clearwater and our expertise," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. told MLB.com.

Moyer grew up in Sellersville, Pa., and went to St. Joseph’s before starting a 24-season career in the majors.

If Moyer does come back, he would be the second-oldest pitcher in major league history to pitch on a regular basis.

myfoxphilly.com
Published : Wednesday, 31 Aug 2011, 1:41 PM EDT

Walk in the Park - Full Count

After leaving the Harry S. Truman building much easier leaving than arriving (see the previous post), I I turned left on C Street and started heading kind of south, figuring I would eventually get to my next meeting at the Whitten Building. It was a good thing I had headed in a bit of a different direction, because there was a sculpted piece in 

Full Count - John Dryfuss

Washington, D.C. that I hadn't seen before - Full Count, by John Dreyfuss (1). It seems that there is a statue in every park. The baseball theme with a pitcher standing out in the grass all alone made me think about Jamie Moyer, and how a month or so ago I found out that he had injured himself in the Dominican winter league - this could mean the end of his career. His contract with the Philadelphia Phillies was allowed to run out this past year. While waiting for his elbow to recover, Moyer is working as an analyst on ESPN. I wonder if this is the first time there has been a son-in-law/father-in-law, Digger Phelps, duo working for the same sports network. The Phillies news hasn't forgotten him - Moyer hopes for a comeback in 2012. Looking from left to right at each of the images, the series of photographs tell a story (2). Since I hung around looking at the sculpture taking photographs, I thought it best to take a cab to my next meeting - not the kind of thing that Moyer would do, especially someone who will try to come back at age 49.
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(1) Full Count is on display in the grassy area between the Federal Reserve Board's Martin Building and Virginia Avenue.

(2) Never mind that there are streaks of bird droppings on the pitcher - obviously, the umpire isn't doing his job of keeping the the game moving along. With staging of the photo series, I think the next pitch is a strike - what about you?

Update's UPdate

Here is a quick report on the status of Jamie Moyer from CBSSPORTS.com per the previous post.
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Moyer avoids surgery, aims for 2011: Though Phillies SP Jamie Moyer has given up on the idea of pitching again in 2010, he told MLB.com he likes his chances of pitching in 2011 after a second

opinion from noted orthopedist Lewis Yocum earlier this week convinced him he doesn't need surgery.
"He's optimistic with rehab this thing can heal and heal properly," Moyer said. "I like his thinking. ... If I had surgery, it's a year, year and a half where I can't do anything. That puts me at 48 1/2, 49 [years old]. What's the liklelihood of pitching? Where am I going to find a job? But if I rehab and rehab diligently and give it time to heal -- and then prudently start rehab and take my time with it -- I'm ready to go [by Spring Training]."
(Updated 07/29/2010).

Injury Report
Elbow - 15-day DL. Out for the season (Updated - 7/29/10)

Fantasy Analysis

Moyer has a sprained ulnar collateral ligament and a strained tendon in his left elbow, which would be a significant injury for anybody, not to mention a 47-year-old. Then again, Moyer isn't your average 47-year-old. The soft-tossing left-hander has continued to succeed at the major-league level despite his advanced age and even looked like a viable mixed-league option at times earlier this season. Still, he has a difficult road back. You can obviously cut him in seasonal formats. (Updated 07/29/2010).

Season Update

Since my last post about Jamie Moyer at the beginning of the month, there have been three losses, an upward creeping earned run average, and now this - not good news for my favorite pitcher. Also, my oldest son and his family went to a Mariners game in Seattle last week - Boston beat my team in 13 innings. On top of all that, he and his family were all decked out in Red Sox fan garb. This is definitely not a good week in baseball for me.

Phillies' Moyer Not Ready to Call It a Career Just Yet

It's uncertain whether the 25-year major-league career of Jamie Moyer ends here. Until doctors present him with a full diagnosis next week, Moyer doesn't want to speculate publicly about his future. However, when asked, the 47-year-old pitcher said he was indeed holding out hope on making a return this season.

"That's my goal," Moyer said at his locker before Friday's game. "But again, without having a full diagnosis, I think it's only fair [to wait]. I think that's the competitor in myself, that I want to pitch. But if my arm doesn't allow it to happen, then it's not going to happen.

"But right now, I believe I'm going to make some sort of - I don't want to say 'comeback,' but I'm going to make some sort of an attempt to be able to get out and pitch competitively."

After throwing 18 pitches in the first inning Tuesday in St. Louis, Moyer was replaced by Drew Carpenter, who had been recalled earlier that day from triple-A Lehigh Valley.

On Friday, Moyer said he didn't feel anything unusual prior to Tuesday's game, other than the day-to-day aches and pains players normally endure. Moyer was put on the 15-day disabled list with sprained ulnar collateral ligament and strained flexor pronator tendon in his left elbow.

"I didn't really feel I had a major concern about anything at that point, up to that start," he said.

Moyer will undergo further tests to determine the severity of the sprain. He said Friday that he's not sure when a prognosis will become available or when testing will be complete. However, he said it's possible he will hear from doctors sometime in the middle of next week.

On Thursday, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Moyer's "going to be out quite some time."

Moyer's MRI exam on Thursday showed injuries. Surgery remains a possibility. He underwent two operations during the off-season, neither to his pitching elbow, and returned with a clean bill of health, working his way into the Phillies' rotation.

Through 19 starts this season, Moyer went 9-9 with a 4.84 ERA. He becomes a free agent at the end of the season.

Moyer said he feels the need to fulfill his contract and work toward putting himself in a position where he could return to the mound. And while the possibility looms that he's perhaps played his last game, he doesn't want to concede that just yet.

"It's one of those situations where you don't want it to have happened," he said. "But if it happens, it happens. There's nothing I could do. I can't turn back and change anything. The injury's the injury. You live with it. I really feel I can look myself in the mirror and know that if that was my last outing, then, you know what, so be it. I've given it my best and I've really enjoyed my career. But at this point, I'm not looking at that being the case."

By Mario Aguirre

Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted on Sat, Jul. 24, 2010 

Another Record, But Still Another Win

Last night flying back to Baltimore on a connecting flight from Des Moines through Chicago, we flew past Camden Yards on our final approach. It was around 9:30 so dark, and the stadium lights were bright in the distance - easy to pick out the park - the Orioles were obviously in town playing. My wife mentioned last weekend that it would be fun to go to a game. I was thinking about that as I looked out the window, and also how I am more interested in how the up-the-road team - the Phillies - are doing because of Jamie Moyer (see the earlier preseason and complete game shutout posts). I quickly Googled Phillies Moyer on my Web browser this morning and came up with the following article - another record set and another win.

Phillies' Moyer Sets Record For Most Home Runs Allowed
Sun Jun 27, 2010 7:30pm EDT

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer gave up a Major League record 506th home run in an otherwise outstanding performance on Sunday.

Toronto's Vernon Wells hit the record-breaking run to left field in the third inning as the 47-year-old Moyer passed the mark held by Phillies Hall of Famer Robin Roberts.

Moyer (9-6) also became the 40th Major Leaguer to pitch 4,000 career innings when he threw seven innings in the 11-2 victory.

The left-hander, who first played in the Major Leagues in 1986, has a 267-201 career record.

(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina. Editing by Ian Ransom)
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I taught statistics for seven years when I was a university professor in California - before taking a full-time research position at a Federal laboratory in Oregon. In typical fashion for me, as I was reading about Jamie Moyer's new record - not a flattering one - I began thinking about how if a pitcher stands among the elite pitchers who pitch the most career innings, that pitcher is bound to accumulate the most of other pitching statistics as well - cause and effect, more innings - more opportunities for greatness or infamy. As I thought about that, I put it into a statistical perspective. In this case, I remembered a principle called collinearity - concurrent associations among two or more variables that are used to predict an outcome using multiple regression analysis.

I have a book about collinearity that I bought when I was a graduate student. It looked interesting at the time, and was also an interesting read. I used the theory in some of the research papers I wrote so the interpretations were more accurate. Applied to baseball, if you pitch enough innings, you are bound to accumulate more home runs given up - collinearity. The important point with Jamie Moyer is he keeps on going, and going, and pitching....and winning - kind of like the Eveready Energizer bunny. Pretty good for a relatively old man in young man's sport.

I know I am an old man, because when I looked on Amazon for an image of the book cover, I glanced at it's price - I know I didn't pay $100 for the book 30 years ago, back when I was in graduate school - another young man's game.

Senior Moment

A quick update to an earlier post: Jamie Moyer becomes the oldest pitcher to throw a complete-game shut-out. See the post about Moyer at the beginning of the season - if only my back wasn't so sore from doing yard work yesterday.
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May 7, 2010

Record-setting Moyer fires two-hit shutout
Phils lefty, 47, oldest hurler to record complete-game blanking

PHILADELPHIA -- Cool.

Jamie Moyer stood in the middle of the Phillies' clubhouse late Friday night at Citizens Bank Park, his left shoulder wrapped in ice, and talked about becoming the oldest pitcher in baseball history to throw a shutout, when at 47 years, 170 days old, he threw a two-hitter in a 7-0 victory over the Braves.

"Cool," he said.

Just cool?

"Just doing my job."

Moyer downplayed the accomplishment, but what a remarkable moment in front of a sellout crowd that seemed to understand the rarity of the performance. Phil Niekro had been the oldest pitcher to throw a shutout when he threw one for the New York Yankees against the Toronto Blue Jays on October 6, 1985, at 46 years, 188 days old.

Satchel Paige had been the oldest non-knuckleball pitcher to accomplish the feat, when he pitched for the St. Louis Browns and threw a 12-inning shutout against the Detroit Tigers at 46 years, 75 days old.

"We knew it was Eighth Wonder of the World type stuff," relief pitcher Chad Durbin said.

"There's no ands, ifs or buts about it," Braves third baseman Chipper Jones said. "We didn't really barrel much hard. The guy is 87 years old and he's still pitching for a reason. He stays off of people's barrels. That's what he did. ... That's about as well-pitched of a game by a guy who throws 80 mph that I've ever seen."

"That amazes me," said manager Charlie Manuel.

"It was impressive, regardless of how old you are," ace Roy Halladay said.

Does Halladay expect to be throwing shutouts at 47?

"No," he said immediately.

What does he expect to be doing then?

"Fishing," he said.

Moyer got plenty of support early. Jayson Werth hit a three-run homer in the third inning. Raul Ibanez and Wilson Valdez each plated two runs with singles in the fifth.

Moyer allowed a leadoff single to Troy Glaus in the second inning and a leadoff single to Glaus in the eighth inning. He retired 17 consecutive batters in between. He walked nobody. He struck out five. He threw just 105 pitches.

He even enjoyed a three-pitch second inning.

"That was a nice inning," Moyer said with a smile. "I enjoyed that."

He located. He changed speeds. He did it all.

"There weren't a lot of good at-bats," Halladay said. "It's pretty impressive. It's fun to watch when he's on like that. He does everything. He throws a little bit of everything and just keeps them off balance."

This was Moyer's third two-hit shutout. He threw one Aug. 16, 1986, in Montreal when he pitched for the Chicago Cubs. He threw his second on June 2, 2006, against Kansas City when he pitched for the Seattle Mariners.

Braves infielder Brandon Hicks, who had the first plate appearance of his big league career when he pinch-hit for Derek Lowe in the sixth inning, was less than a year old when Moyer threw his first gem against the Expos. Moyer struck him out swinging on a changeup.

"It's interesting to see their reaction on just how slow it is," said Ryan Howard, asked about watching young hitters face Moyer for the first time. "His fastball is like 80 mph. And then when he throws you a changeup, you just hope you don't throw something out of socket."

"You ever heard the old saying, 'Taking him to school?'" Manuel said. "Well, he can do that."

The Phillies saved several game-used balls. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum might be calling for one. The rest will go to Moyer and his family.

"What did I do with the ball?" Moyer said. "I think one of my kids has it. I don't know if it's in the [batting] cage and they're hitting with it, or they're going to give it to one of the dogs at home."

Moyer's wife, Karen, and five of their eight children were at the ballpark. His three sons patiently waited for him at his locker while he talked with reporters. Kyle Kendrick entertained 6-year-old McCabe by playing catch.

Moyer said it was nice to know that some of his children are old enough to have vivid images of this historical night.

"Yeah, I hope they do," he joked about his boys. "Two of them are teenagers."

Maybe they were fiddling with their iPods instead?

"There might have been some cute girls around, too," Moyer said. "I enjoy my family being there and we try to be together as much as I can, so that's special."

Moyer is asked constantly about his age, which definitely gets old for him. But nights like Friday night must make him wonder if there really can be an end to his baseball career, right?

"I never really thought about it that way, but now that you say it, this kind of stuff pushes you or pushes me," he said. "And I enjoy this. This is what it's about.

"I feel like there's plenty of time when I retire to reflect on things. I'm sure at home we'll talk about it tonight. It'll be a topic of conversation. As far as sitting back, tomorrow I'll probably sit and not necessarily think about what happened, but kind of rehearse the game in mind, go through the game again and be able to see pitches, and thoughts will come back.

"A lot of times at night that happens for me. I usually go sleepless when I pitch -- win, lose or draw. It's usually a long night for me, but it can be fun, because it's nice to reenact things and see things. Maybe a thought that went through your head comes back. Something may come to mind."

Like how special it was.

Todd Zolecki is a reporter for MLB.com.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100507&content_id=9875546&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Spring Ritual

I was early for a meeting yesterday, so the host and I were talking before the others arrived in the meeting room. She asked if I was following the College Basketball tournament - she is a Purdue fan and they were playing for a Sweet Sixteen spot last night. I said I hadn't really been keeping track, and that being a dull person, I prefer baseball. We talked a little about that - baseball, not my dullness - and that being from the Pacific Northwest, missed the Mariners, especially in their heyday (relative heyday compared to teams like Boston).

Well, as fortune would have it, I was browsing through the major city newspaper Web pages this morning when I saw the headline on the Philadelphia Inquirer, Phil's Moyer Makes His Case. I couldn't believe it - didn't his career end last season with the elbow injury? No way to keep a good man down. He was one of our family's favorite players with Mariners, so I have at least casually kept track of him since he joined the Phillies - especially since the city is just up the road.

Phils' Moyer makes his case

Posted Sat, Mar. 27, 2010

By Matt Gelb

Inquirer Staff Writer

TAMPA, Fla. - After three off-season surgeries, Jamie Moyer came to spring training fighting for a job in his 24th season in the majors.

"I didn't really know what to expect, because I haven't been through this kind of thing in the past," Moyer said. "So, you know what? Go wing it. See what happens."

It's working.

The 47-year-old lefthander all but guaranteed his spot as the fifth starter in the Phillies' rotation with a dominating effort last night.

Facing a New York Yankees lineup filled with regulars except Jorge Posada and Nick Johnson, Moyer cruised. He allowed just two base runners over 62/3 innings and struck out six. He walked none. The Phillies won, 3-0.

Moyer retired the final 15 batters he faced.

"He looked pretty good, didn't he?" Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "He threw good quality strikes down. Even when he missed, he was close. He dropped a little yo-yo on them."

Manuel declined to name Moyer the fifth starter, but everything suggests he will earn the job. Early in the spring, pitching coach Rich Dubee anointed Moyer the favorite. Dubee said he did that because of Moyer's track record. Moyer has won 258 games over 23 seasons. He is also due to make $8 million in 2010.

But Kyle Kendrick has been impressive enough this spring to raise doubts. Over 192/3 innings, he has a 1.37 ERA. Throw in that the Phillies removed Moyer from the starting rotation in mid-season 2009 and his hold on the spot looked precarious.

Moyer has dispelled those doubts.

"I've never felt at any time there was urgency to do anything," he said. "Or prove anything. Or work out in a certain way. You just try and monitor every day for what it is and take it from there."

Against the Yankees, he pitched at a steady pace. He needed just 79 pitches, and no more than 16 in any one inning.

He allowed a single to Marcus Thames, the second batter of the game. That was New York's only hit. The other batter to reach base was Curtis Granderson, who was hit by a pitch in the second on a 1-0 count.

It was Moyer's second Grapefruit League appearance. In 112/3 innings, he has allowed one run. He also started three B games earlier in the spring. Two were three-inning scoreless outings. In the other, his lone hiccup this spring, Moyer allowed five runs on eight hits in three innings.

Expect to see him in the rotation.

"It doesn't surprise me," Manuel said of Moyer's performance. "I've seen him go to the minor leagues twice and you think he's done, and he fought his way back to become a heck of a pitcher. When he came to spring training this year, I expected him to be in pretty good shape and working hard. Nothing's changed. It's who he is."