Moyer not happy with move to the pen
By Jonathan Atwood on August 11th, 2009 6:44 PM |
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Jamie Moyer is not happy with being moved to the bullpen.
According to Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Moyer was sitting alone before the Phillies-Cubs game, staring at the infield of Wrigley Field, where he made his major league debut against his hometown Phillies and boyhood idol, Steve Carlton. After a few minutes, Moyer sent for the media, and expressed his displeasure with being moved to the bullpen to make room for Pedro Martinez in the starting rotation.
“I’m really not happy with this decision that the Phillies have made,” he said, sitting in the stands behind the first-base dugout. “I will take what they’ve asked me to do, but I’m not really excited about the decision that has been made. Ultimately, I’m a little dishearted because this past winter when I was negotiating with the Phillies this was a sore thumb, if you will, about this potentially happening.
“You can’t promise anything in this game, but I really felt that Ruben (Amaro Jr.) parlayed to me that this type of situation would not happen. Actually, even had some discussion with David (Montgomery) with them reassuring me that this type of situation wouldn’t happen. Again, I’m a little disheartend by the way it’s happened, how it’s happened. We’re still in first place. I probably feel like I haven’t contributed as well as I could have, but I think if you go around to the other 24 players on our club they would probably say the same type of thing.
“Whether I like it or not, this is the situation I’m in. I will deal with it. I will deal with it in a respectful way. I’ll be respectful to my teammates. Like I said at the beginning, I do not want to be a distraction and I refuse to be a distraction. It’s about the 25 players that are here. We all have to pick each other up. We all have to support each other. We all have to be professional about what we do. This is job that sometimes you’re in situations that you like or dislike and you have to deal with it. That’s why for me dealing with this like a man and taking whatever they choose to do. I’m an employee here, but I don’t always have to like the situation that I’m in. And that’s OK. Life goes on. But like I said, I feel a little disheartened. I feel a little bit like I’ve been misled. I feel like I’ve played this game long enough that the respect factor should be there.”
Amaro, who was not with the team in Chicago, said through a team representative that “When we signed Jamie Moyer it was under the pretense of him being a starter. But right now circumstances have changed….we’re not going to get into any contract negotiations. That’s between players and club.”
Manager Charlie Manuel said that the decision to remove Moyer from the rotation was “The toughest decision I ever made because of who it was.”
Moyer may not like it, but he understands that ultimately it’s about the entire team, not just one pitcher.
“Whether I like it or not, this is the situation I’m in,” he said. “I will deal with it. I will deal with it in a respectful way. I’ll be respectful to my teammates. I do not want to be a distraction, and I refuse to be a distraction. It’s about the 25 players that are here and are playing. We all have to pick each other up. We all have to support each other.”





















