By Anthony J. Machcinski
47-year-old Jamie Moyer took the mound Sunday and did decent in his first Grapefruit league start this year. Moyer went five innings with six strikeouts and one run on five hits. This was not a bad debut for Moyer, however, he has not done well in the previous few games, where he was pitching to ‘B’ teams and getting lit up.
Moyer was the favorite for the 5th starter’s job going into spring training, however, Kyle Kendrick has proven to be a force to be reckoned with. Kendrick has been dominant with seven hits in 14 innings and only yielding two walks.
Normally, if someone was going to make a decision based on the numbers, Kendrick would get the nod, however, this might not be the case. Kendrick makes much less and is still way younger than Moyer. Kendrick can be sent to the minors to refine his pitches and pitch with the big club in the next few years. Moyer will also make more money than Kendrick will and GM Ruben Amaro will want to get all the value he can out of Moyer.
With the season only a few short weeks away, the decision will have to be made soon, and most likely the Phillies will have to go with Moyer. However, if Moyer struggles out of the gate early, Amaro will be forced by the fans to bring up Kendrick, who has really become Roy Halladay’s tail ever since the former Cy Young pitcher stepped foot in Philadelphia.
Some point in the near future, Kyle Kendrick will be the pitcher that the Phillies know he can be, but for now, the job is all in the hands of the ageless veteran, Jamie Moyer.
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