Jamie Moyer On Being Demoted To The Pen

I've said this before and I'll say it again, I think Jamie Moyer is a great guy and despite his recent struggles and inconsistency, I still really like him as a pitcher. That being said, I am in fact eager to see Pedro Martinez pitch tomorrow. It's a shame that Moyer had to leave but with the rest of the group, there really was no one else the Phils could reasonably take out of the starting rotation. Naturally, Jamie Moyer feels a little disheartened by the demotion but perhaps not for the obvious reasons. He claims he feels "misled" and had these words to say on the subject matter.

"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."

Maybe he's just upset that he arrived too late for the MLB Network reality show, The Pen...

Seriously, though, I can't say that I disagree with anything he says. Let's just hope that Moyer can channel his anger in the bullpen and pitch well enough where if disaster strikes the starting rotation (and we know how injured the Phils starting rotation has been throughout the year), he can fill in on a moments notice. Curt Schilling may be famous for the bloody sock, but Jamie Moyer will now be remembered for his Toilet Bowl Performance in the World Series.