Results tagged ‘ Jamie Moyer ’
Polanco Strains Right Knee, Leaves Game
Third baseman Placido Polanco left today’s game against the Pirates in the bottom of the third inning after he sprained his right knee stumbling on the pitcher’s mound while trying to catch a pop up.
“It’s nothing bad,” he said. “No DL situation or anything. It’s probably day to day.”
Polanco limped off the mound before he dropped to the turf. Two team athletic trainers helped Polanco off the field and into the visitor’s clubhouse down the left-field line at McKechnie Field.
“When it first happens you really get scared,” he said. “You don’t know what’s happening. It doesn’t feel right. But now that the doctor took a look at it, it’s nothing big at all. … It’s getting better now already after the icing and all that.”
A Pirates doctor checked Polanco’s knee ligaments.
“It’s just the back of the knee,” Polanco said. “It’s probably hyperextended a little bit. Irritated.”
He added that he does not think a MRI is necessary.
Polanco tried to catch Delwyn Young‘s pop up in the third, but he lost the ball in the sun and stumbled on the back of the mound.
“Tomorrow is a big day to see how it feels, how sore it is,” Polanco said. “Probably two or three days because we’ve got a day off coming (Thursday).”
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Jamie Moyer allowed eight hits and five runs in three innings in a B game against the Blue Jays in Dunedin.
The Blue Jays had seven regulars in the lineup.
It still is possible Moyer could open the season in the rotation, and Kyle Kendrick could open in the bullpen. If Moyer pitches well, great. If not, Kendrick could replace Moyer like J.A. Happ replaced Chan Ho Park in the rotation last season. Moyer will make $8 million this season. It is possible the Phillies could release Moyer – although he pitched well in the bullpen late last year – but it would leave them with little starting pitching depth in the organization.
Asked about the possibility of starting or relieving, Moyer said, “That’s their choice.”
So he’s just along for the ride, doing what he can?
“Exactly,” he said. “Contribute. It’s all about contributing.”
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The Zo Zone is on Facebook and Twitter. His Phillies book “The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly” is available online, and at Delaware Valley bookstores!
Moyer Foundation Looking for Donations to Help Haiti
The Moyer Foundation will hold a donations drive to collect and deliver supplies for the ongoing relief efforts in Haiti. Fans are encouraged to bring donations to Bright House Field in Clearwater from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. on March 16 and 17, and 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. on March 19.
The Moyer Foundation created the “Helping Hearts Campaign” in January to support emergency relief efforts specifically targeted to helping child victims in Haiti. The organization pledged to match up to $50,000 in donations, which it accomplished this month.
The drop-off containers will be located near the fountain at the main entrance to Bright House Field. The containers then will be shipped directly to The Moyer Foundation’s partners on the ground in Haiti. Certain items that are needed for the collection are clothing, school supplies, personal hygiene items, tents, furniture for an office or home, toys, dolls, etc.
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I’ll mention these again as they get closer, but I have a few signings scheduled for my Phillies book The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly:
- Borders in Center City (1 S. Broad Street) from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. on April 17.
- Barnes & Noble in Rittenhouse Square (1805 Walnut Street) beginning at 6 p.m. on April 29.
- Citizens Bank Park from 2 p.m. – 3 p.m. on May 1.
- Coca-Cola Park in Allentown from 4 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. on July 10.
I hope to add more in the future, too.
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The Zo Zone is on Facebook and Twitter. His Phillies book “The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly” is available online, and at Delaware Valley bookstores!
Moyer Honored
Meant to mention this yesterday …
Clearwater for Youth recognized Jamie Moyer and The Moyer Foundation at a news conference for their work. This is the 10th anniversary of the foundation, which helps children in severe distress.
“We had no idea where we were going to go, or where it was going to take us,” Moyer said. “Our initial goal and our continued goal is to make a difference in communities and with kids in less fortunate situations.”
The foundation will have 36 camps in 26 cities this summer, including one in Toronto.
“We keep moving forward with it, and we’re happy about that,” Moyer said.
Moyer said he still wants to have a camp in every Major League city, and he said that could happen by next summer.
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The Zo Zone is on Facebook and Twitter. His book “The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly: Philadelphia Phillies” is available online, and at most Delaware Valley bookstores NOW!
Thursday Morning Notes
Passing along a few tidbits from Ruben Amaro Jr.:
- The Phillies are looking for more starting pitching depth, but if they find somebody it would be on a Minor League deal. “It’s a possibility,” Amaro said. “At some point you’ve got to see what you’ve got. We’re probably as close to that stage as we’ve been all offseason. While I guess we’re not necessarily satisfied with where we are — we’re never satisfied — we’re comfortable with going into the spring with who we’ve got. We’ll kind of let things play out.”
- J.C. Romero and Brad Lidge have started throwing. Jamie Moyer could begin throwing soon, too. Amaro had said for some time that Lidge is ahead of Romero, but Romero started to throw on the 17th. Lidge started to throw earlier this week, so it sounds like they might be even. “So far so good,” Amaro said about Lidge and Romero. “No news is good news on those guys.”
- Moyer has told the Phillies he thinks he will be ready by Opening Day. The medical staff has a more conservative timetable.
- Roy Halladay has been arriving every morning around 7 a.m. at Bright House Field in Clearwater to begin his workouts. Amaro said the training staff is raving about his workout routine. I think the word “animal” and “monster” is being used a lot. (These are not words people use to describe my workout routine.)
- Amaro still will not confirm the Phillies are close to signing Jose Contreras, which could be announced as early as today. Of course, that really does not matter because Charlie Manuel confirmed it during Tuesday’s news conference. It was actually a pretty funny moment. (Well, funny to the scribes.) The Phillies cannot comment or confirm Contreras because he has not passed his physical. Of course, Manuel did not know this so he talked about him like he had signed. No worries, the world is still spinning.
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Amaro Downplays Halladay Possibility Again
It would make no sense for Ruben Amaro Jr. to talk publicly about his interest in Roy Halladay.
In fact, it would make more sense to say he has little chance in acquring him.
That is what he said this morning before he left the Winter Meetings. The chances for a big-time move, Ruben?
“I don’t think there’s any likeliness,” he said.
So nothing has changed in the likeliness scale?
“There’s nothing likely. How about that?” he said.
I wrote last night that there is talk at the Winter Meetings that the Phillies are one of the favorites for Halladay, if not the favorite. FOXSports.com reported this morning that the Phillies and Angels are front-runners with the Phillies offering J.A. Happ and Domonic Brown or Michael Taylor. The Phillies also would have to shed some payroll to make room for Halladay’s $15.75 million salary. Joe Blanton could be a casualty there. He made $5.75 million last season, and will receive a raise. But FOXSports.com said the Phillies would have to shed more payroll than that.
That could explain why the Phillies haven’t made much progress on Chan Ho Park and Scott Eyre. It sounds like that’s why the Phillies are playing hardball in negotiations. They might need to get them on the cheap to afford Halladay. But why would Park and Eyre agree to that?
If the Phillies would have to give up Happ and Blanton to get Halladay, who would they have to fill in the rotation? Would they go into the season with Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick? Or could they pick up another starter for Blanton? A free agent like John Smoltz maybe?
Fun, fun, fun …
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Amaro Talks About Pitching, Third Base, Smoltz and More
The Phillies locked up catcher Brian Schneider today, and are expected to lock up infielder Juan Castro on Thursday.
Next up for the Phillies?
Pitching and third base. Reporters had a chance to talk with Ruben Amaro Jr. about those things and more for a few minutes this afternoon at the Bank. Here is a taste of what he said:
On finding starting pitching help: “I would like to try to add some depth there, if we could. Kendrick could be one of those options. Obviously we line up with Lee, Hamels, Blanton, Happ and Moyer and possibly Kendrick. We’d like to add some more depth if we could, but pitchers aren’t falling out of trees and I don’t have an unlimited budget so I have to try to work on the other priorities and that’s third base and the bullpen and maybe add some depth (to the rotation) with perhaps a sixth-year free agent … or take a flier or somebody who might give us some upside who may not be on anybody’s radar screen. Try to shoot for a low-risk, high-reward type of a guy. There’s a lot of pitching out there. The quality of it, you just never know.”
On interest in John Smoltz, first reported by ESPN.com: “I guess he’d fit the bill (of low risk, high reward). We’ve talked to several agents about a bunch of different guys. But we don’t talk about specific guys unless we’re signing them. But he would kind of fit the ball, certainly. I’m not sure if that’s a role he wants to play, but we’ve had some discussions with some of those guys who could give us some more pitching depth.”
On where they stand with Chan Ho Park and Scott Eyre: “It is probably likely that we will not offer (salary arbitration) on either guy. I just think, number one, I don’t know that we want to put ourselves in a position to be tied up money-wise in either player. I think we want to be able to keep our flexibility as far as who we’ll make a run at. And that will financially tie us up, frankly. That doesn’t mean we don’t want to bring them back. We can still sign them back.”
On progress at third base: “I’m optimistic that we can get something done. How quickly kind of depends on the pace of the agent.”
On if they would sign a Type A free agent who is offered salary arbitration (if they did, the Phillies would forfeit their first-round pick in 2010): “It doesn’t necessarily preclude us from moving forward on a guy. We’re going to be picking late again, and I guess the thought is, depending on the quality of the guy and how he impacts our club now and in the future, that’ll impact the decision we make to move forward on it. It obviously has an impact because our goal is to try to develop young players. And losing draft picks doesn’t help, but if you’re signing a Raul Ibanez or a higher level guy sometimes it’s worth making the move.”
Amaro also said left-hander Jamie Moyer is out of the hospital and back in Florida. But he also said Moyer is expected to have surgery on his left knee operation next month. Amaro said it could impact his start of Spring Training, but not the start of the season.
“It’s not a long recovery.”
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Moyer Had Surgery Today, Said to Be Doing Well
The Phillies announced tonight that Jamie Moyer had a MRI earlier this week, which showed a small blood collection that could have been infected. Moyer had minor surgery today to wash out the blood collection. Dr. Bill Meyers performed the surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
“Jamie is doing very well,” Phillies physician Michael Ciccotti said in a statement. ”The surgery is not likely to impact his rehab schedule and is likely to have minimal impact on his spring training schedule.”
Moyer is likely to remain hospitalized until Monday.
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Moyer Hospitalized with Recurring Symptoms
Jamie Moyer has been hospitalized at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital because of recurring symptoms from his groin surgery in October.
Phillies physician Michael Ciccotti said this evening that Moyer “is in no way seriously ill.”
“He’s very comfortable,” Ciccotti said. “He’s quite fine. He’s walking. He’s eating. He’s completely comfortable and fine. We’re just taking appropriate precautions, and also wanting to do what we can to make sure he’s on track for Spring Training.”
Ciccotti said Moyer started to feel an increase in pain over the weekend, which prompted him to fly to Philadelphia on Tuesday to visit Hahnemann University Hospital, where Bill Meyers performed the surgery Oct. 2.
Moyer stayed the night at Thomas Jefferson, where he is expected to remain, possibly through the weekend for continued evaluation.
“We’re in the midst of evaluting him and treating him for this increase in pain,” Ciccotti said. “He’s getting some tests, an MRI. He’s continuing to exercise as his comfort allows. That’s really where we’re at right now.”
Moyer had been hospitalized with a blood infection Oct. 7, five days following his surgery. He spent three nights in the hospital before being released.
Ciccotti said Moyer’s current symptoms don’t seem to be related to last month’s blood infection, but he hasn’t ruled it out. Moyer has had blood tests as part of his evaulation.
So what could have happened to put Moyer back in the hospital?
“You can restrain that area during the recovery or rehabilitation period,” Ciccotti said. “That’s where the MRI is helpful because it can help us determine if that’s the case and then that’s just a matter of adjusting his rehab and his therapy.”
Ciccotti said Moyer’s rehab following surgery had gone “very well,” and despite his setbacks, he said Moyer still could be ready to participate at the beginning of Spring Training in mid-February.
“The recovery from this surgery is such that normally it’s three months or so,” he said. “He had it in early October. Really, he would be recovered from this surgery sometime in January, well before Spring Training. So having been in the hopsital, and now a few more days in the hospital, that may delay his full recovery, but he’s still on a timeline that would allow him to participate in Spring Training.
“It’s possible it could be a little bit later than [mid-February], but he’s still on the timeline that would allow him to participate in Spring Training with hopefully minimal effects on his early Spring Training participation.”
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Cole Cool with Game 3
It’s Pedro Martinez in Game 2 of the World Series, which means Cole Hamels will pitch Game 3 on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park.
Charlie Manuel said he wanted to split up his left-handed pitchers against the Yankees, which makes sense. But you’ve also got to think if Hamels were pitching better that he would be pitching Game 2.
Hamels said he is OK with that.
“It’s an honor to pitch. It’s an honor to pitch at home,” Hamels said. “Any time you get to pitch at home, I think it’s great. Especially Game 3. Game 3 is very important. Jamie (Moyer)showed us how important it was last year. That could turn a series. You know what? I think it’s going to be just as important as Game 1 or Game 2 or Game 4 or Game 5. I think this is going to be nice to have the home crowd and no DH. I couldn’t ask for a better scenario.”
Rich Dubee said last week that it seems most of Hamels’ problems have been mental. Maybe he is putting too much pressure on himself. Maybe he has been too concerned with trying to match last season’s postseason numbers.
Hamels went 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA in five postseason starts last year. He is 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in three postseason starts this year.
“When you have success early you want to continue it,” he said. “You put a little bit too much pressure on trying to be that guy all the time, instead of just letting it happen. … I’ve never gone through the struggles that I have, but I haven’t had a long career yet. I’ve been able to talk to Pedro and Jamie and Cliff (Lee). They’ve had their ups and downs. It’s how you learn to deal with it. I think they understand when you do great things people expect it to happen. All of a sudden you do kind of get wrapped up in expecting it to happen and it can really throw you off your game. I think it has to a point. I don’t want to make excuses. I haven’t been able to do my job as well as I would like, and it’s something that I’m fighting to be that caliber player that everybody expects me to be. But at the same time, I’m not going to put too much stress on it anymore because I’ve gotten myself in trouble when I try to expect too much.”
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Feeling Better, Moyer Rejoins Teammates
Jamie Moyer is back at the ballpark with his Phillies teammates.
He spent three nights in the hospital last week with a blood infection following surgery to repair tendons in his left groin and abdomen. He watched Game 1 of the NLDS against the Rockies at the Bank on Oct. 7, five days after he had surgery. That day he started to have back pain and a fever. He checked himself into the hospital and blood tests discovered the infection.
“I feel pretty good now,” he said today before Game 3 of the NLCS. “I started my rehab yesterday. I’m able to walk on the treadmill and do some easy and light leg exercises. Infection or no infection, that’s where I would have started, so I only started a couple days later than expected. I feel like I’m moving forward. I feel much better.”
But Moyer is not fully recovered. He has a pick line in his right arm, which he must have through next weekend. The line is connected to a device that he carries in a bag around his waist. Think of it as a slightly bigger fanny pack.
“It’s one day at a time at this point,” Moyer said.
MLB.com teammate T.R. Sullivan found this interesting stat about Moyer. He is tied for fifth amongst active pitchers with eight postseason starts. Here is the rest of that list:
- Andy Pettitte, 36.
- Tom Glavine, 35.
- Randy Johnson, 16.
- Mike Hampton, 10.
- Moyer and Cole Hamels, 8.
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Todd Zolecki
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