Will it be Cal-Irvine or Twins for Moyer's oldest son?
JAMIE MOYER was leaning back in a black office chair in front of his locker, a content expression on his face, his oldest son at his side.
JAMIE MOYER was leaning back in a black office chair in front of his locker, a content expression on his face, his oldest son at his side.
On Tuesday afternoon, Dillon Moyer was selected in the 22nd round by the Minnesota Twins, 26 years after his father was drafted in the fourth round by the Cubs.
It remains to be seen whether he will sign, or whether he will follow through on a commitment to play baseball at California-Irvine.
But the sheer fact that both father and son were united in the realm of professional baseball served as the latest footnote in Jamie Moyer's endless career.
"It's fun," Moyer said. "I told them the other day, it's hard knowing that they are leaving."
Moyer has eight children. Among them is Hutton, a junior middle infielder at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where Dillon also played infield. Even 6-year-old Mac is a promising golfer who, according to Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, "has the greatest arm on a 6-year-old I've ever seen."
"His fastball is faster than Jamie's," Manuel joked.
Dillon, a 6-1, 175-pound shortstop who is a frequent presence in the Phillies clubhouse, hit .351 with 16 runs and seven stolen bases in his senior season.
"We'll see," Dillon said on whether he anticipates signing with the Twins or attending college. "It depends on a lot of things."
You can be sure that Jamie Moyer, who is 6-5 with a 3.98 ERA in 11 starts, will be actively involved.
"We haven't talked to the Twins yet," said Moyer, who, at 47, became the oldest pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout this season. "We'll figure out something here when I'm home."
For now, they'll enjoy the moment.
Making peace
Manager Charlie Manuel and rightfielder Jayson Werth ironed out whatever differences they had over Manuel's comments about Werth's slump. Manuel said he spoke with Werth both on Tuesday night and yesterday regarding his answer to a question about Werth's contract status weighing on the mind of the free-agent-to-be before the Phillies' 10-8 win Tuesday over the Marlins.
"In some ways, it has to," Manuel said at the time. "I definitely think that. I think everyone is like that. Even if a guy is quiet and controls it better than others, I know it does. I know in his mind, he thinks about that. He really got off to a tremendous start. When things start going a little bad for him, yeah, he thinks about it. But he's going to be fine, if he just goes back and plays the way that I know he can, and that he's showed me that he can."
Werth said Tuesday night that the implication bothered him, although he downplayed the situation yesterday, saying it had been blown out of proportion.
"He's good," Manuel said. "I communicate good with Jayson. We get along."
Rained out
Last night's game against the Marlins was rained out, moving a marquee pitching matchup between Roy Halladay and Josh Johnson to tonight. The last time the two pitchers squared off, Halladay pitched a perfect game and Johnson allowed one unearned run in seven innings in the Phillies' 1-0 win in Miami.
The game was called early, avoiding any possible interruption that would have knocked the starting pitchers out of the game.
"I don't have to worry about losing [Halladay], that's for sure," Charlie Manuel said. "I'm sure Florida feels the same way. They don't want to lose Johnson, and we don't want to lose Roy."
No makeup date has been scheduled.
Happ fine
The Phillies said lefthander J.A. Happ made it through his first rehab outing unscathed. Happ, who has been on the disabled list since mid-April with forearm soreness, allowed two runs on three hits in three innings of work Tuesday for Class A Clearwater.
"Happ felt fine," pitching coach Rich Dubee said through a team spokesman.
Happ will continue his rehab assignment at Double A Reading on Sunday.
Rollins update
Shortstop Jimmy Rollins will work out with the Phillies today and then head to Clearwater tomorrow. He is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Class A Clearwater on Monday.
For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese.