Beardcap 8-18-09

What did Beardo do?

Bruntlett stood on deck to pinch hit for starter Pedro Martinez after the rain delay ended in the bottom of the 3rd inning, but had to sit down disappointed when Pedro Feliz was tagged out at home plate on Carlos Ruiz’s RBI single.  In short, Beardo took some practice swings, sighed, and sat back down.

Did the Phils lose?  Was it Bruntlett’s fault?

The Phils beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1!  They kept the lead due to an incredible relief performance by Jamie Moyer (6 innings pitched, 2 hits, 0 earned runs).  Moyer would also go 2 for 3 at the plate, bringing his average to .152 for the year.  If the .129 hitting Bruntlett had pinch hit, it would have thrown Jamie Moyer off and the Phils would have lost by 10 runs.  Guaranteed*! (thanks to @allthingsphilly for the BA tip on Twitter)

Bruntlett Fact:

Pedro Feliz intentionally ran home knowing he would get tagged out just so Bruntlett wouldn’t get to bat.  Pete Happy made a noble sacrifice for the greater good.

*Guarantee is no way legally binding as Estebomb is a raging psychopath.

Off Topic: Moyer and Martinez

We here at Fire Eric Bruntlett might have a specific goal in mind with our blog, but that doesn’t stop us from having a little variety in our posts.

As many of you are aware, the Phillies have decided to take a risk and have demoted baseball Methuselah Jamie Moyer to the bullpen in favor of the slightly younger Mets washout Pedro Martinez. Martinez has pitched well in the World Baseball Classic and minor leagues this year and Ruben Amaro has stated previously that the Phils signed Martinez to be a starter. J.A. Happ was the logical choice to go the bullpen considering his youth and experience, but he’s been too good as a starter to make that move.

If you had asked me at the beginning of the season if I thought Jamie Moyer would end up relegated to the bullpen I would have slapped you for being stupid. It’s hard to believe it’s actually happened.

Moyer’s been wildly inconsistent this year and it’s been immensely frustrating to watch as a fan. He’ll pitch a 2 hit shutout one night and let up 7 runs the next night he pitches. He has 10 wins but he also has an ERA of 5.47. Perhaps the biggest problem with Moyer has been his inability to pitch against patient teams. Moyer’s got excellent numbers against young, inexperienced teams like the Nationals, Marlins, and Rays. The big problem is that he seems to get annihilated any time he pitches against a team that forces him to throw it over the middle.

That’s not to say that I think Pedro is going to do better. I don’t know what to expect from him. He was garbage his last couple of years with the Mets but he seems rested this year and could be a huge gain for this team for the last month and a half. He’s cheap too, $1 million for a former Cy Young winner who could help guarantee another championship run? Not too shabby.

I’m still extremely bothered by this move. Maybe it’s the fact that Pedro is a former Met. Maybe it’s that Jamie Moyer is the inspirational local boy who returned home to win it all. Pedro is a bit cocky and a media whore. He’s the opposite of Moyer. This feels like media posturing by the Phillies and I don’t like it.

No offense to Jamie Moyer, but I wish he had retired after the Phillies won the World Series. It’s been difficult to watch him struggle this year. He was a key member of last year’s World Series title and now he may not even make it to the playoffs.

P.S. If Ruben Amaro has the balls to demote Jamie Moyer then there’s clearly nothing stopping him from getting rid of Bruntlett! Get it done Ruben!