There’s nothing wrong with being pissed off. Undoubtedly most of us get worked up over one thing or another every day. Maybe someone swiped your lunch out of the fridge or beat you to a parking spot.
Or maybe you’ve been “misled” from the boss at work. No, they didn’t dock your pay but they changed the minutia of your job description ever-so slightly. Certainly that’s enough to make a guy feel “disheartened.”
Hey, that’s the way it happens sometimes.
Usually, though, most of us get past our slights. After all, if most folks pouted over being “misled” or burned over something that “disheartened,” more than a day or two people would look at us like we were nothing more than a big baby.
You can’t always get what you want.
Yet after 23 seasons in the big leagues, including several trades and three outright releases, 46-year-old Jamie Moyer seems steamed about being “misled” by his employer, the Philadelphia Phillies. In fact, he still has what ballplayers like to call “the ass,” meaning he was irritable, even though he pitched six scoreless innings in a nice win for the team in a performance that was quite similar to a decade-old relief appearance in the playoffs by the guy who replaced him in the rotation.
Again, Moyer has every right to be upset. After all, his job description changed and as a result he could miss out on some pretty fat performance bonuses. However, for the remainder of this year and next, Moyer will still get a big check on the first and fifteenth of every month. That’s a guaranteed $13 million deal, which is more than some rank-and-file employees can say about promises they were made by bosses and execs.
Besides, if Moyer didn’t see the adjustment to his workload coming, he’s conning himself or merely acting like a petulant child. The league's worst ERA for starters should have been a tip off. So too should have been his ERA against every other team aside from Florida. Worse, he just like that miserly old man who shakes his fist and screams as he chases the neighborhood kids up the block…
“Get off my lawn!”
So to recap: Jamie Moyer feels “misled” because his workload has been lessened. He won’t be docked in pay and he still plays for a team that has an excellent chance to get to the World Series for the second straight year. Better yet he doesn’t have to look over his shoulder about losing his job on the Phillies, which is saying something in this economy.
Besides, when this season ends Moyer will have made more than $74 million in a career that has defied the odds. That’s not too shabby.
So what was it again that Moyer seems to be upset about?
Oh yeah, he’s getting a lot of money for less work.
Someone get out the world’s smallest violin.
Meanwhile, Pedro Martinez was his normal jovial self after having his home debut washed out by a rain delay. He only pitched three innings, but proclaimed it a success because Moyer came on and pitched wonderfully. He also laughed with some New York reporters in town to see “the old goat” pitch before his Ali-like return to his old stomping grounds.
Moreover, when asked about Moyer’s masterful performance against the anxious and green Diamondbacks on Tuesday night, Pedro gushed with praise.
“I've seen Jamie forever,” Pedro said. “When I remember him and [Tom] Glavine. They are my idols. And Tim Wakefield. They're warriors out there. How do they do it? Only lefties will know. And knuckleballers. It's great to watch, and I'm really happy for the results. We got a win.”
But when asked about the way Moyer handled being replaced in the rotation by a guy with three Cy Young Awards and arguably the best six-year stretch of pitching in history, Pedro kept that ever-present smile.
“Jamie is a professional. He'll handle the same way I'll probably handle it. Whatever it takes for the team to win,” he said.
Then he added the kicker:
“If it was me in the same situation, I would do it the same way, too. I never said I wouldn't go to the bullpen. I'm an employee here, and so is Jamie.”
It just so happens that Pedro turned in one of the most memorable playoff performances while pitching as a reliever in the fifth and deciding game of the 1999 ALDS. Perhaps Pedro is setting the table for some white knight-like reliever work in this year’s playoffs, too. After all, Pedro made no bones about why he was coming back…
He wants to win.
And he has checked his ego at the clubhouse door.
“You never know what you'll get when you put two old goats out there,” Pedro said between giggles. “It's a scary combination. You're not going to see that very often. You might as well enjoy it. I enjoyed it.
“See what you get? Two for the price of one.”
But as far as we can tell, only one of them is happy about it.